Celebrate the Season with CCM’s Annual Feast of Carols This Weekend

Bring family and friends to enjoy a concert of festive choral favorites on Dec. 8 and 9 at CCM’s Corbett Auditorium.

CCM ushers in the holidays on Dec. 8 and 9, 2018, with Feast of Carols, an annual concert featuring festive choral favorites performed by the CCM Chamber Choir, Chorale and Concert Orchestra; UC Men’s and Women’s Choruses, Cincinnati Youth Choir and outstanding guest choirs from local high schools.

A tradition that dates back decades, Feast of Carols showcases an eclectic mix of holiday songs including classics like “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” “Joy to the World,” “Silent Night,” “Deck the Halls,” and many more.

Conductors Earl Rivers, Brett Scott, Robyn Lana, Matthew Coffey, Molly Getsinger, Amy Thompson, Laurie Wyant, Hope Milthaler and Tracy Carpenter lead the choirs on stage and invite audience members to join in for “carol sings” throughout the performance.

The featured guest choir at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 8, is the Oak Hills High School Varsity Singers, conducted by Amy Thompson. The Milford High School Choir, led by Tracy Carpenter, is the featured guest choir at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 8.

The 2 p.m. concert on Sunday, Dec. 9, features the School for the Creative and Performing Arts Chorale, led by Laurie Wyant. Kings High School Chamber Choir, led by Hope Milthaler, is featured in the 5 p.m. concert on Sunday, Dec. 9.

Performance Times
2 and 5 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 8
2 and 5 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 9

Please note: UC’s Fifth Third Arena is hosting the Crosstown Shootout basketball game at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 8. Traffic on and around campus may be heavier than usual. Arrive early to secure your parking.

Location
Corbett Auditorium, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

Purchasing Tickets
Tickets range from $15-20 for adults, $10-$15 for non-UC students and free for UC students with a valid student ID.

Tickets are available for purchase through the CCM Box Office in person, over the phone at 513-556-4183 or online at https://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?orgid=47789&schedule=list.

Parking and Directions
Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. Please visit uc.edu/parking for information on parking rates.

For detailed maps and directions, please visit uc.edu/visitors. Additional parking is available off-campus at the U Square complex on Calhoun Street and other neighboring lots.

For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.
____________________

Choral Studies Sponsors: Jan Rogers and Willard and Jean Mulford Charitable Fund of the Cambridge Charitable Foundation

CCM’s Music for Food Concert Benefits Cincinnati’s Freestore Foodbank on Dec. 3

Join CCM student musicians in the fight against hunger in this benefit concert for Cincinnati’s Freestore Foodbank.

CCM’s annual Music For Food benefit concert features an evening of vocal chamber music at 8:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 3, 2018 at CCM’s Dieterle Vocal Arts Center. With performances by a variety of student ensembles, the program includes Schubert’s Shepherd on the Rock and John Harbison’s Book of Hours and Seasons.

Part of a national musician-led initiative to support local hunger relief, all proceeds from the concert will benefit Cincinnati’s Freestore Foodbank. In lieu of paid admission, audience members are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items or a cash donation in exchange for a feast of chamber music.

Now in its fifth year, the concert is coordinated by the Ariel Quartet and CCM faculty member Gwen Coleman Detwiler.

About Music For Food
Music for Food is a national 501(c)(3) non-profit organization focused on hunger relief. It’s concert series that strives to raise resources and awareness in the fight against hunger. The organization is in its seventh season and has local chapters in ten U.S. cities. Over 335,000 meals have been provided as a direct result of Music for Food concerts. Learn more by visiting www.musicforfood.net.

About Cincinnati’s Freestore Foodbank
Recognized as non-profit of the year at the 2016 Cincinnati USA Business Awards, the Freestore Foodbank serves 23 million meals each year across 20 counties in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. As one of Ohio’s largest foodbanks, the non-profit organization distributes meals through a network of 350 community partner agencies, which includes food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, community centers, senior centers and daycare facilities. Ninety-four percent of donations to the foodbank go directly to programs and services. The Freestore Foodbank is a Better Business Bureau Accredited Charity and a member of Feeding America and United Way. Learn more by visiting www.freestorefoodbank.org.

Performance Time
8:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 3

Location
Dieterle Vocal Arts Center, Room 300
CCM Village, University of Cincinnati

Admission
Non-perishable food items or cash donation. Suggested donation is $20 general, $15 students.

Parking and Directions
Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. Please visit uc.edu/parking for information on parking rates.

For detailed maps and directions, please visit uc.edu/visitors. Additional parking is available off-campus at the U Square complex on Calhoun Street and other neighboring lots.

For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.
____

Story by CCM graduate student Alexandra Doyle

Bravos Without Barriers: Inside the CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship

CSO/CCM Diversity Fellow Anita Graef performing with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

Anita Graef really wanted a cello for her birthday when she turned two years old. She remembers being frustrated when her parents made her wait until she was four. Now the 24-year-old graduate student plays cello with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

Graef is in her second year of the CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship, which connects students with paid professional performance experiences with the CSO while they receive full tuition scholarships to pursue graduate degrees at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). The program is currently accepting applications for Fall 2019.

Funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship aims to change the face of American orchestras by making them more inclusive. It provides new opportunities for exceptional violin, viola, cello and double bass players from populations that are historically underrepresented in classical music. The program utilizes a broad definition of diversity that encompasses race and culture while also including first-generation college students and individuals who took non-traditional pathways to higher education.

The program’s tagline — “Bravos Without Barriers” — gets to the heart of its mission: eliminating obstacles that can prevent extraordinary musicians from achieving their full potential.

“All of these people running the program have invested in me, believe in me and support me,” Graef says about her time in the CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship. “It’s incredibly moving that all of these people want to see me succeed and are in my corner.”

Anita Graef plays her cello at age four.

Obviously, Graef eventually received the cello she so coveted. She began studying cello when she was four years old and made her concerto debut at age 12. Her parents are both professional musicians — her father, Richard Graef, is the assistant principal flutist in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and her mother, Emily Seaberry Graef, is the founder and flutist of Chicago’s Juliani Ensemble. They encouraged her to pursue any career she desired and did not want to pressure her to follow in their musical footsteps — but she did anyway.

Graef was home schooled until junior high school, which gave her a flexible schedule to practice cello, explore Chicago and get involved in a number of other activities. She was a competitive horseback rider until college, played volleyball for six years, trained in ballet for seven years and studied piano for 10 years. She was also involved in sports, art classes, photography and worked on her high school year book.

“There were a lot of other things that I really enjoyed doing, but I never seriously considered anything else,” Graef says. “I feel like most of my formative years were me planning for the future and banking on becoming a professional musician.”

She was able to sample what life was like for professional musicians through her parents. When her father went on tours with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Graef, her mother and siblings went with him. Together, they visited Europe and China.

Graef earned her bachelor’s degree in cello from the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre and Dance. When she arrived at CCM to audition for the college’s graduate cello program, a few professors encouraged her to attend an introductory meeting about the CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship.

“I was blown away,” she remembers. “It sounded like an incredible opportunity at a great place while getting a degree, which was really important to me.”

“I think it’s definitely accomplishing its goal in helping prepare you for the future through academic training and professional experience,” Graef adds about her experience in the program so far. “Getting a master’s degree debt-free is amazing.”

The CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship accepts up to five fellows each year, and is currently accepting applications for the 2019-21 class. Fellows perform the equivalent of five weeks per season with the CSO while enrolled in a two-year Master of Music or Artist Diploma degree program at CCM. Each Fellow receives full tuition scholarship support from CCM, in addition to a $10,000 per year graduate stipend and a one-time Graduate School Deans Excellence Award of $3,000. Each Fellow also receives compensation of $8,000 per season while performing with the CSO.

As a master’s student, Graef balances her time between course work and performance work. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays tend to be busier days where she is usually at school from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in a mix of classes and ensemble meetings. Her fall semester at CCM includes courses in music theory, music history, a chamber music seminar with the Ariel Quartet and more. After class, she practices cello or works on school projects.

Shannon Lock, violin, Hyeji Park Miranda, piano, and Anita Graef, cello, after their trio recital.

She is the principal cellist in the CCM Philharmonia and she performs in a trio with CCM students Shannon Lock, violin, and Hyeji Park Miranda, piano. Graef’s favorite concert at CCM was when she performed works by Haydn and Shostakovich with the trio.

“I’m always busy, but busy in the way I want to be — working as a musician,” Graef says. “I’m really grateful to be here and am really inspired on a daily basis.”

When she isn’t in class or at the CSO, Graef enjoys exploring Cincinnati and spending time with friends. She has visited many of Cincinnati’s museums and parks — she loves Eden Park — and is always looking for restaurant recommendations. Graef is also passionate about weight lifting, which helps her posture as a musician, and loves cooking and reading.

She stays on top of everything by looking ahead, staying goal-oriented and communicating with her professors, she says. Graef takes private cello lessons with CCM professor Ilya Finkelshteyn, principal cellist of the CSO, who also mentors her at the orchestra.

“One of the most beneficial parts for me has been the one-on-one lessons I get with my teacher,” Graef says.

“Playing with the CSO is really eye opening. It will push you to be even better than you were before and more alert. It teaches you the ins and outs of what it takes to be in a professional orchestra and the kind of skills you need for that kind of work.”

She most recently performed in the CSO’s “One City: Beethoven 9” concert at Cincinnati’s Music Hall. Last year, during her first year as a Diversity Fellow, Graef performed Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 with the CSO. Graef is looking forward to performing Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 at the CSO’s 2018-19 season finale in May.

The CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship program is currently accepting applications for its 2019-21 class of fellows. Now in her final year of the program, Graef has some words of wisdom for future fellows:

“It’s a very rigorous program but it’s incredibly rewarding. You learn a lot about music, about yourself, about the process of working and obtaining a permanent job in a symphony orchestra and you’ll meet incredible people along the way and make lifelong relationships.”

Join the CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship
CCM and the CSO are now accepting applications for the 2019-21 class of Fellows. The application deadline is Dec. 1, 2018. For application and audition requirements, visit us at ccm.uc.edu/chance2perform.

Apply online now at ccm.uc.edu/admissions/application/gradapplication.

Questions? Email us at ccmadmis@uc.edu.

CCM Jazz and Musical Theatre Present Duke Ellington’s ‘Nutcracker Suite’ this Sunday

Ellington’s remarkable adaptation of “The Nutcracker Suite” is brought to life with stunning choreography from CCM Musical Theatre. Tickets on sale now.

The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music presents a special seasonal treat at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 2, 2018, as the departments of Jazz Studies and Musical Theatre unite to present Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite in Corbett Auditorium.

One of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century, Duke Ellington recorded The Nutcracker Suite for the Columbia record label in 1960. The album featured jazz interpretations of well-known melodies by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, arranged by Ellington and Billy Strayhorn.

Under the musical direction of Scott Belck, dancers from CCM’s Musical Theatre program will join the Jazz Orchestra to transform The Nutcracker Suite’s romantic orchestrations into jumping jazz melodies, including “Toot Toot Tootie Toot (Dance of the Reed-Pipes),” “Peanut Brittle Brigade” and “Sugar Rum Cherry (Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy).” Featuring choreography by Diane Lala, a classical ballet becomes cool-cat jazz, infused with Vegas glitz, Hollywood glamour and a little New York razzmatazz.

Performance Time
4 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 2

Location
Corbett Auditorium, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

Purchasing Tickets
Tickets to Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite are $20 general, $15 non-UC students and free for UC students with a valid student ID.

Tickets are available for purchase through the CCM Box Office in person, over the phone at 513-556-4183 or online at https://bit.ly/2Dx702U.

Parking and Directions
Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. Please visit uc.edu/parking for information on parking rates.

For detailed maps and directions, please visit uc.edu/visitors. Additional parking is available off-campus at the U Square complex on Calhoun Street and other neighboring lots.

For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.

CCM Mainstage Dance Presents Arpino’s ‘Birthday Variations’

CCM Dance celebrates the art of motion with a mixed-repertoire dance concert on Dec. 6-9, 2018. Tickets on sale now.

CCM presents a mixed-repertoire dance production culminating with Birthday Variations, choreographed by Gerald Arpino, co-founder of the Joffrey Ballet, and restaged by Nicole Duffy Robertson of the New York Dance Project. Directed by CCM Dance Professor Deirdre Carberry, the performance runs Dec. 6-9, 2018 in Patricia Corbett Theater.

Arpino’s Birthday Variations features music by Giuseppe Verdi and was restaged for CCM by Duffy, a répétiteur for the Gerald Arpino Foundation. This ballet premiered in 1986, just two years before Arpino took over the Joffrey Ballet as artistic director upon Robert Joffrey’s death. Anna Kisselgoff of the New York Times describes the work as “a sparkling showpiece of classical dancing” that is “set to some of Verdi’s infectious opera-ballet music.”

The mixed-repertoire performance also showcases “Kitri’s Wedding” from Act III of Ludwig Minkus’ Don Quixote, which premiered at Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre in 1869, with choreography by Marius Petipa and restaged by Carberry.

“This work is one of the most famous, enduring and exciting ballet adaptations in the classical repertoire,” says Jiang Qi, chair of CCM’s Dance Department, in his program notes for the production.

Three short pieces originally choreographed by CCM Dance will also take place during this program. The first is Bridges, a work by CCM Dance Professor Michael Tevlin, with music by Benjamin Britten. This piece describes seven types of bridge, from truss to arch to suspension, through dance.

After Bridges is senior CCM Dance student Hope Friedman’s Volume IV, which features original choreography to contemporary music like Marian Hill’s Down and Wax Tailor’s Que Sera. It is an “exploration of what it means to be ‘normal’ and our connections with those around us,” Qi says.

Then CCM Dance presents Apertures and Vistas, choreographed by Judith Mikita, visiting assistant professor of dance. Mikita has worked with CCM Percussion Professor and Percussion Group Cincinnati member James Culley to develop a landscape of inventive movement with improvised accompaniment by four CCM percussion students.

This scintillating production is on stage Dec. 6-9, 2018 in Patricia Corbett Theater. Tickets are on sale now through the CCM Box Office; student discounts are available. Birthday Variations will last one hour and 45 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission.
____________________

Performance Times

• 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 6
• 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7
• 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8
• 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 9

Location
Patricia Corbett Theater, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

Purchasing Tickets
Ticket prices start at $28. Discounts are available for UC and non-UC students. Service charges may apply for online orders.

Single tickets are on sale now! Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online through our e-Box Office!

Visit ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice for CCM Box Office hours and location.

Parking and Directions
Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the campus of the University of Cincinnati. Please visit uc.edu/parking for more information on parking rates.

For detailed maps and directions, please visit uc.edu/visitors. Additional parking is available off-campus at the U Square complex on Calhoun Street and other neighboring lots.

For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.
____________________

Mainstage Season Production Sponsor: Macy’s

Dance Department Supporter: The Corbett Endowment at CCM

The performance of Birthday Variations, an Arpino ballet, is presented with the permission of the Gerald Arpino Foundation and has been produced in accordance with the Foundation service standards established and provided by the Foundation.
____________________

Story by CCM Graduate Student Alexandra Doyle

CCM 48-Hour Film Festival Celebrates Student Creators

On Friday, Oct. 26, 2018, CCM kicked off its 5th annual university-wide 48-Hour Film Festival, produced by Richard Hess, Chair of the CCM Acting Department. This year’s festival attracted 90 participating students from across multiple UC colleges who came together in one weekend to create six short films.

Participants included students from the CCM Acting Department, as well as students from CCM’s Electronic Media, Musical Theatre, Commercial Music Production and Theatre Design and Production programs. The festival also welcomed student participants from other UC majors including: Communication, English Literature, Fine Arts, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Industrial Design, Computer Science and more.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

“The festival challenges students to quickly solve problems and the fast turnaround of the project helped eliminate the second-guessing often involved in creative work,” says Hess. “The 48-Hour Film Festival is a perfect chance to say, ‘Yes, yes, yes! With your creativity, a space, a camera and some people interested in storytelling, you can make a beautiful short film together in a short period of time and that’s amazing!”

Students created six films for this year’s festival: The Medium’s Assistant, Woodrow, True Accurate Honest Portrayals of Stories that Actually Happened to People, The Sparkling, Ononta Avenue, and Ghost Getters. The films were screened in a packed house on Sunday, Oct. 28 in the Main Street Cinema at UC’s Tangeman University Center.

Each year the festival offers awards to the students involved in the audience’s favorite films. This year’s Audience Awards go to:

• Outstanding Film – Woodrow, produced by Audrey Schlembach
• Outstanding Direction – Briley Oakley (The Medium’s Assistant)
• Outstanding Cinematography – Lindsey Ballou (Ononta Avenue)
• Outstanding Editing – Eli Lucas (Ononta Avenue)
• Outstanding Writing – Abby Palen, Jabari Carter, Ellie Fangman (Woodrow)
• Outstanding Writing – Donovan Williams, Kayla Temshiv, Lucas Prizant (Ghost Getters)
• Outstanding Composition – Duncan Weinland  (Ghost Getters)
• Outstanding Production Design – Gabriella DiVincenzo (The Medium’s Assistant)
• Outstanding Performance by an Actor – Jabari Carter (Woodrow)
• Outstanding Performance by an Actress – Paige Jordan (The Medium’s Assistant)
• Outstanding Performance by a Featured Actor – Jack Steiner (Ghost Getters)
• Outstanding Performance by a Featured Actress – Kristina Steinmetz (Woodrow)
  

CCM Slideshows: Britten’s Haunting ‘The Turn of the Screw’

Benjamin Britten’s operatic thriller The Turn of the Screw opens at 8 p.m. tonight, Nov. 15, and continues though Sunday, Nov. 18, 2018 in CCM’s Patricia Corbett Theater. Get a sneak peek of the production in the slideshow below.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Based on Henry James’ classic ghost-story novella with Myfanwy Piper’s libretto, The Turn of the Screw tells the story of a young governess hired to care for two orphaned children at an isolated English country house. Shortly after her arrival, she is haunted by the malicious ghosts of a former valet and his lover, who she fears are stalking her innocent charges. Determined to save the children, the governess battles the supernatural while struggling with the apparent complicity of the children. For mature audiences.

Hailed by Stephen King as the ‘quintessential ghost story,’ ‘The Turn of the Screw’ takes a different approach from opera’s usual plot of romance, fairytale or spectacle. Instead, the show frightens audiences with an eerie tale of ghosts and uncertainty. In the words of director Vince DeGeorge, ‘You don’t need to know opera to see this.’ (The News Record)

Tickets are available through the CCM Box Office.

____________________

Creative Team:

• Aik Khai Pung, conductor
• Vincent DeGeorge, director
• Jenny Doctor, dramaturg
• Mark Halpin, scenic designer
• Brandon Thompson*, costume designer
• Mikaela “Mickey” Acton*, production stage manager
• Marnee Porter*, wig designer
• Marie-France Lefebvre, musical preparation
• D’Arcry Smith, dialect coach

* CCM Student

Cast:

• Tyler Johnson as Prologue/Peter Quint cover
• Amber R. Monroe^, Hannah Consenz* as The Governess
• Mischa Sella^, Nicholas Asafiev-Holmes* as Miles
• Allison Anderson^, Amanda Olea* as Flora
• Chelsea Duval-Major^, Karis Tucker* as Mrs. Grose, the housekeeper
  Salvatore Atti as Peter Quint, a former man-servant
  Shannon Cochran^, Yuji Bae* as Miss Jessel, a former governess
• Madeline Jentsch as Miles cover
• Anyea Farrar, Georgia Jacobson as Supernumeraries

Mischa Sella and Nicholas Asafiev-Holmes appear courtesy of the Cincinnati Boychoir.

^Thursday, Nov. 15 and Saturday, Nov. 17
*Friday, Nov. 16 and Sunday, Nov. 18

Performance Times:

• 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15
• 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 16
• 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 17
• 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 18

Location:
Patricia Corbett Theater, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

Purchasing Tickets:
Ticket prices start at $32. Discounts are available for UC and non-UC students. Service charges may apply for online orders.

Student rush tickets will be available one hour before each performance to non-UC students, based on availability. UC students can receive one free student rush ticket with a valid Bearcat ID, based on availability.

Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online through CCM’s e-Box Office.

Parking and Directions:
Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the campus of the University of Cincinnati. Please visit uc.edu/parking for more information on parking rates.

For detailed maps and directions, please visit uc.edu/visitors. Additional parking is available off-campus at the U Square complex on Calhoun Street and other neighboring lots.

For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.
____________________

Mainstage Season Production Sponsor: Macy’s

Opera Department Sponsor: Mr. & Mrs. Edward S. Rosenthal

Opera Production Sponsor: Genevieve Smith
____________________

THE TURN OF THE SCREW is presented by arrangement with Boosey & Hawkes, Inc. publisher and copyright owner.

Photos by Mark Lyons.