New York Times: WVXU and CCM Revive Rare Rod Serling Baseball Comedy

Rod Serling’s comedy about confusion between Russians and the Cincinnati Reds airs at 8 p.m. on March 25 on WVXU 91.7.

CCM and Cincinnati Public Radio station 91.7 WVXU have co-produced a long-lost baseball comedy by The Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling. Recently featured by the New York Times, the radio play titled O’Toole From Moscow airs on 91.7 WVXU at 8 p.m. this Wednesday, March 25, 2020

The New York Times describes the comedy as “a screwball romp, with a side of whimsy.” Read the full article.

O’Toole From Moscow is about confusion between Russians and the Cincinnati Reds at the height of the “Red Scare” over possible Communist infiltration of American institutions during the Cold War. Serling originally wrote the one-hour television play for NBC Matinee Theatre and it was only broadcast once on Dec. 12, 1955. The performance was not filmed or recorded.

O’Toole From Moscow was adapted for radio and produced by WVXU’s John Kiesewetter, who tracked down the original script with the help of Serling historians. He also met with Serling’s daughter, Anne, who is the program host and narrator on the radio play. CCM Acting students recorded the comedy, which was directed by CCM Professor Richard Hess, at Cincinnati Public Radio’s studio. Sammi Grant, a visiting master’s student from London’s Central School of Speech and Drama, tutored the cast so they would sound authentically Russian.

Hess hand-picked his lineup of eight student cast members for the radio play: Chandler Bates, Austin James Cleri, Matt Fox, Dustin Parsons, Jack Steiner, Frankie Chuter, Cameron Nalley and Lucas Prizant. The team also recruited Cincinnati Reds organist John Schutte, who provided the ballpark organ music for the broadcast. Read more about the making of this radio play on WVXU.

The “O’Toole From Moscow” team, from left: WVXU engineer Josh Elstro, Frankie Chuter, Matt Fox, Chandler Bates, director Richard Hess, Cameron Nalley, Jack Steiner, Austin James Cleri, Dustin Parsons, Sammi Grant and Lucas Prizant. Photo/John Kiesewetter

Long-time baseball fans will enjoy Serling’s script and hear references to some of baseball’s biggest stars of the 1950s including: Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berri, Stan Musial and Ted Kluszewski.

In O’Toole From Moscow a Russian consulate staffer named Mushnick is being sent back from New York to Moscow for re-education because of his high absences due to attending Brooklyn Dodgers games at Ebbets Field. So Mushnick and a muscular Russian security officer named Joseph Bishofsky hop a train and go as far west as their money will take them — to Cincinnati. Bishofsky panics in Cincinnati and goes to the Reds office to turn himself in, mistaking the baseball team for his Russian comrades. Mushnick bursts in to explain that Joseph – whom he calls “Joseph O’Toole” – is an outfielder wanting a tryout. The Reds give O’Toole a shot, and he ends up being a better slugger than Kluszewski – until the Russians find him.

Tune in to hear the O’Toole From Moscow broadcast on 91.7 WVXU at 8 p.m. this Wednesday, March 25. A live stream of the broadcast will also be available on the WVXU website.
CCM News CCMONSTAGE Faculty Fanfare Student Salutes
Leonard Bernstein

CCM Celebrates Bernstein Centennial with Yearlong Festival

During its 150th anniversary season, CCM commemorates the 100th birthday of cultural icon Leonard Bernstein with an unprecedented series of events.

Celebration is in the air at CCM as the 150-year-old performing and media arts institution prepares to commemorate the 100th birthday of an American icon. In 2018, CCM will stage a year-long festival memorializing the legacy of composer, conductor, educator and activist/humanitarian Leonard Bernstein. Beginning on January 26, 2018, this wide-ranging festival will span two concert seasons and include over a dozen major performances, making it one of the world’s most comprehensive Bernstein Centennial Celebrations!

Leonard Bernstein at 100 logo.CCM’s Bernstein Festival features the talents of students and faculty members from throughout the college, united in a celebration of the life and career of one monumental artist. Bernstein, who would have turned 100 years old on Aug. 25, 2018, was a towering figure of 20th-century music and culture. He achieved international acclaim as the composer of West Side Story, Candide, On the Town and other stage and orchestral works. The celebrated conductor of the New York Philharmonic and other leading orchestras, Bernstein was equally esteemed as an educator whose televised Young People’s Concerts with the New York Philharmonic created generations of music lovers.

CCM’s festival showcases many of Bernstein’s signature works, including the iconic “Symphonic Dances” from West Side Story, the monumental Age of Anxiety symphony for piano and orchestra, Songfest, the Symphonic Suite from Academy Award-winning film On the Waterfront, poignantly satirical one-act opera Trouble in Tahiti and much more.

In addition to Bernstein’s compositions, CCM’s festival also showcases music by Aaron Copland, Roy Harris, David Diamond and other composers who were championed by Bernstein through his work as a conductor and musical ambassador. According to Interim Dean bruce mcclung, “These works by Bernstein’s colleagues and the younger American composers who he promoted will help provide a cultural and musical context for CCM’s festival.”

For CCM Director of Orchestral Studies Mark Gibson, programming this festival has been fulfilling both artistically and personally. “Lenny is the reason I am on the podium today and have been in the halls of CCM every year for the past 20 years,” says Gibson, who studied with Bernstein at the Tanglewood Music Center as the Bernstein Conducting Fellow in 1986.

A college-wide celebration of Bernstein’s artistic output and ongoing influence seemed like a natural fit for CCM’s ongoing Sesquicentennial Celebration, too. “During this same year that CCM celebrates the 150th anniversary of its founding, Lenny would have celebrated his 100th birthday. Let’s do it for him, let’s throw him a party all year long.”

The festivities begin on Friday, Jan. 26, 2018, as Gibson leads the CCM Philharmonia in a concert featuring Bernstein’s “Symphonic Dances” from West Side Story along with Lenny’s “anthem,” the beloved Overture to Candide. The concert also features CCM Eminent Scholar of Chamber Music and Piano James Tocco in Bernstein’s highly dramatic second symphony, The Age of Anxiety. Like Gibson, Tocco was mentored by Bernstein earlier in his career, working closely with him on the world-premiere recording of Bernstein’s complete works for solo piano in 1983. Tocco has performed The Age of Anxiety with orchestras around the world and recorded it with Leonard Slatkin and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

CCM’s Bernstein Festival continues through March with performances by the Opera d’Arte undergraduate opera series, Wind Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Concert Orchestra, Chorale and much more. The festival then resumes in September with another series of events leading up to the CCM Jazz Orchestra’s performance of Stan Kenton’s West Side Story on Sunday, Nov. 4, 2018.

Tune In! Enjoy a preview of the festival courtesy of WVXU’s Around Cincinnati by visiting wvxu.org/post/celebrating-together-150-years-ccm-100th-birthday-bernstein.

Some of CCM’s Bernstein Festival performances are free and open to the general public, while others require paid admission. Audiences can also purchase the “Bernstein Experience” package, which provides access to every ticketed festival event and comes with additional perks. View complete schedule and ticketing information for CCM’s Bernstein Festival below.
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CCMS BERNSTEIN FESTIVAL

SPRING 2018

8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 26
BERNSTEIN FESTIVAL OPENING CONCERT
CCM Philharmonia
Featuring Eminent Scholar of Chamber Music James Tocco, piano
Mark Gibson, music director and conductor
BERNSTEIN: Overture to Candide (1956)
BERNSTEIN: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
BERNSTEIN: Symphony No. 2 (The Age of Anxiety) (1949/65)
Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $15 general, $10 non-UC students, UC students FREE
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8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2
8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3
2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 4
TROUBLE IN TAHITI
Music and libretto by Leonard Bernstein
THE TELEPHONE
Music and words by Gian Carlo Menotti
TALE FOR A DEAF EAR
Music and lyrics by Marc Bucci
Brett Scott, conductor
Amy Johnson, stage director and co-producer
Kenneth Shaw, co-producer
Gabriela Sam, assistant stage director
The CCM Opera d’arte Series of undergraduate productions proudly presents a triple bill of one-act American operas! Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti candidly portrays the troubled marriage of a young suburban couple. Written between Bernstein’s biggest Broadway successes, Trouble in Tahiti draws upon popular song styles to deliver an uncompromising critique of Mid-century American marriage. The triple bill also includes Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Telephone and Mark Bucci’s rarely produced, but haunting, Tale for a Deaf Ear. Taken together, Opera d’arte’s triple bill offers three contrasting views into the extremes of human relationships.
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are required. Tickets become available to Bernstein Festival subscribers at noon on Monday, Jan. 22. They are available to the general public beginning at noon on Monday, Jan. 29. Please visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

Opera d’arte Sponsor: Rafael & Kimberly Daniel de Acha Foundation
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4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 11
CELEBRATING CCM’S SESQUICENTENNIAL WITH DALE WARLAND
CCM Chamber Choir and Chorale, Cincinnati Children’
s Choir Bel Canto, and UC Men’s and Women’s Choruses
Earl Rivers, Robyn Lana, Kevin Coker, Molly Getsinger and Graeme Langager, conductors
CCM’s Sesquicentennial Celebration includes a choral concert featuring guest conductor/composer-in-residence Dale Warland (HonDoc, 2008), inductee in the American Classical Music Hall of Fame and founder of the Grammy Award-nominated Dale Warland Singers. The CCM Chamber Choir presents the world premiere of I Hear America Singing commissioned by the CCM Choral Department and composed by Warland in honor of the 150th anniversary of CCM’s founding. CCM Chamber Choir also presents Leonard Bernstein’s Missa Brevis, and guest conductor and alumnus Graeme Langager leads the CCM Chorale in Brahms’ Neue Liebeslieder (New Love Songs).
Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $15 general, $10 non-UC students, UC students FREE
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8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16
FUN AND GAMES
CCM Philharmonia
Featuring the winners of the CCM String Quartet Competition
Mark Gibson, music director
Annunziata Tomaro, guest conductor
CCM’s Sesquicentennial Celebration welcomes back CCM alumna and former faculty member Annunziata Tomaro (DMA Orchestral Conducting, 2014) for a can’t-miss concert featuring the CCM Philharmonia with the internationally acclaimed Ariel Quartet!
BERNSTEIN: Overture to Slava!
ADAMS: Absolute Jest
STRAVINSKY: Petrouchka (1911 version)
Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $15 general, $10 non-UC students, UC students FREE
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7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25
LENNY AND FRIENDS ON BROADWAY
CCM Philharmonia
Mark Gibson, music director and conductor
Join us for a celebration of Bernstein’s Broadway legacy, including works by Bernstein, Loesser, Weill, Sondheim and Styne.
Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $20 general, $15 non-UC students, UC students FREE
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8 p.m. Friday, March 2
BERNSTEIN, KHACHATURIAN, R. STRAUSS: DANCES
CCM Wind Orchestra
Terence Milligan, music director and conductor
Leonard Bernstein was an American treasure and a larger-than-life force in music. We celebrate his 100 years with “Symphonic Dances” from West Side Story and “Three Dance Episodes” from On the Town, along with Spartacus by Aram Khachaturian and Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss.
Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $15 general, $10 non-UC students, UC students FREE
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8 p.m. Tuesday, March 6
REMEMBERING LENNY: NEW WORKS AND OLD FRIENDS
Café MoMus
Aik Khai Pung, music director and conductor
LUKAS FOSS: Time Cycle
DAVID CLAY METTENS: In This World (World Premiere)
HSIN-LEI CHEN: Vortex•Hymn (World Premiere)
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: FREE
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8 p.m. Thursday, March 8
BERNSTEIN’S CHICHESTER PSALMS AND SAXOPHONE CONCERTOS
CCM Concert Orchestra and Chorale
Featuring guest artists from the North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Convention

Aik Khai Pung and Brett Scott, music directors and conductors
Bernstein’s most popular choral/orchestra work, Chichester Psalms, premiered in 1965 with the composer conducting. The work features a boy soprano (or countertenor), and the texts that Bernstein selected from Psalms 23, 100, 108 and 131 of the Hebrew Bible. Saxophone repertoire to be announced.
Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $15 general, $10 non-UC students, UC students FREE
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8 p.m. Friday, March 30
BERNSTEIN’S SERENADE AFTER PLATO’S SYMPOSIUM AND STRAUSS’ ‘GROßMACHTIGE PRINZESSIN’ FROM ARIADNE AUF NAXOS
CCM Concert Orchestra

Aik Khai Pung, music director and conductor
STRAUSS: “Großmachtige Prinzessin” from Ariadne auf Naxos
            Featuring the winner of the CCM Voice Competition
BERNSTEIN: Serenade after Plato’s Symposium
            Featuring the winner of the CCM Violin Concerto Competition
BRAHMS: Serenade No. 2 in A Major, Op. 16
Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $15 general, $10 non-UC students, UC students FREE
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FALL 2018

 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14
LENNY AND FRIENDS
CCM Philharmonia and Concert Orchestra
Mark Gibson and Aik Khai Pung, music directors and conductors
Concert Orchestra
CHAVEZ: Symphony No. 2 (Sinfonia India)
THOMPSON: Symphony No. 2 (1931) excerpt
DIAMOND: Music to Romeo and Juliet (1947)
Philharmonia
COPLAND: El Salón México
HARRIS: Symphony No. 3
BERNSTEIN: Symphonic Suite from On the Waterfront
Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $15 general, $10 non-UC students, UC students FREE
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 8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 31
BERNSTEIN AND FRIENDS
CCM Wind Orchestra and Wind Ensemble
Terrence Milligan and Kevin Michael Holzman, music directors and conductors

COPLAND: Fanfare for the Common Man
BERNSTEIN: Symphonic Suite from On the Waterfront
THOMSON: A Solemn Music
COPLAND: Incidental Music from Our Town
BERNSTEIN: Slava!
Additional works to be announced
Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $15 general, $10 non-UC students, UC students FREE
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8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 1
PIANOPALOOZA CELEBRATES LENNY
Location: Corbett Auditorium
Admission: FREE
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8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 2
SONGFEST AND FANCY FREE
CCM Philharmonia
Featuring CCM Voice faculty members and student soloists
Mark Gibson, music director and conductor
Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $15 general, $10 non-UC students, UC students FREE
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 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 4
STAN KENTON’S WEST SIDE STORY
CCM Jazz Orchestra
Scott Belck, music director and conductor
Hear CCM jazz students perform music from Kenton’s West Side Story album, which won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance by a Large Group (Instrumental) in 1962.
Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $20 general, $15 non-UC students, UC students FREE
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Purchasing Tickets
Single tickets to all Spring 2018 Bernstein Festival events are now available for purchase through the CCM Box Office in person, over the phone at 513-556-4183 or online at ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice/bernstein-festival. Ticket prices vary; see individual event listings for additional information. Tickets for CCM’s Fall 2018 Bernstein Festival events will go on sale in August.

Experience the complete Bernstein Festival! CCM subscribers can purchase CCM’s “Bernstein Experience” package for $160, giving them access to every ticketed concert in CCM’s Bernstein Festival at a savings of over 20% off single ticket prices. Bernstein Experience package holders get first access to CCM’s Fall 2018 festival events. Package holders also receive exclusive perks for CCM’s non-ticketed Bernstein Festival events, including early access to tickets for Trouble in Tahiti!

To purchase a Bernstein Experience package, contact the CCM Box Office at 513-556-4183. Already have tickets to some of these events? Call the Box Office to upgrade to the Bernstein Experience package. The Bernstein Experience is available for purchase through January 26, 2018.

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.
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CCM Season Presenting Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation
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Photo of Leonard Bernstein by Al Ravenna, 1955, courtesy of the Library of Congress.
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All event dates and programs are subject to change. For an updated calendar of events, please visit us online at ccm.uc.edu.
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CCM News Faculty Fanfare Student Salutes
CCM's production of Green Day's 'American Idiot.' Photo by Mark Lyons.

CCM Slideshows: Green Day’s American Idiot

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CCM’s Mainstage Series continues tonight through next Sunday, March 13, with a raucous production of Green Day’s hit rock opera, American Idiot.

Directed by Aubrey Berg with musical direction by Steve Goers, American Idiot portrays a disaffected generation’s search for meaning in a post-9/11 America.

  • Read Kirk Sheppard’s review of the show for The Sappy Critic here.
  • Read Rick Pender’s preview of the show for Cincinnati CityBeat here.
  • Listen to a preview of the production courtesy of WVXU here.
  • Check out our behind-the-scenes look at the set design for American Idiot here.

American Idiot contains mature subject matter, including references to drug use, sexual content and profanity. Tickets are still available for select performances. Learn more about the production here.

Performance Times

  • 8 p.m. Friday, March 4
  • 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, March 5
  • 2 p.m. Sunday, March 6
  • 8 p.m. Thursday, March 10
  • 8 p.m. Friday, March 11
  • 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, March 12
  • 2 p.m. Sunday, March 13

Location
Patricia Corbett Theater, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

Purchasing Tickets
Tickets to American Idiot are $31-35 for adults, $20-24 for non-UC students and $18-22 for UC students with a valid ID.

Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online at ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice/mainstage/american-idiot.

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 more information on parking rates.

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

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

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CCM Season Presenting Sponsor and Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Mainstage Season Production Sponsor: Macy’s

Community Partner: ArtsWave

American Idiot is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. 421 West 54th Street, New York, NY 10019 | Phone: 212-541-4684 | Fax: 212-397-4684 | http://www.MTIShows.com

CCM News CCM Slideshows
CCM Assistant Professor Amy Johnson in Arizona Opera’s production of 'Salome.' Photography by Tim Fuller.

Preview Tonight’s Concert Production of Richard Strauss’ ‘Salome’

Pick up this week’s issue of CityBeat for an in-depth look at CCM’s concert production of Richard Strauss’ Salome, courtesy of Anne Arenstein. The concert begins at 8 p.m. tonight (Jan. 29). Tickets are on sale now.

“[Salome] packs enough obsession, erotic sensuality and dysfunction to fuel an entire reality-show season for E! — in 90 minutes,” Arenstein writes in her preview of the CCM Philharmonia performance. You can read her full preview here.

You can also listen to Arenstein interview CCM’s Director of Orchestral Studies Mark Gibson for WVXU’s Around Cincinnati here.

This production of Salome features the talents of two CCM Voice faculty artists: Amy Johnson in the title role and Kenneth Shaw as John the Baptist. Salome also features guest artists Allan Glassman as Herod and Elizabeth Bishop, who sings the role of Herodias, Herod’s wife. The production is semi-staged by faculty director Emma Griffin.

For even more #StraussinZinzinnati, mark your calendars for Feb. 5 and 6, as the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra performs Strauss’ lush and melodious Symphonia domestica. This richly rendered autobiographical reflection of Strauss’ family life closes out a program that also features legendary pianist Leon Fleisher.

Performance Time
8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29

Location
Corbett Auditorium, CCM Village,
University of Cincinnati

Purchasing Tickets
Tickets to Salome are $15, $10 for non-UC students and FREE for UC students with valid ID. Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online now through our e-Box Office! Visit ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice for CCM Box Office hours and location.

All event dates and programs are subject to change. Visit ccm.uc.edu or contact the CCM Box Office at 513-556-4183 for the most current event information.

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 more information on parking rates.

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

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

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CCM Season Presenting Sponsor and Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Community Partner: ArtsWave

Visiting Artists Sponsor: The Joseph and Frances Jones Poetker Fund of the Cambridge Charitable Foundation, Ritter & Randolph, LLC, Corporate Counsel

Orchestral Sponsor: Mr. & Mrs. Joseph W. Hirschhorn

CCM News
Mark Gibson and the CCM Philharmonia.

CCM’s Spring Orchestra Series Commences With Richard Strauss’ Epic ‘Salome’ on Jan. 29

CCM’s Department of Orchestral Studies presents classics and contemporary masterworks alike in concert this semester.

Under the direction of Director of Orchestral Studies Mark Gibson and Assistant Professor of Music Aik Khai Pung, CCM’s acclaimed orchestral ensembles will give six concerts between January 29 and April 10, several of which are free and all of which are open to the public. Tickets are on sale now for all performances requiring paid admission.

CCM Assistant Professor Amy Johnson in Arizona Opera’s production of 'Salome.' Photography by Tim Fuller.

CCM Assistant Professor Amy Johnson in Arizona Opera’s production of ‘Salome.’ Photography by Tim Fuller.

The series commences at 8 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 29, with a concert production of Richard Strauss’ 1905 masterpiece Salome. Capping off a year-long CCM festival, which celebrates music from the first decade of the 20th century, the Jan. 29 concert features Strauss’ one-act adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s controversial stage work and is a must see for opera, theatre and orchestral fans alike. Mark Gibson conducts.

The opera’s title, Salome, is drawn from the name traditionally given to the dancing woman from the New Testament gospels of Matthew and Mark who, after dancing for Herod Antipas, asks for, and receives, John the Baptist’s head on a platter.

Regarded as a story of dangerous female seductiveness, it was the unique blend of biblical narrative, murder and eroticism that attracted Oscar Wilde to write his controversial 19th century play about the mysterious figure.

Strauss’ operatic adaptation was just as controversial and was even banned in London and Vienna after its premiere in 1905. Today, the piece has become a well-established part of the operatic repertoire but still retains the same tantalizing excitement that was present at its premiere over 100 years ago.

A massive collaborative effort, this production of Salome features the talents of two CCM Voice faculty artists: Amy Johnson in the title role and Kenneth Shaw as John the Baptist. Salome also features guest artists Allan Glassman as Herod and Elizabeth Bishop, who sings the role of Herodias, Herod’s wife. Student soloists include Brandon Russell, Chelsea Melamed, T.J. Capobianco, John Humphrey, Blake Lampton, Pedro Arroyo, Christian Pursell, John Murton, Jacob Kinkaide, Alex Harper, Nicole Hodgins, Scarlett Rustemeyer. The production is semi-staged by faculty director Emma Griffin.

Listen to Mark Gibson discuss Salome on WVXU’s Around Cincinnati here.

The Philharmonia continues the collaborative spirit on Friday, March 11, with faculty-artists James Bunte and Douglas Knehans in American Voices XVIII, CCM’s yearly salute to modern American composers. This year features inspiring works by composers Julia Wolfe, Jennifer Higdon and the world premiere of a new symphony by Professor Knehans.

Under the direction of Aik Khai Pung, CCM’s Concert Orchestra will close out the concert series on April 10 with Charlie Parker with Strings, a collaboration between CCM’s Orchestral Studies and Jazz Studies programs featuring music from the classic orchestral jazz album of the same name.

Event Information
All events listed below take place on the campus of the University of Cincinnati unless otherwise indicated. Some events do require purchased tickets; please see individual event information for single ticket prices and ordering information.

Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online now through our e-Box Office! Visit ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice for CCM Box Office hours and location.

All event dates and programs are subject to change. Visit ccm.uc.edu or contact the CCM Box Office at 513-556-4183 for the most current event information.

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 more information on parking rates.

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

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

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2016 SPRING ORCHESTRA SERIES

8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29
THE GREAT DECADE IN OPERA: RICHARD STRAUSS’ SALOME (1905)
CCM Philharmonia
Featuring faculty artists Amy Johnson, Kenneth Shaw and Tom Baresel, guest artists Elizabeth Bishop and Allan Glassman, and student soloists
Mark Gibson, music director and conductor
Emma Griffin, stage director
The capstone of CCM’s festival celebrating “The Great Decade,” Richard Strauss’ 1905 masterpiece Salome represents the epitome of pre-World War I decadence, opulence and extravagance. An adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s controversial stage work of the same name, this staging is an hour and a half of irresistible drama and ecstatic hyper-romanticism. It is a must see for opera fans, theatre enthusiasts and lovers of massive orchestral sound.

Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $15 general, $10 non-UC students, UC students FREE.

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8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 2
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC
CCM Concert Orchestra
Aik Khai Pung, music director and conductor
Featuring a new work by CCM student composer Xian Wang, along with classic works from European composers!
WANG: New Work TBA
BARTÓK: Viola Concerto
HINDEMITH: Symphonic Metemorphosis on Themes of Weber
Location: Corbett Auditorium
Admission: FREE

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8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26
PROKOFIEV AND SHOSTAKOVICH
CCM Concert Orchestra
Aik Khai Pung, music director and conductor
PROKOFIEV: Lieutenant Kijé Suite, Op. 60
PROKOFIEV: Violin Concerto TBA
Featuring the winner of the CCM Violin Competition
SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 10
Location: Corbett Auditorium
Admission: FREE

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8 p.m. Friday, March 11
AMERICAN VOICES XVIII
CCM Philharmonia
Featuring faculty artist James Bunte, soprano saxophone
Also featuring recent music of faculty composer Douglas Knehans
Mark Gibson, music director and conductor
CCM presents the world premiere of a new symphony by faculty artist Douglas Knehans, along with the exhilarating soprano saxophone concerto of Jennifer Hidgon and “Cruel Sister” by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Julia Wolfe.
KNEHANS: Unfinished Earth
HIGDON: Soprano Sax Concerto
James Bunte, soloist
WOLFE: Cruel Sister
Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $15 general, $10 non-UC students, UC students FREE.

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8 p.m. Friday, March 18
Café MoMus
Aik Khai Pung, music director
Featuring the winners of the CCM Composition Competition.
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: FREE

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7 p.m. Sunday, April 10
CHARLIE PARKER WITH STRINGS
CCM Jazz Orchestra and Concert Orchestra
Aik Khai Pung and Craig Bailey, conductors
Our annual collaboration between Jazz and Orchestra! Join us for an exciting night of orchestral jazz featuring music from the classic album Charlie Parker with Strings.
Location: Patricia Corbett Theater
Tickets: $15 general, $10 non-UC students, UC students FREE.

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CCM Season Presenting Sponsor and Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Community Partner: ArtsWave

Visiting Artists Sponsor: The Joseph and Frances Jones Poetker Fund of the Cambridge Charitable Foundation, Ritter & Randolph, LLC, Corporate Counsel

Orchestral Sponsor: Mr. & Mrs. Joseph W. Hirschhorn

CCM News
Photography by Adam Zeek.

CCM Slideshows: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel

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CCM’s Mainstage Series resumes this evening through this Sunday, Nov. 1, with a beautiful new production of the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel. Directed and choreographed by Diane Lala with musical direction by Roger Grodsky and Danny WhiteCarousel runs Oct. 29 through Nov. 1 in CCM’s Corbett Auditorium. Tickets are still available for select performances.

Declared “Best Musical of the Century” by Time Magazine in 1999, it’s easy to understand why Carousel became Rodgers and Hammerstein’s personal favorite.

Listen to Diane Lala discuss this beloved musical with Rick Pender on WVXU’s Around Cincinnati here.

Performance Times

  • 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29
  • 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30
  • 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31
  • 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1

Location
Corbett Auditorium, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

Purchasing Tickets
Tickets to Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel are $31-35 for adults, $20-24 for non-UC students and $18-22 UC students with a valid ID.

Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online at ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice/mainstage/carousel.

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 more information on parking rates.

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

For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.
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CCM Season Presenting Sponsor and Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Mainstage Season Production Sponsor: Macy’s

Carousel Production Sponsor: The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation.

Community Partner: ArtsWave

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CCM Alumnus Darrell Miller Named to Savoy Magazine’s “Most Influential Black Lawyers” List

CCM alumnus Darrell D. Miller.

CCM alumnus Darrell D. Miller.

We are delighted to report that CCM alumnus Darrell D. Miller (BM Musical Theatre, 1985) has been named to Savoy Magazine’s prestigious 2015 “Most Influential Black Lawyers” list in recognition of his distinguished legal career, professionalism and outstanding commitment to community service!

The listing is comprised of the “best of the best” of Black lawyers who are partners within leading national law firms and also corporate counsel from Fortune 1000 corporations.

As diversity and inclusion for legal professionals continues to grow, Savoy’s listing of “top lawyers” emerges with an influential cross section of legal professionals representing a diverse range of expertise with national and global responsibilities.

A graduate of both Cincinnati’s School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA) and CCM, Miller received his Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1990, and he has gone on to become one of the world’s leading entertainment attorneys, working in film, television, theatre and digital media.

Today, Miller is the managing partner of Fox Rothschild LLP’s Los Angeles offices and the chair of the firm’s Entertainment Law Department. His client list includes Academy Award-nominated actress Angela Bassett, star of the hit CBS program NCIS (and fellow Cincinnati-native and SCPA alumnus) Roscoe “Rocky“ Carroll, music mogul and film actor Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, reality television star NeNe Leakes and more.

Last April, Dunham Publishing Group released Miller’s first book, The 16th Minute of Fame, which details the serious perils that come with blindly embracing and enjoying the fleeting fun of celebrity fame and fast money. Part professional memoir, part insider’s guide to the entertainment industry and part manual for strategic career planning, The 16th Minute of Fame ultimately focuses on the pathways to a more successful life.

Congratulations on this well-deserved recognition, Darrell!

Listen to Darrell D. Miller discuss his new book with Anne Arenstein courtesy of WVXU 91.7 FM by visiting wvxu.org/term/darrell-d-miller.

View Savoy Magazine‘s full list of the Most Influential Black Lawyers for 2015 by visiting savoynetwork.com/most-influential-black-lawyers-2015.

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CCM's Steel Drum Band takes the stage for its annual spring concert on Jan. 31, 2015.

CCM Spring 2015 Calendar of Major Events – April Updates

Please note the following updates to CCM’s schedule of major events for the spring:

  • The Pangea Chamber Players guest artist concert originally scheduled for April 2 has been cancelled.
  • The April 12 performance of Chuck Owen’s River Runs features the CCM Concert Orchestra, not the CCM Philharmonia.
  • The venue has changed for CCM’s April 19 performance of Dave Brubeck’s The Gates of Justice. The concert will now take place at Knox Presbyterian Church, 3400 Michigan Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45208
  • The faculty artist concert entitled “The Original Phil DeGreg and Friends” has been rescheduled for 8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22. This celebration of the career of retiring faculty member Phil DeGreg will take place in Patricia Corbett Theater. The performance is free and open to the general public. You can listen to Professor DeGreg preview his concert, which was originally scheduled for Feb. 17, courtesy of WVXU 91.7 FM.
  • CCM welcomes composer Mark Applebaum for a guest artist performance at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 25 in Watson the Robert J. Werner Recital Hall. This performance is free and open to the general public.
  • CCM’s Division of Electronic Media will host its Senior Showcase at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 30 in Watson Hall. Admission to the event is free and open to the general public.

You can always find the most up-to-date information on CCM’s calendar of events at ccm.uc.edu.

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Scenes from CCM’s Mainstage Series production of ‘Peter Pan.’ Photos by Mark Lyons.

CCM Slideshows: Peter Pan – The Musical

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CCM’s 2014-15 Mainstage Series continues TONIGHT with the timeless fairytale musical Peter Pan, playing through Sunday, March 8, in Corbett Auditorium. See a complete list of performance times below.

Directed and choreographed by guest artist Joe Locarro, with musical direction by CCM Professor of Musical Theatre Roger Grodsky, this production promises to whisk audiences away to a place where dreams are born and no one ever grows up! Peter Pan features spectacular flying effects provided by ZFX, Inc.

Listen to cast member Tom Meglio give Cincinnati Public Radio’s Mark Perzel a preview of the high-flying musical by visiting wvxu.org/post/ccms-peter-pan.

Performance Times

  • 8 p.m. Friday, March 6
  • 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, March 7
  • 2 p.m. Sunday, March 8

Location
Corbett Auditorium, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

Purchasing Tickets
Tickets to Peter Pan are $31-35 for adults, $20-24 for non-UC students and $18-22 UC students with a valid ID.

Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online at ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice/peter-pan-mainstage.

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 more information on parking rates.

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

For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.
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CCM Season Presenting Sponsor and Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Mainstage Season Production Sponsor: Macy’s

Mainstage Production Sponsor: Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC

Community Partner: ArtsWave

Peter Pan is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. 421 West 54th Street, New York, NY 10019 | Phone: 212-541-4684 | Fax: 212-397-4684 |http://www.MTIShows.com.

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LISTEN: WVXU Previews CCM’s Concert Production of John Adams’ ‘El Nino’

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WVXU contributor Anne Arenstein recently spoke with CCM Director of Choral Studies Earl Rivers about our upcoming concert production of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Adams’ American oratorio El Niño.

You can listen to audio of the full interview here.

The CCM Philharmonia Orchestra, Chamber Choir, Chorale and Cincinnati Children’s Choir proudly present a stirring rendition of Adams’ El Niño at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 2, in UC’s Corbett Auditorium. CCM welcomes guest artists Michael ManiaciEric Jurenas and Steven Rickards for this performance.

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