CCM Preparatory Offers Performing Arts Experiences For All

CCM Prep offers a wide variety of music, dance and theatre arts programs for youth, teens and adults. Register now or sign up for auditions for CCM Prep’s 2018-19 programs!

Arts enthusiasts of all ages and abilities are invited to register now for 2018-19 music, dance and theatre arts programs offered through Preparatory and Community Engagement at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music (CCM Prep).

CCM Prep’s 2018-19 programs begin in September! Students and families can register online now for select performing arts experiences at ccm.uc.edu/prep.

CCM Prep provides enjoyable and accessible arts opportunities within a highly creative environment that educate and inspire the whole student — including youth, teens and adults. Courses are taught by CCM Prep faculty members and guest artists.

Registration is not yet open for the programs listed below that require auditions or placements. These will be open for registration after auditions and placement results are announced. Please see individual listings below to sign up for auditions or visit the CCM Prep website for audition information.

Visit CCM Prep’s website for complete program offerings: ccm.uc.edu/prep.

YOUTH PROGRAMS

ACTING: INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED (Ages 10-15)
Class begins on Sept. 8, 2018
Acting classes emphasize basic acting skills including improvisation, characterization, movement, vocal production, script analysis and scene study. All classes require audition or approval by instructor. New students must audition for placement within the Intermediate/Advanced Class.
Audition and tuition information: ccm.uc.edu/prep/theatre_arts/classes
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BALLET (Ages 7-13)
Class begins on Sept. 4, 2018
Open ballet class for returning and new students! The philosophy of this program is that every student deserves careful and individualized training from qualified instructors. Classes are small and instructors are specially trained to teach for appropriate ages and skill levels. This class requires all students to audition for placement within the program.
Audition and tuition information: ccm.uc.edu/prep/dance/classes
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CINCINNATI JUNIOR STRINGS (5th-9th grades)
Class begins on Sept. 16, 2018
Cincinnati Junior Strings is a high-achieving, performing orchestra designed to augment area private studios and public school string programs in training young players. This class requires all students to audition for acceptance into the program.
Audition and tuition information: ccm.uc.edu/prep/music/ensemble/cjs
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JAZZ EXPLOSION! (7th-10th grades)
Class begins on Sept. 23, 2018
This ensemble is especially for students who have a strong interest in learning both jazz improvisation and authentic jazz styles. Open to any instrumentalist, but some limitations may be made for certain sections of the group. This class requires all students to audition for acceptance into the program.
Audition and tuition information: ccm.uc.edu/prep/music/ensemble/Jazz
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JUNIOR CINCINNATI YOUTH WIND ENSEMBLE (6th-8th grades)
Class begins on Sept. 16, 2018
Junior CYWE is designed to be an enhancing and enriching experience for area students, and is designed to supplement (not replace)
students’ experience in their own school bands. This class requires all students to audition for acceptance into the program.
Audition and tuition information: ccm.uc.edu/prep/music/ensemble/jrcywe
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JUNIOR MUSICAL THEATRE INTENSIVE (Ages 9-14)
Class begins on Sept. 8, 2018
Junior Musical Theatre Intensive (Jr. MTI) provides a challenging and disciplined educational experience for students ages 9-14 who have a special interest in musical theatre. The students receive instruction in audition preparation, vocal music, dance and performance technique while working toward a full-scale musical production. This class requires an online audition for acceptance into the program. Submit audition materials through CCM Prep’s Get Acceptd online portal by Aug. 17, 2018.
Audition and tuition information: ccm.uc.edu/prep/theatre_arts/jrmti
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TEEN PROGRAMS

ACTING CERTIFICATE I & II (9th-12th grades)
Class begins on Sept. 8, 2018
Students will develop skills and processes essential for their work on stage, and take a variety of courses, including Shakespeare, characterization, movement, vocal technique, improvisation, scene work and Meisner Technique. This class requires all students to audition for acceptance into the program.
Audition and tuition information: ccm.uc.edu/prep/theatre_arts/theatreprograms
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BALLET (Intermediate levels 5 and up)
Class begins on Sept. 8, 2018
Open ballet class for returning students, new placements and company auditions. The Youth Ballet Company performs two fully produced concerts each year. To audition for ballet companies, students must be enrolled in our leveled ballet classes. This class requires all students to audition for acceptance into the program.
Audition and tuition information: ccm.uc.edu/prep/dance/ballet-companies
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CINCINNATI YOUTH JAZZ ORCHESTRA (10th-12th grades)
Class begins on Sept. 30, 2018
The Cincinnati Youth Jazz Orchestra offers a high-level challenge in a big band setting. Emphasis will be placed on developing professional musical, improvisational and performance skills. CYJO performs a wide array of styles within the big band genre, with performances held on and off campus. Members will also get opportunities to perform and work with local, collegiate and international jazz artists. Any student playing an instrument within standard big band instrumentation, as well as vocalists, are encouraged to audition for this group. This class requires all students to audition for acceptance into the program.
Audition and tuition information: ccm.uc.edu/prep/music/ensemble/Jazz
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CINCINNATI YOUTH WIND ENSEMBLE (9th-12th grades)
Class begins on Sept. 16, 2018
In partnership with CCM’s Collegiate Wind Studies program and the Music Education division, CCM Preparatory presents the only wind ensemble for high school students in the greater Cincinnati area. This class requires all students to audition for acceptance into the program.
Audition and tuition information: ccm.uc.edu/prep/music/ensemble/CYWE
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DANCE STYLES (Ages 10-18)
Class begins on Sept. 8, 2018
Open dance class for Dance Styles placement. Dance Styles is designed for the musical theatre and acting students. During this 90-minute weekly class, students will work in tap, musical theatre dance, fundamentals and/or street styles. This class requires all students to audition for placement within the program.
Audition and tuition information: ccm.uc.edu/prep/dance/youth-dance
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HIGH SCHOOL JAZZ COMBO (10th-12th grades)
Class begins on Sept. 9, 2018
The members of the jazz combos will learn jazz standards and contemporary tunes with a primary emphasis on improvisation and small-group interaction. There will be on and off campus performance opportunities throughout the year. This class requires all students to audition for acceptance into the program.
Audition and tuition information: ccm.uc.edu/prep/music/ensemble/Jazz
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HONORS HIGH SCHOOL ACTING (9th-12th grades)
Class begins on Sept. 8, 2018
High School Honors Acting is an intensive one year pre-professional/pre-collegiate program designed to create well-rounded, curious and thoughtful theatre artists. This class requires all students to audition for acceptance into the program.
Audition and tuition information: ccm.uc.edu/prep/theatre_arts/theatreprograms
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MUSICAL THEATRE INTENSIVE (9th-12th grades)
Class begins on Sept. 8, 2018
Students serious about musical theatre are encouraged to audition for acceptance into CCM Prep’s Musical Theatre Intensive, which runs through May 2019. Training focuses on musical theatre dance, acting, vocal performance and seminar/rehearsal. Audition preparation is a major component, along with master classes and seminars led by working professional artists.
Audition and tuition information: ccm.uc.edu/prep/theatre_arts/theatreprograms
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ADULT PROGRAMS

ADULT JAZZ COMBO (18 and up)
Class begins Sept. 23, 2018
The members of the jazz combos will learn jazz standards and contemporary tunes with a primary emphasis on improvisation and small-group interaction. There will be on- and off-campus performance opportunities throughout the year. This class requires all students to audition for acceptance into the program.
Audition and tuition information: ccm.uc.edu/prep/music/ensemble/Jazz
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NEW HORIZONS ORCHESTRA (Adults over 50)
Class begins on Sept. 8, 2018
New Horizons Music programs provide entry points to music-making for people over age 50, including those with no musical experience at all and adults who were active in school music programs, but have been inactive for a long period.
More information: ccm.uc.edu/prep/music/ensemble/horizons

‘The Washington Post’ Spotlights the Innovative Teaching Methods of CCM Alumna Angela Ammerman

CCM alumna Angela Ammerman, née Hamester (BM Music Education, 2006), is gaining a great deal of attention thanks to her engaging approach to music education. In a recent Washington Post profile, reporter Moriah Balingit suggested, “If there was ever a music teacher prodigy, Angela Ammerman might be it.”

A teacher at Annandale High School in Fairfax County, Virginia, Ammerman was recently named the Virginia Orchestra Director of the Year by the American String Teachers Association. The Washington Post describes the honor as follows:

“It’s an award she earned for her one-of-a-kind method of teaching music, engaging students who range from the experienced elite to recent immigrants who are picking up an instrument for the first time.”

CCM alumna Angela Ammerman.

In describing her approach to the classroom to the Washington Post, Ammerman explained, “The kids don’t realize they’re learning. I just try to make the class environment really fun.”

A native of Cincinnati, Ammerman earned her Bachelor of Music Education degree from CCM and then pursued her masters degree at Boston University. She is currently working on her PhD in Music Education at George Mason University.

In the course of her studies, Ammerman has performed under the direction of distinguished conductors James Levine, Erich Kunzel, Xian Zhang, Steven Coker and Mark Gibson. She studied piano with Michael Chertock and Richard Morris. Additionally, Ammerman studied music education theory and practice with authorities Lizbeth Wing, and McGraw Hill’s Multi-Cultural Specialist Rene Boyer.

Upon graduation from CCM, Ammerman taught general music classes for Miamisburg City Schools in Miamisburg, Ohio. In 2007, she and her husband relocated to Jacksonville, North Carolina, where she was appointed Orchestra Director of Swansboro Middle and High School. While in North Carolina, Ammerman drastically increased orchestra membership, consistently received superior ratings at festival, and was selected Beginning Teacher of the Year.

In 2010, Ammerman was awarded the position of Orchestra Director at Robinson Middle School and Bonnie Brae Elementary School.  While living in Stafford, Ammerman also conducted the Rappahannock Youth Symphony’s Primo Orchestra from 2011-14

Ammerman currently maintains an orchestra program of nearly 150 students at Annandale High School in Fairfax County Public Schools.

Ammerman’s research has been featured in the American String Teacher Association’s 2014 Fall Issue and the National Association for Music Educators’ 2014 National Research Conference in St. Louis. Ammerman has presented research and practical sessions at International, National and State Music Education Conferences.

Ammerman’s studies and experiences have laid the groundwork for her philosophy of music education: that Critical Pedagogy provides students with a transformative and synergetic learning environment. Ammerman looks forward to helping students realize that music is a culturally valuable activity for everyone’s enjoyment; that music is historically relevant, provides a lab for students to apply the scientific method, and is a universal form of self and group expression.

Ammerman lives with her husband, Allen Ammerman, and three dogs in Alexandria, Virginia. She is a member of the Music Educators National Conference, American String Teachers Association and has been a guest conductor in All County and All City Orchestras. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, watching The Office, shoe shopping and practicing!

You can read her profile in the Washington Post at www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/fairfax-music-teacher-lauded-for-her-electrifying-methods/2015/12/06/d587163c-9ace-11e5-8917-653b65c809eb_story.

Cincinnati Children’s Choir Celebrates its 21st Anniversary in Concert on March 8

Cincinnati Children’s Choir, Ensemble-In-Residence at CCM.

CCM proudly presents the Cincinnati Children’s Choir as they “Celebrate Youth!” at 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 8, in UC’s Corbett Auditorium.

Directed by Robyn Lana, more than 350 children in seven different choirs come together to perform in their 21st anniversary concert: “Celebrate Youth!” In this approximately two-hour long concert, “we celebrate the artistry and ability of our young singers,” says Lana. “CCC is an award-winning choir recognized worldwide as a leading program. We celebrate their ability, energy and commitment to achieving the highest artistic standard.” The choirs will be presenting a great variety of work, from classical to world and folk music, including two commissioned world premieres and one regional premiere.

One of the world premieres that audiences can look forward to is “When Day is Done,” by CCM alumnus Jason Webb, a work that was commissioned by the CCM Harmony Fund. The CCM Harmony Fund was established to celebrate the healing power of the arts. The arts have the ability to inspire imaginative thinking, encourage conversation, present contrasting attitudes and make us examine our own viewpoints. The CCM Harmony Fund supports students and faculty at CCM in Drama, Opera, Musical Theater, Dance, E-Media and Orchestral productions that promote culturally diverse audiences and fight hate and prejudice.

CCM Preparatory Department Announces 2012 Summer Programs

The Preparatory Department of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM Prep) is now accepting registrations for its 2012 summer programs. Programs will be offered at UC’s Clifton campus and at UC Blue Ash College.

This year’s new program offerings include a theatre camp for adults and a ballet camp for young dancers featuring story ballets.

CCM Preparatory Department Expands to UC Blue Ash Campus

The Preparatory Department of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM Prep) will begin offering arts opportunities for the community at UC Blue Ash College on October 8, 2011. Dance classes for children are already offered at the nearby Mayerson Jewish Community Center.