In the News: Local and national stories spotlight CCM faculty, alumni and students

Read media coverage of UC's College-Conservatory of Music, featuring reviews and stories about CCM faculty, alumni and students! Highlights are below:

NPR Tiny Desk Concert: John Holiday (MM Voice, ’12) 

Countertenor and CCM alumnus John Holiday (MM Voice, '12) was the featured act on NPR's Tiny Desk Concert on October 16. Holiday's performance features Reynaldo Hahn's À Chloris, I’m Goin’ to Tell God All My Troubles (traditional; arr. Hall Johnson), George Frideric Handel's “Ombra mai fù” from Xerxes, Abel Meeropol's Strange Fruit (famously performed by Billie Holiday), and James Johnson's and J. Rosamond Johnson's Lift Every Voice and Sing. Tom Huizenga writes: "And for fans of fabulous voices, it’s important that this voice be heard — the singular, silvery and expressive voice of John Holiday." Read more and watch the performance via NPR.

CityBeat: CCM Revels in the Sage Wisdom of In The Green

Noah Moore of Cincinnati CityBeat interviews CCM Assistant Professor of Acting in Musical Theatre Rachel Stevens about In The Green, presented as part of CCM's Musical Theatre Series Oct. 11-12 and Oct. 17-19; read more.

The musical received positive reviews from the League of Cincinnati Theaters and Scott Cain's Talkin' Broadway. 

Classical Concert Reviews Cinci: CCM Philharmonia- October 16, 2024

Connor Annable of Classical Concert Reviews Cinci attended CCM Philharmonia's "Power Dressing" performance on Wednesday, Oct. 16, featuring works by Verdi, Barber, Louise Farrenc and a US premiere by Aya Yoshida, winner of CCM’s prestigious Alexander Zemlinsky Prize for Composition in 2019. Read more via Classical Concert Reviews Cinci.

League of Cincinnati Theatres: Review - CCM Acting's 'The Winter's Tale'

Liz Eichler reviews CCM Play Series' opening production, The Winter's Tale (Oct. 3-5). "Overall, CCM Acting's production of William Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale is solid, well paced, scary and joyful. Director [Susan] Felder leans into the fairytale concept, and it is a great retelling of the story." Read more via League of Cincinnati Theatres.

Cincinnati Business Courier and CityBeat: Meet CCM Dean Pete Jutras

Janelle Gelfand of the Cincinnati Business Courier features CCM Dean Pete Jutras in a recent feature story. When asked about what attracted him to CCM, Jutras told the Courier: "We knew it as one of the top schools and got to know a lot of people in the music business who were CCM grads. A chance to be at a place that's so historic and has such a great reputation and excellence was really appealing." Read more via Cincinnati Business Courier.

Anne Arenstein of Cincinnati CityBeat also interviewed Jutras about his plans for the college, focusing on growth and innovation: “My guiding principle is, are we helping our students, providing them resources and access so they can really succeed," Jutras told CityBeat. "I want to be very clear that I want to continue the excellence that’s already here. We want to keep that going.” Read more via Cincinnati CityBeat. 

Classical Concert Reviews Cinci: CCM Choral and Orchestral Series - Sept. 21, 2024

Connor Annable of Classical Concert Reviews Cinci attended CCM's "Mahler Resurrection" concert on Saturday, Sept. 21, featuring the CCM Philharmonia and CCM Combined Choirs with UC Choruses and alumni guest artists alumni guest artists Amanda Woodbury, soprano, and Kayleigh Decker, mezzo-soprano. In his review, Annable wrote: "[CCM] opened its 2024-25 Choral and Orchestral Series with a performance of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection” that must be considered the finest ever given by a collegiate orchestra on this side of the Atlantic. Assembling 250 student musicians to play a work of such intensity and scale would be considered a daring feat, but the CCM Philharmonia and Choruses more than rose to the occasion." Read more via Classical Concert Reviews Cinci. 

Cincinnati Business Courier: Review of Ariel Quartet opening concert - Sept. 17

Janelle Gelfand of the Cincinnati Business Courier writes that Cincinnati's chamber music season launched "impressively" with recent Ariel Quartet and Takács Quartet concerts. CCM's String-Quartet-in-Residence opened its season on Sept. 17. Guest artist Paul Watkins joined the Ariel Quartet for the performance. Gelfand writes: "It was heartening at the start of the school year to see the school’s Werner Recital Hall packed with students, patrons and longtime fans." Read more via Cincinnati Business Courier. 

Playbill: CCM ranks in top 10 most represented colleges on Broadway

CCM has once again been named as one of Playbill’s “Big 10.” Ranked as one of the top star-producing institutions in the nation, CCM was represented by at least 37 alumni performing on Broadway stages during the 2023-24 season according to Playbill's coverage. Learn more about our alumni who work on stage and behind the scenes on Broadway in CCM's feature story or read more via Playbill. 

Cincinnati CityBeat: BLINK returns this fall with more artists and artworks than ever before

The Queen City will shine during BLINK 2024 on Oct. 17-20. Now in it's fourth iteration, the festival is one of the largest art events in the world and is the largest light, art and projection-mapping experience in the country. This year, CCM Lighting Design and Technology students will create their own design that will be displayed during BLINK — stay tuned for more information! Read more via Cincinnati CityBeat. 

WVXU: CCM receives NEH grant for 'Cincinnati Sounds' workshop

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is awarding $37.5 million for 240 humanities projects across the country, including a project at CCM. CCM will receive $190,000 to create a week-long workshop for educators and humanities professionals called "Cincinnati Sounds: Exploring a Musical City’s Spaces, Places and Sounds." Led by Assistant Professor of Music Studies Kristy Swift, the project will examine the migration and the evolution of Cincinnati's musical landscape. Swift tells WVXU: "Our city has a long and very impressive, culturally rich, and quite diverse roster of musicians, musics and musicings (the art or process of making music). We'll experience and imagine how historical and modern people experience these sounds and musics and how the sounds and musics reflected and reflect identities and values, how sounds and musics informed and shaped them in these really important Cincinnati landmarks." Read more via 91.7 WVXU. 

Violin Channel: Meet Kronos Quartet's newest members

The GRAMMY Award-winning Kronos Quartet has welcomed CCM Assistant Professor of Viola Ayane Kozasa and violinist Gabriela Díaz as its newest members. They will succeed Hank Dutt and John Sherba, who have played with the group for almost 50 years and recently announced their retirements. Kozasa is a founding member of the award-winning VC Artist Aizuri Quartet, where she was a member for 11 years. A former winner of the Primrose International Viola Competition, she has commissioned multiple new works for the viola, and is a member of the duo Ayane and Paul with Kronos’ cellist Paul Wiancko. Read more via the Violin Channel.

Playbill: CCM alumnus Aaron Lazar collaboration album 'Impossible Dream' released on August 23

CCM Musical Theatre alumnus Aaron Lazar's new album, Impossible Dream, is now available to stream. The record follows Lazar's announcement that he has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The collaborative record will raise funds for the ALS Network, which previously honored Lazar for his advocacy. The new album features Lazar as well as a number of his Broadway collaborators, including fellow CCM alumni Shoshana Bean and Christy Altomare, as well as Neil Patrick Harris, Josh Groban, Kristin Chenoweth, Kelli O’Hara, Leslie Odom, Jr., Norm Lewis, Loren Allred, the voice of the late Rebecca Luker (the Broadway actress who passed away from ALS), the Grammy-winning National Children's Chorus, the Broadway Inspirational Voices, and more. Lazar references his time at CCM in his interview with Playbill: “I first sang ‘The Impossible Dream’ 24 years ago as a grad student in Cincinnati playing Don Quixote in The Man of La Mancha, as my impossible dream of becoming a professional actor was coming true. All these years later, the song and its message have become an anthem for me." Read more via Playbill. 

Broadway World: CCM announces fall 2024 major events

CCM's fall 2024 schedule of major events is now available; tickets are on sale now through the CCM Box Office. From exhilarating concerts to breathtaking theatre, CCM offers a variety of ticketed and free performances for audiences to enjoy. Fall season highlights are available in our season announcement; view the full performance schedule by month at ccm.uc.edu/onstage.

CCM's fall performance schedule was featured by Broadway World, Movers and Makers, Cincinnati CityBeat and Rob Bucher's Behind the Curtain Cincinnati. 

Playbill: Tony nominee Dorian Harewood receives BFA from CCM

Tony nominee Dorian Harewood was honored with a BFA in Musical Theatre from the CCM on August 8. Harewood studied at CCM, but left the university in 1972 prior to graduating to pursue his first acting offer. UC Vice President for Alumni and Donor Experience and Chief Alumni Officer Jennifer Heisey presented Harewood with his BFA in Musical Theatre in a special celebration at Bond 45 in New York. The celebration also included Broadway stars and fellow CCM alumni like Kevin McCollum (BFA Musical Theatre, ’84; HonDoc, '05) and CCM Senior Director of Development and Alumni Relations Elaine Cox. Learn more about Harewood's celebration and view photos via Playbill. The event was also featured by the US Times Mirror, Times Square Chronicles and Digital Journal. 

Cincinnati Herald: CCM alum Donald Lawrence to be inducted into Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame

CCM alumnus Donald Lawrence is part of the 2024 class of Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame inductees. Located at the Banks in downtown Cincinnati, the induction ceremony on July 27 featured a parade of stars and a free concert by the Zapp Band. Lawrence (Musical Theatre, att. 1980-82) is an American gospel music songwriter, record producer and artist. He is best known for his Grammy Award-nominated songs The Blessing of Abraham and Encourage Yourself. He studied at the CCM and served as Music Director at Southern Baptist. He has received multiple Grammy and Stellar Award honors and served as vocal coach and songwriter for The Clark Sisters, and collaborator with a host of artists including Peabo Bryson, Kirk Franklin, Karen Clark Sheard, Donnie McClurkin and Mary J. Blige. Read more via the Cincinnati Herald. 

Lighting & Sound America: Recent Lighting Design grad joins Bandit Lites

Lighting & Sound America spotlights recent graduate Riley Rowan's new position at Bandit Lites, a full-service design, management and producer of live events and entertainment. Rowan will work as an integration specialist, one of Bandit's fastest growing departments. He will provide support to project managers in the office, work on site during installation and programming phases of both architectural and performance systems as well as assist clients with any troubleshooting and further education opportunities. While pursuing his BFA in Lighting Design and Technology at CCM, Rowan held a summer internship at Bandit Lites. Read more via Lighting and Sound America.

Cincinnati Business Courier: REVIEW Cincinnati Opera’s production of ‘Don Giovanni’ balances tragedy, comedy

Janelle Gelfand spotlights the work of CCM faculty, alums and students in her review of Cincinnati Opera's Don Giovanni. The story specifically mentions several CCMers, including Assistant Professor Thomas Hase, lighting designer; Associate Professor Elliot Madore, Don Giovanni, Jessica Faselt (MM Voice, ’16), Donna Anna; Christian Pursell (MM Voice, '17), Leporello; Erin Keesy (MM Voice '13; AD Opera-Vocal Performance '15), Zerlina; and Joseph Parrish (BM Voice, ’20), Masetto. Read the full review.

Cincinnati Business Courier: CCM's Elliot Madore brings nuance to bad boy Don Giovanni in Cincinnati Opera production

Janelle Gelfand spotlights CCM Associate Professor Elliot Madore, who performed the title role in Cincinnati Opera's Don Giovanni. The feature story includes an interview with Madore about his career, and his time at CCM: “CCM has been incredibly supportive in allowing me to go and perform. I feel like a lot of these performing opportunities inform my teaching and vice versa. In that respect, it's been incredibly rewarding for me and for my students." Read the full interview.

Broadway.com: Tony-Nominated Lighting Designer Isabella Byrd Is Not Afraid of the Dark

Broadway.com features CCM alumna Isabella Byrd (BFA Lighting Design and Technology, ’09), who received two Tony Award Nominations in 2024 — Best Lighting Design of a Play for An Enemy of the People and Best Lighting Design of a Musical for Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club. Read more.

Playbill: CCM listed in Tony Awards 'Schools of the Stars'

Playbill created a list of the eight schools that contain the most Tony nominees — and CCM is tied for third. Four CCM alums were named nominees in the 77th annual Tony Awards, recognizing the excellent work shared in Broadway productions during the 2023-24 season. The nominees include Shoshana Bean (BFA Musical Theatre, '99), Isabella Byrd (BFA Lighting Design and Technology, ’09), Dorian Harewood and Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer (BFA Musical Theatre, '99). Read more.

New York Times: CCM faculty featured in roundup of new classical music album

Entitled "5 Classical Music Albums You Can Listen to Right Now," the New York Times article includes recently released performance recordings featuring CCM Associate Professor of Voice Elliot Madore and CCM Assistant Professor of Cello Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir. Read more.

Violin Channel: Poiesis Quartet wins 2024 Concert Artists Guild Louis and Susan Meisel Competition

The Violin Channel shared the news of year's Concert Artists Guild Louis and Susan Meisel Competition winners: violinist Nathan Amaral, cellist Leland Ko, saxophonist Valentin Kovalev, and the Poiesis Quartet, which members include CCM graduate students. All winners will receive management from CAG in North America, a New York debut performance opportunity, and participation in CAG's Citizen Musician Bootcamp. Additionally, Grand Winners will receive international management (Americas and Europe) jointly with CAG and with London’s Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT), as well as a performance at the prestigious Wigmore Hall. Read more.