Thursday, July 16, 2009

University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music

    University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music

    he University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) is the performing artscollege of the University of Cincinnati and is one of the nation's leading music conservatories. In its most recent (1997) rankings, US News and World Report ranked Cincinnati sixth nationally among university programs for pursuing a graduate music degree. Its voice program was ranked third, and its conducting program was ranked fifth.[1] CCM also is an All Steinway School, recently acquiring that title in early 2009 after purchasing 165 new pianos, the largest unit purchase in Steinway history.[2]

    History

    The Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music was formed in August 1955 from the merger of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, formed in 1867 as part of a girls' finishing school, and the College of Music of Cincinnati, which opened in 1878. CCM was later incorporated into the University of Cincinnati on August 1, 1962. The college is sometimes mistakenly (if not outright intentionally) still called the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music by various publications such as Broadway Playbills, performer biographies, and even CCM alumni themselves (who rarely refer to themselves as alumni of the "University of Cincinnati") to distance CCM from its association with the University of Cincinnati. Since Nancy L. Zimpher became UC's president, the various UC colleges, including CCM, have been more tightly integrated under the University of Cincinnati name, including new campus signage and campus publications (including concert programs and calendars) that state the college's full name.

    Campus

    Converted from a dormitory in 1996, Memorial Hall now houses many of CCM's practice rooms and teaching studios.

    [edit] CCM Village

    Completed in 1999, the CCM Village was built at an overall cost of $93.2 million. Under the supervision of Henry Cobb, of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, renovated existing structures were merged with an array of state-of-the-art new buildings creating four overall centers: Mary Emery Hall, the Corbett Center for the Performing Arts, Memorial Hall, and the Dieterle Vocal Arts Center.

    • Mary Emery Hall

    The last and hallmark project for the CCM Village, Mary Emery Hall, was completed in 1999 and replaced the former Mary Emery Hall which housed aging practice rooms and classrooms. The new Mary Emery Hall is a confluence of "smart" classrooms, administrative and faculty offices, composition and performance labs, the Electronic Media Division, the Master Classroom, the CCM Cafe, and the celebrated Werner Recital Hall.

    The three-tiered building's interior has an open face with glass balconies overlooking its atrium. The atrium connects Mary Emery Hall to Corbett Auditorium. So-called "smart" classrooms were quite new to the University of Cincinnati in 1999, each housing high-quality video projectors, computer connections, soundboards, and other high-tech equipment to further facilitate instruction. In addition to faculty offices for the Electronic Media, Music Theory, History, and Composition, and Music Education divisions, Mary Emery Hall is home to the CCM Cafe, a popular eating meeting commons. Three practice pipe organs and one performance pipe organ as well as the World Music Lab and Early Music Labs are located on its third level (fifth floor). The Master Classroom is a frequent location for recitals, studio classes, and master classes.

    • Corbett Center for Performing Arts

    Named for its primary benefactors, Patricia and J. Ralph Corbett, the four level facility houses classrooms, offices, and studios for the Division of Opera, Musical Theatre, Drama, and Arts Administration, the Theatre Design and Production Division, the Jazz Studies Division, and the Dance Division. It is also the site of most of CCM's performance venues including Corbett Auditorium, Patricia Corbett Theatre, Cohen Family Studio Theatre, and Watson Hall. Three full dance studios and numerous other rehearsal rooms adorn the ground floor level. Among the largest of CCM's facilities, the necessary scene shops, theater construction, costume shops, and make-up studios occupy most of its second and third levels. The lowest floor features large classrooms used primarily for lecture style and lab style courses as well as jazz studios and performance labs.

    • Watson Hall

    Named after former dean Dr. Jack Watson, the 140-seat recital hall is located on the lowest level of the Corbett Center for Performing Arts. Its centerpiece, a 44-rank Balcom and Vaughan organ, was dedicated in honor of Mr. and Mrs. John J. Strader, IV.

    • Baur Room

    Added to the Corbett Center in 1999 was the Baur Room, an intimate and ornate room used for small receptions and student meetings such as the quarterly Dean's Forum. It was named in honor of Clara and Bertha Baur, the first two directresses of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.

    • Memorial Hall

    Memorial Hall was converted from a girls dormitory in 1996 to a fully equipped practice and studio facility for the College-Conservatory of Music. Amongst its architectural features, one will find gargoyles splendoured throughout the building's facade and sculptures depicting female advancement in areas such as aviation. Many of the teaching studios inside the building still have the original fireplaces and mantles. Chamber music rehearsal rooms, reed making rooms, the center for computer music (ccm^2), and a small chamber performance room become a second home for many of CCM's students.

    CCM libraries

    • Gorno Memorial Music Library
    • CCM Listening Center

    [edit] Performance venues

    • Corbett Auditorium
    • Patricia Corbett Theatre
    • Robert J. Werner Recital Hall
    • Cohen Family Studio Theatre

    Campus sculptures

    • Figura-Prima by Magdalena Abakanowicz (1995) outside of Werner Recital Hall [1]
    • Memorial Fountain to Clara Baur by Clement J. Barnhorn (1914) in the Alumni Garden [2]
    • Light Mast by James Carpenter (1999) outside the CCM Cafe [3]
    • The Three Muses by Sam Gilliam (1999) in the CCM Atrium [4]

    Dance

    The dance study at CCM has a ballet-emphasis. The department only offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in dance, though the faculty is of equivalent numbers and standards as other departments.

    [edit] Electronic Media

    The largest and fastest growing program at CCM is electronic media. The program offers a general Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree in electronic media, but students often choose specializations as part of their program including broadcasting, radio production, and television production. Electronic Media student organizations include Bearcast (UC's student radio station) and UCast (student-run campus television station).

    [edit] Distinctions and chairs

    • Donna, Ralph, and Julia Cohen Chair in Drama
    • Patricia A. Corbett Distinguished Chair of Musical Theater
    • J. Ralph Corbett Distinguished Chair of Opera
    • Dieterle Chair of Music
    • Thomas J. Kelly Professor
    • Dorothy Richard Starling Chair in Classical Violin
    • Joseph Weinberger Chair of Acting

    Noted alumni

  • Tyler Maynard (B.F.A. Musical Theater)- Original Cast of Altar Boyz, Flotsum in Disney's The Little Mermaid on Broadway
  • Katie Klaus (B.F.A Musical Theatre 2006) - Broadway's The Times They are A-Changin', Inherit the Wind, A Catered Affair
  • Joshua Kobak (B.F.A. Musical Theatre) - Broadway's Rent, Tarzan, and off-Broadway's Fuerzabruta
  • Christy Altomare (B.F.A. Musical Theatre '08) - Wendla in national tour of Spring Awakening
  • Leigh Ann Larkin (B.F.A. Musical Theatre)- Original Dainty June in the 2008 Revival of "GYPSY"
  • Tony Yazbeck (B.F.A. Musical Theatre) - Original Tulsa in the 2008 Revival of "GYPSY"
  • Andrew Palermo (B.F.A. Musical Theatre) - Original Broadway Cast of Wicked, Co-founder of Dre Dance Comapny with Taye Diggs
  • Karen Olivo (B.F.A. Musical Theater) - "RENT," "Brooklyn," Original Vanessa in "In the Heights," Revival Anita in "West Side Story"
  • Kim Criswell (B.F.A. Musical Theater 1979)
  • Jason Graae (B.F.A. Musical Theater 1980)
  • Sharon Wheatley (B.F.A. Musical Theater 1989)
  • Kristy Cates (B.F.A. Musical Theater 1999) - "Wicked"
  • Matthew Risch (B.F.A. Musical Theater 2004) - Joey Evans in Roundabout's "Pal Joey"
  • Josh Prince (B.F.A. Musical Theater 1996) - Choreographer for Broadway's "Shrek"
  • Marla Mindelle (B.F.A. Musical Theater 2006) - National tour of "The Drowsy Chaperone," Broadway's "South Pacific"
  • Richard Sparks (D.M.A. Choral Conducting 1997)
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)