Apply to join the 2020-22 class of CSO/CCM Diversity Fellows

Get paid to perform with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra while earning a full scholarship to pursue your graduate degree at UC's College-Conservatory of Music

UC's College-Conservatory of Music and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra are accepting applications for the 2020-22 class of CSO/CCM Diversity Fellows. The application deadline is Dec. 1, 2019.

Funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, this program provides an unparalleled learning experience for graduate-level violin, viola, violoncello and double bass players coming from populations that are historically underrepresented in classical music. Symphony Magazine recently spotlighted the CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship in a story that focused on the “new cultural and economic directions redefining and expanding the role of the conservatory in the 21st century.”

CSO/CCM Diversity Fellow Benefits:

  • Perform the equivalent of five weeks per season with the CSO.
  • Receive compensation of $8,000 per season while performing with the CSO.
  • Receive full tuition scholarship support while enrolled in a two-year Master of Music or Artist Diploma program at CCM.
  • Receive a $10,000 per year graduate stipend and one-time Graduate School Dean's Excellence Award of $3,000 from CCM.
  • Receive access to orchestral audition and professional development stipends.

In addition, as many as five CSO/CCM Diversity Fellows can be selected annually to participate in an eight-week summer residency with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra through a partnership with the Chautauqua Institution of New York.

Participants will be paired with CSO coach/mentors for the duration of their Fellowship. An administrative liaison will also be assigned to support Fellows.

Get a look inside the CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship in a feature story on Fellow Anita Graef (MM Cello, ’19). You can also learn about Fellow Ian Saunders’ (AD Double Bass, ’19) experience in the fellowship in a radio interview with Cincinnati Public Radio WVXU.

Important Dates

CCM and the CSO are now accepting applications for the 2020-22 class of Fellows. The application deadline is Dec. 1, 2019. For application and audition requirements, visit us at ccm.uc.edu/chance2perform.

Live auditions with CCM faculty will be held on Jan. 17-18Jan. 24-25 and Feb. 14-15 of 2020.

Finalists will audition for the CSO on March 14, 2020, in CCM's Robert J. Werner Recital Hall.


Featured image at top: CCM student Ian Saunders performs with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra as a participant in the CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship program.

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