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.

Additional Contacts

Curt Whitacre | Director of Marketing/Communications | UC College-Conservatory of Music

| 513-556-2683

Related Stories

1

CCM welcomes new film and media scoring faculty member J.R. Paredes

May 20, 2026

UC College-Conservatory of Music Dean Pete Jutras has announced the appointment of J.R. Paredes as CCM's new Assistant Professor of Film and Media Scoring. His faculty appointment officially begins on Aug. 15, 2026. Paredes is a composer, music producer and audio post-production specialist whose work spans film, television and commercial music. His credits include original scores for feature films and series distributed on platforms such as Apple TV+ and Prime Video, as well as extensive work in sound design and mixing for film and media.

2

6 ways starting a GLP-1 medication could affect your emotions

May 20, 2026

When patients first start taking a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) medication, they probably expect to feel full. But they might not anticipate how it can influence their emotions. The medications act on the stomach and the brain, said Malti Vij, MD, a University of Cincinnati adjunct associate professor in the College of Medicine's Department of Internal Medicine and a diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine.