Business Courier: CSO presents 'spellbinding' concert with CCM student singers

CSO & CCM collaborate for another concert on Feb. 15, featuring Louis Langrée & the CCM Philharmonia

CCM boasts a top-notch opera and vocal performance program, and these students shone in the spotlight at Music Hall last weekend. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra featured 10 CCM student soloists and the CCM Chamber Choir, led by Earl Rivers, in its performances of Ravel’s L’Enfant et les sortilèges, or “The Child and the Sorceries,” on Feb. 7 and 8, 2020.

In her review of the concert for the Cincinnati Business Courier, Janelle Gelfand described the entire staged production as “a spellbinding feat that blended a cast of terrific young singers with whimsical animations.”

“It was a stroke of genius to employ opera singers from the Opera Department of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, who added youthfulness as well as vibrant voices to the wondrous score,” wrote Gelfand.

The performance featured Grammy-winning mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard in the title role. CCM students who performed as soloists are Yewon Yoon, coloratura; Raven McMillon, coloratura; Anyeé Farrar, coloratura; Elana Bell, mezzo-soprano; Joyner Horn, mezzo-soprano; Georgia Jacobson, mezzo-soprano; Brenda Iglesias Zarco, mezzo soprano; Victor Cardamone, tenor; Ryan Wolfe, bass, and Antonio Cruz, baritone.

This weekend, the onstage partnership between CCM and the CSO continues. On Saturday, Feb. 15, the CSO’s Music Director Louis Langrée will join the CCM Philharmonia in Corbett Auditorium for a concert of symphonic favorites, including Debussy’s Prélude à L’après-midi d’un faune and Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. Kara Huber, a CCM doctoral candidate and Grammy-nominated pianist, will perform as the soloist on Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand. Tickets are available through the CCM Box Office.

CCM and the CSO have long worked together on various projects; many of the musicians of the CSO are on faculty at CCM, and CCM alumni often find employment with the symphony as musicians or administrators. One significant development in this symbiotic relationship is the CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship, a program generously funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation that provides an unparalleled two-year learning experience for graduate-level violin, viola, violoncello and double bass players coming from populations that are historically underrepresented in classical music. These students perform alongside the CSO for five weeks of the performance season and receive several stipends from the CCM and the CSO.

More information on the CCM Philharmonia’s Saturday, Feb. 15, concert with Louis Langrée is available online and in the event information below.

Repertoire

CCM Philharmonia
Mark Gibson, music director
Louis Langrée, conductor
DEBUSSY: Prélude à L’après-midi d’un faune
RAVEL: Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D Major, featuring CCM Concerto Competition Winner Kara Huber
BERLIOZ: 
Symphonie Fantastique

Performance Time

7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15

Location

Corbett Auditorium, CCM Village 
University of Cincinnati

Purchasing Tickets

Single ticket prices start at $29.50 each; student and group discounts available. Pricing is inclusive of all fees. All performances are reserved seating.

Tickets can be purchased online though our e-box office, over the phone at 513-556-4183 or in person at the CCM Box Office in the Atrium of UC’s Corbett Center for the Performing Arts.

Learn about additional ticket options for current CCM students.

Directions and Parking

CCM is located on the campus of the University of Cincinnati. Please visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions for detailed driving directions to CCM Village.

Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the end of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. Please visit the UC Parking Services website for information on parking rates.

For detailed maps and directions, please visit uc.edu/visitors


 Story by CCM Graduate Student Alexandra Doyle

Orchestral Sponsor: Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Hirschhorn

CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship Sponsor: The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

A preeminent institution for the performing and media arts, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) is the largest single source of performing arts presentations in the state of Ohio. All event dates and programs are subject to change. For a complete calendar of events, please visit us online at ccm.uc.edu.    

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