Stream the CCM Brass Choir’s final concert of 2019

Although the theaters and concert halls at the University of Cincinnati’s nationally ranked and internationally renowned College-Conservatory of Music are temporarily silent, audiences can still experience world-class performances through CCM’s new CCMONSTAGE Online video series. Since the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the CCM Brass Choir from presenting its final concert of Spring 2020, this week’s release showcases the ensemble’s final concert of Fall 2019.

On Dec. 2, 2019, CCM’s brass ensembles were joined by the Fillmore Philharmonic Brass Band for a concert of classic works and holiday favorites, along with a piece composed by doctoral student Matthew Mauro.

“As part of our continued efforts towards community engagement, the CCM Brass Choir Showcase was happy to invite the Fillmore Philharmonic Brass Band to perform on this concert alongside the CCM Brass Choir and other CCM Brass ensembles,” said Kevin Michael Holzman, Interim Head of Ensembles and Conducting and Director of Wind Studies at CCM. The Fillmore Philharmonic Brass Band is an ensemble comprised of musicians from the Greater Cincinnati region, many of whom work professionally in non-music fields. Sharing the Corbett Auditorium stage with this group, which is also directed by Holzman, was a wonderful opportunity to make CCM a more accessible place for Cincinnati musicians and music-lovers.

This concert video also features a performance of Freeing Aurora, a piece composed by CCM doctoral student Matthew Mauro. “I originally wrote Freeing Aurora for wind ensemble in the fall of 2011 as part of a commission by the Worthington Kilbourne High School Bands in Columbus, Ohio,” said Mauro. The Worthington Kilbourne Wind Ensemble premiered the piece at Carnegie Hall in April 2012.

“I wrote for the sake of absolute music—that is, I wrote it without a particular image or concept in mind,” Mauro explained. “Throughout the compositional process, though, I had recurring visions of colorful light spectrums similar to the Northern Lights, which ultimately inspired the title.”

This video performance features a new arrangement of Freeing Aurora. “I would like to thank the members of the CCM Horn and percussion studios for performing this piece and Shimon Ohi for conducting,” said Mauro.

View the original program booklet for this concert through UC's Digital Resource Commons