Watch performances from Jennifer Higdon's residency at CCM

This October, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music welcomed Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Award-winning composer Jennifer Higdon for a three-day-long residency. Dubbed the "Jennifer Higdon Festival," this one-of-a-kind event featured a variety of different public performances presented by students and faculty, along with a Composition Symposium for CCM students, faculty and staff.

"Our students regularly work with living composers, but in this case they are working closely with a celebrated Pulitzer and Grammy Award-winning composer," said CCM Director of Orchestral Studies Mark Gibson, who led the planning for the festival. "We try to provide transformative experiences for our students and this will change peoples' lives."

More than 300 students were involved in the festival's performances, which featured Higdon's compositions for orchestra, wind band, choral ensemble, opera, percussion and chamber music. Several of those festival performances are now available for on-demand viewing.

"When you have this many people involved in performances, it's such a spectacular display of the talent at the conservatory," Higdon said. "It's really impressive — not a lot of places could pull this off."

Learn more about Jennifer Higdon and CCM's fall festival.

This October, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music welcomed Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Award-winning composer Jennifer Higdon for a three-day-long residency. Dubbed the "Jennifer Higdon Festival," this one-of-a-kind event featured a variety of different public performances presented by students and faculty, along with a Composition Symposium for CCM students, faculty and staff.

During the festival's "Symphonic Brilliance" concert on Friday, Oct. 17, the CCM Philharmonia student orchestra was joined by undergraduate viola student Gabriel Caal for a performance of Higdon's Grammy Award-winning Viola Concerto. Winner of the CCM Viola Concerto Competition, Gabriel Caal is a student of CCM faculty member Catharine Carroll Lees. Graduate conducting student Alfonso Keller-Casielles lead the ensemble.

During the festival's "Symphonic Brilliance" concert on Friday, Oct. 17, the CCM Philharmonia student orchestra was joined by doctoral harp student Emily Stone for a performance of Higdon's Grammy Award-winning Harp Concerto. Winner of the CCM Harp Concerto Competition, Emily Stone is a student of CCM faculty member Gillian Benet Sella. Gibson conducted the ensemble.

The Harp Concerto, which received its world premiere in 2018, is comprised of four movements. Higdon won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition in 2020 for her composition of the piece.

The festival's "Symphonic Brilliance" concert also featured a performance of Higdon's Grammy Award-winning Percussion Concerto by the CCM Wind Symphony with faculty soloist Adam Groh. CCM faculty member Kevin Michael Holzman conducted the ensemble.

A one-movement concerto for solo percussion and orchestra, the piece was completed in 2005 and won the Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition in 2010.

The festival's "Symphonic Brilliance" concert also featured a performance of Higdon's Blue Cathedral, her most frequently performed work, featuring the CCM Wind Symphony. CCM faculty member Kevin Michael Holzman conducted the ensemble.

Enjoy a short introduction from Jennifer Higdon herself before watching the performance!

Higdon's "Love Sweet" is a collection of five songs based on love poems by American poet Amy Lowell. The piece was performed by sopranos Kristine Overman and Emily Owings, pianist Nano Beraia, violinist Xingyu Guan and cellist Joanna Frank during the festival's "Opera, Chamber and Percussion" concert on Saturday, Oct. 18, which was dedicated to Higdon's compositions.

CCM faculty members Amy Johnson and Kirill Kuzmin served as vocal coaches for the concert, with Nick Photinos serving as professor of chamber music and eminent scholar.

Higdon describes Splendid Wood as "a joyous celebration of the sound of wood, one of nature's most basic materials, a part of all sorts of things in our world, but used most thrillingly and gloriously in instruments."

The CCM Xylophone Sextet—comprised of students Marie Conti, Liang Dong, Yuxuan Gong, Qiming Han, Matt Hanson and Peter Loferski—performed the work during the Oct. 18 concert. Groh and fellow CCM faculty member Rusty Burge served as music directors.

The Oct. 18 concert also included excerpts from Higdon's opera Cold Mountain featuring tenor Cameron Howard as Veasy, baritone Alan Rendzak as Inman, soprano Sabina Balsamo as Ada and mezzo-soprano Claire Strong as Ruby, accompanied by pianist Wenhao He.

CCM's concert exploration of Higdon's opera, chamber and percussion works concluded with a performance of "Lilacs" performed by mezzo-soprano Madison Kavanaugh and pianist Sasha Rasmussen.

CCM students in the Five Rivers Brass ensemble perform Jennifer Higdon's "Book of Brass" in the "Choral and Chamber Music" concert, the final performance of Higdon's residency presented on Oct. 18. Five Rivers Brass consists of Joel Kayser (trumpet), Brendan Mathieson (trumpet), Autumn Edson (horn), Kelley Ozier (euphonium) and Christopher Messinger (tuba).

The ensemble is coached by CCM Trumpet Instructor Ashley Hall-Tighe. Presented in Corbett Auditorium, the concert was lead by conductors Joe Miller and Brett Scott, and music director Nick Photinos.

Nothing beats the thrill of a live performance, and there's no better way to experience CCM's world-class students than at our upcoming spring performances and events! View our calendar at ccm.uc.edu/onstage.

These CCM OnStage Archives videos were produced by CCM Recording Productions, an in-house video production entity that plans a season of promotional videos, short documentaries and concert recordings showcasing CCM students, faculty, staff and alumni.

Featured image at top of award-winning composer Jennifer Higdon visiting a CCM rehearsal alongside Assistant Professor of Percussion Adam Groh. Photo/Angelo Anton