Choral Ensembles

The CCM Choral Department maintains five choral ensembles - the 40-voice Chamber Choir, 50-voice Chorale, 50-voice Chamber Singers, and 120-voice UC Men's and Women's Choruses. Choral majors are often engaged as assistant conductors, professional singers, accompanists, and administrators for the Vocal Arts Ensemble of Cincinnati, a professional chamber choir, and the Cincinnati Children's Choir, Ensemble-in-Residence at CCM, of over 300 children and youth in six ensembles.

Chamber Choir

The CCM Chamber Choir is a graduate-based ensemble of 40 voice and choral majors under the direction of Earl Rivers that performs masterworks with chamber orchestra and miniatures from the historical standard repertory and contemporary periods. The Chamber Choir rotates the cycle of J.S. Bach's masterworks- Mass in B Minor, Christmas Oratorio, St. John Passion and St. Matthew Passion. Last season the Chamber Choir performed a 400th Anniversary Celebration concert of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 at Cincinnati’s Christ Church Cathedral, Stravinsky’s Les Noces on CCM’s Stravinsky Festival, and the regional premiere of Schnittke’s a cappella masterwork, Concerto for Choir. In November 2011 the Chamber Choir collaborates with the CCM Opera Department with a staged production of J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion at Cincinnati’s St. Peter in Chains Cathedral, and in March 2011 presents an Interest Session on the production of the St. Matthew Passion before the ACDA Central Division convention. National activities of the Chamber Choir in the most recent decade include acclaimed performances of Handel’s Dixit Dominus at the 2001 ACDA National Convention in San Antonio and of si placet works of Josquin and his contemporaries at the 2002 American Musicological Society National Convention. In 2003 the Chamber Choir presented Bach's Mass in B Minor and an all-American program on a concert tour of Portugal, and in 2008 performed the Midwest premieres of Tan Dun's Water Passion after St. Matthew and Bach’s Mass in B Minor with the Midwest and collegiate premieres of Bastian Clevé’s film, The Sound of Eternity. Four ACDA Central Division Convention appearances by the Chamber Choir in recent seasons have included J.S. Bach's Mass in B Minor; a program of American composers Carol Barnett, Cary John Franklin, William Hawley, and Aaron Jay Kernis; Interest Sessions on "Performance Practices of J.S. Bach exhibited through the Christmas Oratorio"; and "Music for chorus and mixed instruments" featuring works of David Brunner, Libby Larsen, Morten Lauridsen, Louise Talma, and Jeffrey Van. The Chamber Choir combines with the Chorale twice annually to perform choral/orchestral masterworks.

CCM Chorale

The CCM Chorale is an undergraduate based ensemble of 50 voices with a core of undergraduate voice majors under the direction of Brett Scott that performs a wide range of music including a cappella and accompanied standard and contemporary repertoire. Chorale will perform Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms at Calvary Episcopal Church in October 2011, Brahms’s Neueliebeslieder Waltzer in January 2012, and a new work by Jonathan Dove at Covington’s Cathedral Basilica in May 2012. The Chorale will join with the UC Men’s and Women’s Choruses and CCM Concert Orchestra April 2012 for Orff’s Carmina Burana, Finzi’s Requiem da Camera, and Vaughan Williams’s Serenade to Music. The Chorale frequently combines with the Chamber Choir to perform with the Cincinnati May Festival, the western hemisphere's oldest continuing choral festival. The most recent May Festival performances with the combined Chorale and Chamber Choir have featured the Mahler Symphony No. 8 conducted by James Conlon and Berlioz Requiem conducted by James Levine.

Masterworks with the Chamber Choir, Chorale and Orchestra

The Chamber Choir and Chorale combine annually to present standard repertory and contemporary choral/orchestral masterworks with the CCM Philharmonia and Concert Orchestras. Featured in January 2011 was a concert version (complete) of Puccini’s Turandot with the CCM Philharmonia Orchestra and Cincinnati Children’s Choir. Recent seasons have featured collegiate premieres of John Adam’s On the Transmigration of Souls, Philip Glass’s Symphony No. 5, Penderecki’s Credo, and Augusta Read Thomas’s Ring Out, Wild Bells, To The Wild Sky, the latter two works both performed before the ACDA Central Division Convention. Featured in February 2012 is Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust with visuals by Raul Barcelona.

Chamber Singers

The CCM Chamber Singers is a 50-voice mixed chorus of music majors conducted exclusively by graduate MM and DMA choral majors, under the mentorship of the choral faculty. MM and DMA choral majors gain professional conducting training through rehearsals and performances of the Chamber Singers, performing a varied repertoire of a cappella, accompanied, and chamber works from all style periods. Chamber Singers rehearsals are followed by masterclasses for MM and DMA choral majors with choral and guest artist faculty.

University Men’s and Women’s Choruses

The UC Men's and Women's Choruses of 120 voices are comprised of undergraduate students from the University of Cincinnati’s thirteen component colleges of over 40,000 students. DMA choral majors with significant experience are awarded the Directorships of two these ensembles. The UC Choruses perform a diverse repertoire of a cappella, accompanied, folk, spirituals, world music, and annual masterworks with orchestra. They present quarterly concerts on campus, appear on CCM’s Feast of Carols, and make an annual spring weekend tour.

Jazz Ensemble

The Jazz Ensemble is CCM's premier big band and it performs a wide variety of styles including historical swing, bebop, post-bop, fusion, Latin, and avant-garde. Special emphasis is placed on the idiom's great art-music composers such as Thad Jones, Bill Holman, and Bob Brookmeyer, on projects like the annual All-Ellington transcription concert, and on the performance of student arrangements. Concerts have included historical tributes to Woody Herman and Stan Kenton, as well as composer residency programs featuring artists like Maria Schneider, Jim McNeely, Slide Hampton, Tim Hagans, and Kenny Wheeler as guest conductors/performers. The Jazz Ensemble has been invited to appear at numerous professional festivals, educational conferences and radio broadcasts. Many internationally recognized artists have performed as soloists with the big bands and combos, including Eddie Daniels, John Fedchock, Frank Foster, Curtis Fuller, Kenny Garrett, Joe Henderson, Ahmad Jamal, Dave Liebman, and Joshua Redman. Serenade in Blue, the most recent compact disc recording by the CCM Jazz Ensemble on Sea Breeze Records continues to receive wide recognition and enthusiastic reviews. Cadence Magazine called it "a necessary part of any big-band enthusiast's library."

Jazz Lab Band

The Jazz Lab Band also performs an eclectic repertoire written for 17-18 players. Many styles from Count Basie to the present are performed, as well as original works by CCM students. The group performs frequently on campus and is often invited to appear at Cincinnati area jazz clubs.

Jazz Combos

The extensive Chamber Jazz Program includes approximately 10 combos. It ensures that all jazz majors perform in a supervised combo every year of their study. Specialized combos such as the Brazilian Ensemble are offered periodically. CCM combos have received awards from Down Beat magazine and numerous festivals.

Philharmonia Orchestra

The Philharmonia Orchestra, under the music direction of Professor Mark Gibson, is CCM's premier orchestral ensemble and is recognized as one of the world's elite conservatory orchestras. The Philharmonia has risen to world prominence through the quality of its performances, recordings, and its national and international tours. The Philharmonia serves as the opera orchestra for the Conservatory's award-winning opera productions.  Members of the Philharmonia are regularly divided into chamber orchestras for a variety of specialized and high-profile performances. 

Concert Orchestra

The Concert Orchestra, under the music direction of Annunziata Tomaro, shares a wind and brass rotation with the Philharmonia, with a slightly younger string section. Graduate students provide leadership in the strings, helping the orchestra achieve a high level of performance. Concert Orchestra performs a full season of nine events, often taking the stage alongside the Philharmonia, and performs with both the Mainstage Opera series and CCM’s annual “Feast of Carols” celebration. 

University of Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

The UC Symphony Orchestra is a campus orchestra, open to all students regardless of major. Optional small ensembles, various community service events, and social events are offered throughout the year. 

Café MoMus

Named after the boisterous “Café Momus” from Puccini’s La Bohéme, the MoMus concert series continues CCM’s dedication to the performance of modern music. Under the direction of Annunziata Tomaro, Cafè MoMus is taking the performance of new music in bold directions. Set in an intimate performance space, where subtle lighting and staging techniques combine with the musical expertise of the members of the CCM Philharmonia to create a wholly unique presentation of adventurous contemporary works. For other activities in new music, including composition competitions, please visit the MusicX website.

Steelband

The CCM Steelband is an ensemble made up of percussion majors under the direction of Professor Russell Burge. The band focuses on the traditional music of Trinidad but also incorporates pop, folk and reggae, and improvisation has become a key element of the band's repertoire. The Steelband gives one annual program each spring at CCM, as well as several outdoor concerts in the Cincinnati area.

Wind Symphony

The CCM Wind Symphony is generally regarded as one of America's finest wind bands, whose members represent the top wind and percussion players in the conservatory. The distinguished faculty who have conducted the ensemble include Frank Simon, Ernest Glover, Robert Hornyak, Terence Milligan, Eugene Corporon, and Mallory Thompson, while the list of guest conductors who have appeared with the Wind Symphony includes major wind band figures from around the world. Glenn D. Price assumed leadership of the ensemble in 2011.

Wind Ensemble

Acknowledged as "wonderful and exciting" with performances described as "powerful, moving and thrilling," the Wind Ensemble draws its membership from the finest undergraduate and graduate musicians at CCM. Acclaimed for the quality of their performances as well as the diversity and originality of their programming, the Wind Ensemble is dedicated to bringing the finest traditional and contemporary literature to their audiences. This organization has appeared numerous times before the Ohio Music Educators Association, the Kentucky Music Educators Association, the American Society of University Composers, and has been heard nationally through broadcasts on National Public Radio.

Chamber Players

The CCM Chamber Players were founded in 1998 by Rodney Winther as a professional-level graduate ensemble consisting of winds, brass, percussion, and strings. In the short time since their formation, the Chamber Players have been invited to perform at a number of very prestigious events, including the 50th Anniversary celebration of the Eastman Wind Ensemble in 2002, where they helped to raise the collective consciousness of wind conductors to the importance and diversity of chamber music. The summer of 2002 marked the first international tour of the Chamber Players, when they became the first American ensemble to perform at the Festival a Tempo, which is held every summer in Caracas, Venezuela. Their four concerts were played to capacity audiences and won rave reviews resulting in the ensemble receiving an invitation to return in the summer of 2004. In 2004 the ensemble served as the orchestra for CCM's production of Robert Kurka's Good Soldier Schweik. The 2005 season culminated in a rare collaboration with Chorus American in their production of Respighi's Laude to the Nativity. 2006 marked a monumental year as the group was invited to perform both at the National CBDNA Convention at the University of Michigan, as well as the International Convention of WASBE in Ireland. Glenn D. Price assumed leadership in 2011.

Chamber Winds

The CCM Chamber Winds is a small, flexible ensemble consisting primarily of undergraduate wind players. The purpose of the ensemble is to give younger, less-experienced players an important chamber music experience that places responsibility on each individual. Students are exposed to the standards of the wind chamber repertoire, including works by such composers as Mozart, Krommer, and Beethoven and more contemporary repertoire by Hindemith and Milhaud.