The study of music at CCM is strongly performance based. The cornerstone of all degree programs is private lessons with faculty, who serve as mentors for students and direct their individual musical, performing and teaching growth.
The curriculum emphasizes the development of the well-rounded, holistic musician by providing a solid background in music history and theory as well as areas specific to each musical medium. Undergraduate students enjoy a close collaboration with the University of Cincinnati through a general education core that supplements their education with academic course work while graduate students specialize more precisely in their chosen field.
Where performance is the primary focus, the opportunities are abundant. CCM houses almost 1,000 performances each year in state-of-the-art spaces. Each degree program culminates in at least one full, required solo recital. Students rehearse and perform frequently with over a dozen ensembles from orchestras to wind symphonies; from pit orchestras to combined choral productions; from early music to 21st-century compositions. Chamber music study is a critical element of each program, and CCM holds annual concerto and scholarship competitions. Faculty and guest artists conduct regular studio classes and master classes. The CCM Student Artist Program even helps provide students solo and chamber music opportunities throughout the Greater Cincinnati community.
A powerful network of nationally and internationally renowned teachers and performers is available to students. Our principal applied faculty include Demarre McGill and Heather Verbeck on flute, Mark Ostoich and Dwight Parry on oboe, Ronald Aufmann, Ixi Chen and Christopher Pell on clarinet; Martin Garcia and Christopher Sales on bassoon, and James Bunte, Craig Bailey, Om Srivastava and Rick VanMatre on saxophone. Our graduates are able to draw on this network as they begin their own careers as soloists, chamber musicians and players with major symphony orchestras, as well as teaching at schools and privately throughout the world.
A powerful network of nationally and internationally renowned teachers and performers is available to students. Our principal applied faculty include Denise Tryon, Elizabeth Freimuth, Karen Schneider and Margaret Tung on horn, Michael Mergen and Phil Collins on trumpet, Tim Anderson and Peter Norton on trombone, and Tim Northcut on tuba/euphonium. Our graduates are able to draw on this network as they begin their own careers as soloists, chamber musicians and players with major symphony orchestras, as well as teaching at schools and privately throughout the world.
Performance is the primary focus of the percussionist at CCM. Students participate in eight full-time ensembles as well as frequent ad hoc groups. In addition, Greater Cincinnati has a rich cultural tradition that provides a variety of freelance opportunities. Each student meets with one member of Percussion Group Cincinnati (Russell Burge or James Culley) in weekly applied lessons and interacts with the other two group members through course work, seminars, ensembles and frequent performance and master classes.
October 19, 2020
In 2019, UC College-Conservatory of Music student and now alumna Caroline Sackleh (DMA Bassoon Performance, ’20) created a music collective that focuses on highlighting the skills of women musicians and performing the works of living composers. With that vision in mind, New Downbeat was born. The ensemble now boasts over 20 performers and six affiliated composers, most of whom are CCM students or alumni.
October 6, 2020
The Wind Symphony at UC's College-Conservatory of music reunites on the Corbett Auditorium stage to present a socially-distanced virtual performance. Led by Director of Wind Studies Kevin Michael Holzman, the concert features works by Kevin Day, Andrea Tarrodi, Samuel Barber, Joaquin Rodrigo and Richard Strauss.
September 30, 2020
Southern Methodist University's DataArts, the National Center for Arts Research, recently released the 2020 Arts Vibrancy Index Report, which measures the hotbeds of America's arts and culture. For the first time in the annual report's history, Cincinnati made the top-20 large metropolitan area list.
