Backstage at CCM

Enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at the work that goes into CCM performances and collaborative projects courtesy of the new Backstage at CCM documentary series.

These behind-the-scenes videos were created by students and faculty members from CCM's Media Production Division

A Voice Like Mine

A Voice Like Mine spotlights bass-baritone John Mburu, who is pursuing his Master of Music degree in Voice Performance at CCM. Mburu studies with CCM Professor of Voice Kenneth Shaw. In addition to his roles in mainstage operas at CCM, Mburu has also participated in CCM's Opera Fusion: New Works initiative with Cincinnati Opera, which offers composers or composer/librettist teams the opportunity to workshop an opera during a 10-day residency in Cincinnati.


Breath Release Technique in Modern Dance

This mini-documentary shows viewers an excerpt from CCM's Modern Dance Tech Class, taught by Shauna Steele, Associate Professor and Chair of Dance. The class is an exploration of the kinesthetic sense (senses of position and movement of the body). Students learn how to combine technique with their own unique artistic interpretation. 


Ready, Set, Action!

Join CCM Professor of Technical Direction Stirling Shelton and his Tech Production Two class on a Saturday as they rig the set and lights for CCM's production of the play Blue Stockings by Jessica Swale. Can they get it done by midnight?


Microphone Shootout

Join one of CCM faculty member Aaron Almashy's audio/sound production classes as he and his students record student cellist Audrey Hudgens' lesson with CCM faculty member and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra cellist Alan Rafferty.


The Cello Lesson

Join first-year master of music student Audrey Hudgens for a lesson and conversation with CCM faculty member Alan Rafferty. A member of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra since 2007, Rafferty holds the Ruth F. Rosevear Cello Chair with the CSO.


Becoming Susanna

Follow along as soprano Emma Marhefka, a first-year Master of Music student in Voice Performance at CCM, works with students and faculty members from CCM's Departments of Opera, Make-up and Wig Design and Costume Design and Technology to bring one of opera's most beloved characters to life.


The Making of the Hughes Project

Get an inside look at the dazzling collaboration between the college's Theatre Design and Production department and Hughes STEM High School art students. 


Louise Dieterle Nippert Trust
Scholarship and Resident Artist Sponsor
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship Sponsor
The Corbett Endowment at CCM
Dance Department Sponsor
All-Steinway School Sponsor
Louise H. & David S. Ingalls Foundation, Inc.
Community Partners
The Joseph and Frances Jones Poetker Fund of the Cambridge Charitable Foundation, Ritter & Randolph, LLC, Corporate Counsel
Visiting Artists & Thinking About Music Sponsor
ArtsWave: Funding Arts, Fueling Community
CCMpower: Friends and Alumni Fueling the Future of the Arts 
The Strader Fund at the Greater Cincinnati Foundation
CCMONSTAGE ONLINE Broadcast Sponsors
Dr. & Mrs. Carl G. Fischer
Musical Theatre Department Sponsor
Genevieve Smith
Opera Production Sponsor
Rafael and Kimberly de Acha
Opera D’Arte Sponsor
An Anonymous Donor
Estate of Mr. William A. Friedlander
Mrs. William A. Friedlander
Dr. Randolph L. Wadsworth
Judith Schonbach Landgren and Peter Landgren
Mr. & Mrs. Harry H. Santen
Elizabeth C.B. & Paul G. Sittenfeld+
Mr. & Mrs. Thomas E. Stegman
Dr. & Mrs. Theodore W. Striker
Mrs. Harry M. Hoffheimer
Ariel Quartet Sponsors
Jan Rogers
Willard and Jean Mulford Charitable Fund of the Cambridge Charitable Foundation
Choral Studies Sponsors
Mr. & Mrs. Joseph W. Hirschhorn
Orchestral Sponsor
Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation
Starling Pre-Collegiate Sponsor
Starling Strings Sponsor
Dr. Timothy E. and Janet L. Johnson
Thom Miles and Roberta Gary
Organ Department Sponsors
Louis and Susan Meisel
Piano Department Sponsor
Richard E. Thornburgh
Edward Donovan and Cheryl Carter
Jeff Thomas Catering
The Castleberry Family
KMK Law
Sandra & Stephen Joffe
Paula Boggs Muething & Brian Muething
Patti Myers & Alan Flaherty
Trish & Rick Bryan
Prestige AV & Creative Services
Graeter’s Ice Cream 
Rhinegeist Brewery
CCMpower
The CCM Harmony Fund: Challenging Hate & Prejudice through the Performing Arts
Event Sponsors
Buddy Rogers Music
LINKS Sponsor
Sponsors listed as of August 30, 2021

There's More To Explore!

Access additional videos on CCM's official YouTube channel

Looking for CCM's School, Stage & Screen podcast? Tune in here