CCM Ensembles

Choral Ensembles / Orchestral Ensembles / Percussion Ensembles / Wind Ensembles / Jazz Ensembles

Choral Ensembles

Chamber Choir
The CCM Chamber Choir is a graduate-based ensemble of 36 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, the recent past season featuring the St. Matthew Passion. Featured in 2007-08 are Handel’s Dixit Dominus, Haydn’s Harmoniemesse, and the midwest and university premieres of Tan Dun’s Water Passion after St. Matthew. Recent national activities of the Chamber Choir include acclaimed performances 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. 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, Morton Lauridsen, Louise Talma, and Jeffrey Van. The Chamber Choir combines with the Chorale twice annually to perform choral/orchestral masterworks.

Chorale
The Chorale is an undergraduate based ensemble of 60 voices with a core of undergraduate voice majors. Under the direction in 2007-08 of newly appointed faculty member, Brett Scott, the Chorale performs a wide range of music including a cappella and accompanied standard and contemporary repertoire as well as world music. Featured in 2007-08 are Brahms’ Neue Liebeslieder Waltzer and Schicksalslied, Mozart’s Missa Brevis in F, K. 192, Randall Thompson’s The Peaceable Kingdom, and works of Greig, Pinkham, Conrad Susa, Tchaikovsky and Veljo Tormis. In 2005 the Chorale was featured in an international real-time web cast of Orff's Carmina Burana for Chorus America's Choral and Orchestral Conducting Masterclass held at CCM. The Chorale combines with the Chamber Choir twice annually to present major choral/orchestral works.

Masterworks with the Chamber Choir, Chorale and Orchestra Masterworks with the Chamber Choir, Chorale and Orchestra The Chamber Choir and Chorale combine twice annually to present major choral/orchestral works with the CCM Philharmonia and Concert Orchestras. Featured in 2007-08 are Beethoven Symphony No. 9, Poulenc Gloria, and Verdi Quattro Pezzi Sacri. The Chamber Choir and Chorale often perform with the Cincinnati May Festival, the western hemisphere's oldest continuing choral festival. Recent May Festival performances have featured the Mahler Symphony No. 8 conducted by James Conlon (2004) and Berlioz Requiem conducted by James Levine (2005).

Chamber Singers
The Chamber Singers is a 50-voice mixed chorus of music majors conducted exclusively by graduate MM and DMA choral majors, under the mentorship of 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 University Men's and Women's Choruses of 100 voices are comprised of undergraduate students from the UC's thirteen component colleges. DMA choral majors with significant experience are awarded the Directorships for two-year positions with these ensembles. The University 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.

See also: Department of Choral Studies homepage


Orchestral Ensembles

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. For more information, visit www.uc.edu/groups/orchestra/

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: http://www.ccm.uc.edu/musicx/.


See also: Orchestras Department homepage

Percussion Ensembles

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.


Percussion Ensemble


Wind Ensembles

Wind Symphony
The internationally-acclaimed Wind Symphony is composed of the most outstanding wind and percussion players at CCM. Critically praised for the quality of its musicianship as well as the diversity and originality of its programming, the Wind Symphony is dedicated to bringing the finest repertoire from all musical periods to its audiences. Reviewers and composers alike have recognized the Symphony's powerfully-evocative performances and have cited the ensemble for its clarity and assurance as well as its unique sound, enterprising musicality, and relentless commitment to quality American music.

Symphony Band
The Symphony Band is part of the Ensembles and Conducting Division at CCM. Comprised of about 60 students, the Band operates like a wind ensemble with the parts rotating as music demands and students taking turns as principals. 2003-04 marks the 25th anniversary of Terence Milligan as conductor of the Symphony Band.

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. 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 in Caracas, Venezuela.

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.

Brass Choir
The Brass Ensemble (now the Brass Choir) was founded by Ernest M. Glover in the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in 1946. Today under the direction of professor Timothy Northcut, the Brass Choir maintains its reputation of being one of the finest ensembles of its kind. The Brass Choir recently performed and recorded with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, and the CD will be released in March 2004.

Trumpet Ensemble, Trombone Choir and Esprit de Cor Horn Choir provide even more performance opportunities for brass majors.

See also: Wind Studies Department homepage


Jazz Ensembles

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.

See also: Jazz Studies Program homepage