University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music


The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music is a performing and media arts college of the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio. Initially established as the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in 1867, CCM is one of the oldest continually operating conservatories in the United States.
The college, which enrolls less than 1,500 students a year, has been widely ranked as one of the best performing arts colleges in the United States.

History

Early years

The Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music was formed in August 1955 from the merger of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, formed in 1867 as part of a girls' finishing school, and the College of Music of Cincinnati, which opened in 1878. CCM was incorporated into the University of Cincinnati on August 1, 1962. The college is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, its original name.
CCM's first opera department was established in 1917 under the leadership of Ralph Lyford, an American composer and conductor. In 1920 Lyford founded the Summer Zoo Opera at the Cincinnati Zoological Gardens, a summer performance series that eventually evolved into what is now known as Cincinnati Opera. Cincinnati Ballet's debut performances took place at Wilson Auditorium on the University of Cincinnati campus in 1964 and 1965. In 1966, the directorship of the ballet company passed on to David McLain, who at the time also headed CCM's Dance Division. Cincinnati Ballet's early connection to CCM gave the new company studio space for classes and rehearsals, access to talented students, and performance space in Wilson Auditorium.

Present day

CCM has an enrollment of 1,353 as of the Fall 2023 academic term: 833 undergraduate students and 520 graduate students. According to data provided by the college, students come to CCM from 41 different US states and 41 different countries, with international students representing nearly one quarter of the student body.
The college's personnel includes 116 full-time faculty members, 151 part-time faculty members and 53 staff members.
CCM is the largest single source of performing arts presentations in Ohio, with nearly one thousand performances each academic year. Many of these performances are free to University of Cincinnati students and CCM now offers both a music minor and a media production minor. CCM also offers a wide variety of arts elective courses that are open to all University of Cincinnati students.

Academics

Music

Doctor of Musical Arts degrees are offered in all performance, conducting, and academic areas including Ph.D. programs in musicology, music history and music theory. Advanced degrees called Artist Diplomas are available in most performance areas as well. Master of Music degrees are available in all those programs, including classical guitar and jazz studies, as well as collaborative piano and music education. All undergraduate music programs are performance-based and attain a Bachelor of Music degree. A music BA is offered, as well as a minor.

Musical Theater

Founded in 1969, the musical theater program at CCM is the oldest bachelor's degree program of its class in the United States. It is consistently ranked as one of the nation's top musical theater programs and is presumed to be the most selective undergraduate program at the University of Cincinnati. Playbill consistently reports CCM as one of the top 10 most represented colleges on Broadway. When the COVID-19 pandemic caused the cancellation of the musical theater program's annual senior showcase in New York City, CCM became the first program in the nation to produce a "virtual senior showcase" for casting agents and industry professionals. More recently, Playbill included CCM in its list of "schools of the stars," which included the eight colleges and universities with the most Tony Award nominees in 2024.

Opera

CCM Opera and vocal studies ranked second in the United States in 2017 and 2020, and Backstage Magazine included CCM on its 2024 list of "12 College Vocal Programs You Should Know." Students and alumni represented in the nation's top young artist programs, including the Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera and Opera Theater Saint Louis. Each March, CCM holds its Opera Scholarship Competition, a vocal competition eligible to students in CCM's graduate opera program, featuring five prizes including full-tuition scholarships plus $10,000 to $15,000 in cash prizes.

Acting for Stage and Screen

CCM offers a BFA in acting designed to train students for the dramatic theater as well as for work in film and television. While the majority of programs related to the school's theater departments are undergraduate, a number of Master of Fine Arts degree tracks are offered in theater design and production. In 2015, The Hollywood Reporter named CCM number 12 on its list of the top 25 undergraduate drama schools in the world.

Theater Design and Production (TDP)

CCM TDP is one of two schools in the country to offer an MFA program in Makeup and Wig Design, and one of very few to offer an MFA in Stage Properties. Featuring an 8,500 square foot scene shop, 3,000 square foot costume shop, and wig, make-up and prosthetics studios it is one of the best schools for hands-on training and learning. CCM TDP offers 13 different degrees all with hands-on training for each discipline. Alumni have gone on to work with Feld Entertainment, Hamilton, Cirque Du Soleil, and many other notable companies.

Dance

Dance study at CCM emphasizes ballet. The department offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance.

Arts Administration

CCM offers both an MA in Arts Administration and a dual MBA/MA in Arts Administration in conjunction with the University of Cincinnati's Carl H. Lindner College of Business. The program is focused on preparing students to lead and manage arts organizations.

Media Production

The largest and fastest growing program at CCM is media production. The program offers a general Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in media production, as well as an academic minor. The program uses a track-based curriculum with tracks in Film and Television Production, Broadcast Media Production and Multimedia Production with focus areas in web-site design, audio production and sports media. The curriculum in each track shares a common first year experience for all students. It requires two semesters of internships, a year-long capstone, and 18 credits in a minor or certificate program in addition to general education foundation from classes across campus. Media Production student organizations include a student radio station and student-run campus television station. Media Production alumni are heavily involved in the college's "CCM Onstage Online" performance broadcast series and "School, Stage and Screen" podcast series.

Campus

CCM Village

Completed in 1999, CCM Village was built at an overall cost of $93.2 million. Under the supervision of Henry Cobb, of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, renovated structures were merged with new buildings, creating four overall centers: Mary Emery Hall, the Corbett Center for the Performing Arts, Memorial Hall, and the Dieterle Vocal Arts Center. Among other things, the CCM Village includes the Dale Warland Singers Archive, which includes more than 110 choral works and arrangements, first edition copies of all 270 works commissioned by the Dale Warland Singers and a media library that has more than 300 audio and video recordings of the ensemble's performances.
The college's resources also include the Albino Gorno Memorial Library, also known as the "CCM Library," which is located in UC's Carl Blegen Library. The library is adjacent to the CCM Village. Its music library houses more than 150,000 volumes, including books, music scores, periodicals, microforms and recordings that support the full range of programs offered at CCM. The Albino Gorno Memorial Music Library also contains group study spaces, high fidelity media players and a computer lab.

Media Production facilities

CCM's on-campus media production facilities include a television studio, audio recording studio, 4K Avid Editing lab, Bearcast radio station, multiple audio/video/multimedia workstation labs, digital cinema cameras, lighting, grip and field audio production equipment. These labs, studios and field equipment are scheduled, maintained and available for checkout by media production majors. The labs and studios include:
  • the multi-camera Bartlett Television Studio, control room and master control area
  • The Ralph J. Corbett Audio Production Center
  • The '''Jack and Joan Strader Radio Center
  • The Avid Media Composer/Adobe Creative Suite 4K Postproduction Lab
  • The Judith and Jim Van Cleave Multimedia Laboratory'''

    Nippert Rehearsal Studio

The Nippert Rehearsal Studio, named for Louise Dieterle Nippert, was originally the site of the University of Cincinnati gymnasium and main basketball court from 1911 until 1951. Its windows overlook Nippert Stadium. Since 1951, the space has primarily acted as the main rehearsal hall for all of CCM's mainstage productions.

Performance Halls

CCM's performance halls include the 663-seat Corbett Auditorium, the 378-seat modified thrust Patricia Corbett Theater, the 250-seat Robert J. Werner Recital Hall, the 140-seat Watson Recital Hall, and the flexible black box Cohen Family Studio Theater. The performance spaces are utilized by the college's large number of performing ensembles, which include:
  • two concert orchestras
  • four wind ensembles
  • two choruses
  • several big bands and jazz combos
  • a variety of chamber music ensembles and speciality ensembles
Corbett Auditorium, Patricia Corbett Theater and the Cohen Family Studio Theater are also utilized by CCM's Division of Theatre Arts, Production and Arts Administration, which produces approximately 16 musicals, opera, plays and dance productions annually. In 2017, CCM's five main performance halls participated in a ~$15M renovation.