I’ve enjoyed some of the most engaging programs in memory by Cincinnati Song Initiative, a series of programs devoted to art song. Founded five years ago by Sam Martin, it features rising stars — many of them CCM alumni — and CCM faculty in impeccable performances of music we don’t often hear.

This year, it’s all digital, thanks to Covid-19. That doesn’t mean that it’s programs aren’t just as compelling. Concerts can be streamed through CSI’s new online platform, CSI Digital. You can
access the concerts as they stream live and re-watch them as many times as you wish. You’ll also have access to extras, such as Composers & Cocktails happy hour chats, Beyond the Song webinars, Coffee Convos roundtable discussions, and CSI’s complete video concert archives.

The season includes its largest commissioning project to date. Cincinnati Song Initiative will commission a single song from ten composers for its grand finale in May.

Here’s the schedule:

A World of Song: For the Dream Unfinished, streaming October 11, 2020 | 4 pm EST

For its fifth season opening and the launch of A World of Song, CSI assembles a dynamite team in works by some of the greatest Black compositional voices of America. You’ll hear songs by John Carter, John L.
Cornelius III, W.G. Still, Howard Swanson, and Richard Thompson.

Meet the Artists: Jasmine Habersham, soprano; Nicole Heaston, soprano; Nicholas Newton, bass-baritone; Blair Salter, piano and Rolando Salazar, piano

A World of Song: Colorful Thoughts, streaming December 6, 2020 | 4 pm EST

The second installment of CSI’s A World of Song series visits Eastern Europe, where lesser-known
and under-performed songs in Polish and Yiddish languages take center stage.

Meet the Artists: Laura LeVoir, soprano; Toni Marie Palmertree, soprano; Kathleen Kelly, piano and Ellen Rissinger, piano

Winter Song Festival: Cincinnati songSLAM, streaming January 9, 2021 | 7 pm EST

Up to ten teams will each present a single new song no longer than five minutes for voice and piano in
any language. The voting audience—in the poetry slam tradition—will then vote on their favorites and
award a total of $2,000 in prize money. Registration and more details on digital participation coming soon.

Winter Song Festival: Elena Villalón and Samuel Martin, streaming January 10, 2021 | 4 pm EST

Former Associate Artistic Director and CCM alumna Elena Villalón appears with Artistic Director Samuel Martin in an adventurous program featuring songs both beloved and off the beaten path. Villalón is a current studio artist at Houston Grand Opera, and was named a Grand Finals winner of the 2019 Metropolitan National Council Auditions. They’ll perform works by Manuel de Falla, Olivier Messiaen, Francis Poulenc, and others to be announced.

A World of Song: On Belonging, streaming February 21, 2021 | 4 pm EST

Four spellbinding artists explore the profound complexities of Asian identity and culture. The concert is presented in partnership with Wear Yellow Proudly, an Aural Compass Projects initiative.

Meet the Artists: Fleur Barron, mezzo; Samuel Chan, baritone; Myra Huang, piano; Hyejin Kwon, piano

A World of Song: Celebrating Latinx Voices, streaming April 11, 2021 | 4 pm EST

In the final installment of A World of Song, and the culmination of CSI’s three year Alma de España
series, four unique artists explore some of the greatest Spanish-language song from Latin America.

Meet the Artists: Deborah Lifton, soprano; Jehú Otero, tenor; Andrea González Caballero, guitar; Charis Dimaras, piano

Let It Be New, streaming May 16, 2021 | 4 pm EST

Cincinnati Song Initiative will commission a single song from each of the ten composers taking part in the inaugural National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) composer mentorship program. These songs will be produced in a concert video and premiered as CSI’s season finale, celebrating the work of BIPOC composers and providing an international platform for their important compositional voices. The composers involved in the project will be given a copy of this top-quality video recording for their own use going forward.

Mentors are Juliana Hall, Anthony Davis, Tom Cipullo, Roy Jennings, Jake Heggie, Andrea Clearfield
Lori Laitman, Evan Mack, H. Leslie Adams (General Advisor) and Michael Ching.

Composer mentees and recording artists to be announced.

For more information regarding upcoming concerts, artists, and CSI’s thematic projects and series,
please visit cincinnatisonginitiative.org.