Tag: Cincinnati

CCM-based Poiesis String Quartet wins Banff Competition

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Photo by Eden Davis

One of the world’s finest young string quartets is right here in Cincinnati. On Aug. 31, the Poiesis String Quartet, graduate string quartet-in-residence at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, won the Grand Prize in the prestigious 15th Banff International String Quartet Competition. The prize includes $500,000 CAD in cash, prizes, and career development opportunities, including touring and recording and three-year custom artistic and career development program.

The quartet is currently being mentored at CCM by the Ariel Quartet. Its members are: Sarah Ying Ma on violin, Max Ball on violin, Jasper de Boor on viola, and Drew Dansby on cello.  They are graduates of Oberlin College & Conservatory.

Nine international string quartets competed this year, in what is described as “one of the most competitive in the competition’s four-decade history.” The competition reports that competitors travelled to Banff from their home bases in Asia, Europe, and North America, with players hailing from 14 different countries.

The name Poiesis derives from ancient Greek and means “to make.” The ensemble focuses on expanding the quartet repertoire with new works by emerging composers.

Competition jury members include Marie Chilemme, Jonathan Crow, Eugene Drucker, Honggang Li, Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, Eckart Runge, and David Ying.

The quartet will present their fall recital at 6:45 p.m. Oct. 2 in Werner Recital Hall. Free.

 

 

Artist C.F. Payne, author Brent Coleman to sign books, sell art

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“Homework Flying” The original illustration from the children’s book “Late For School” that comedian Steve Martin wrote and C.F. Payne illustrated.

Nationally known illustrator C.F. Payne and author, editor and former Cincinnati Enquirer reporter Brent Coleman have collaborated on an entertaining illustrated book titled “Cincinnati Characters: The Unknown, Unappreciated and Unhinged.” The book (which I highly recommend) tells the stories of 35 men and women who impacted Cincinnati’s development in the 1800s and early 1900s.

“Reds Ball #2” from Chris F. Payne’s sketchbook. You can see the perforated edge. There will be 150 original illustrations from Chris’s sketch books.

Payne and Coleman will be signing books at Cincinnati Art Galleries, 225 E. Sixth St., downtown, 5-8 p.m. Sept. 22, to open the exhibition and sale of more than 200 of C.F. Payne’s illustrations. The show will include 35 illustrations from the recently published book.

Of course, you’ve seen Payne’s irresistible illustrations and caricatures. His work has appeared in publications such as Time, Der Spiegel, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, MAD, Boys Life, Atlantic Monthly, AARP, the Wall Street Journal and many other national and international publications. His work has been exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery, Norman Rockwell Museum, Mazza Museum, Cincinnati Art Museum and others around the world.

“Had Libby Holman – accused murderer, Broadway Star, torch singer, open bisexual and friend of Montgomery Clift, Dorothy Parker and Martin Luther King Jr. – graduated from The University of Cincinnati in 2013 instead of 1923, she would have been a YouTube and tabloid sensation.” Written by Brent Coleman from his book
Coleman wrote stories about Cincinnati history and interesting houses near the end of this 26-year career at the Enquirer. Those stories have formed the basis for this fun and informative book.
The artworks begin at $300. The exhibition and sale continues through Nov. 22. Information: cincyart.com.

Matinée Musicale announces grants to 10 arts programs

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Students from MYCincinnati. Photo provided

Thanks to a bequest from the estate of the late arts patron Louise Dieterle Nippert, Matinée Musicale is awarding $72,000 in grants to 10 deserving music education and outreach programs in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.

They are all achieving great things in the arts. The list:

Benjamin Carlson-Berne Scholarship Fund, which provides weekly private lessons and mentorship to youth of middle school age to high school age.Read More »

UC names new dean for CCM, and he’s a CCM grad

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Kristi A. Nelson, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of Cincinnati, today announced the appointment of Stanley E. Romanstein, PhD, as Dean of the College-Conservatory of Music (CCM).

Romanstein’s appointment becomes effective July 1, 2018, pending approval of the University’s Board of Trustees.

The CCM graduate returns to CCM from Georgia State University’s Creative Media Institute, where he has served as a professor of practice/music and the arts for the past four years. He was President and CEO of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (2010-14), among other posts.

Romanstein earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Carson-Newman College in 1976. He then came to CCM to earn a Master of Music in Choral Conducting in 1980 and a PhD in Music in 1990. He was a Fulbright Scholar in Israel in 1985-86 and in Japan in November-December 1998.

Read more about the new dean in the press release here.

Music Hall parking 101

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It’s better to plan ahead for parking if you are going to Music Hall.

If you’ve gone to the Cincinnati Symphony, Pops or Cincinnati Ballet at Music Hall this fall, you’ve likely discovered that parking isn’t what it used to be. Here’s how to BE PREPARED for the new changes since Music Hall reopened after its 16-month renovation:

Parking for the CSO: In order to park in Washington Park Garage for the CSO, you need to purchase a $15 ticket ahead of time in order to get in. And sometimes those tickets are sold out. (That garage only holds 450 spaces, and some – but not all — of those are reserved on CSO concert nights.)Read More »

Critic’s notebook: The chapter of the gods concludes

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Here’s one of the performances I’ve been lucky to catch this fall in Cincinnati.

Soprano Mithra Mastropierro was superb as Brunnhilde
Soprano Mithra Mastropierro was superb as Brunnhilde

Last month, Queen City Chamber Opera mounted the final installment, Act III, of Wagner’s opera “Siegfried,” at the Dunham Performing Arts Center on the West Side. The performance, which was well attended on a bright Sunday afternoon, marked the first complete performance of “Siegfried” in Ohio in a century. (It was in collaboration with the Wagner Society of Cincinnati.)

(The first two acts were performed in the previous two years. It’s a rather epic way to perform a Ring Cycle… )

What is so remarkable about the efforts of the company’s founding music director Isaac Selya is the quality that he has been able to achieve on a shoestring. His orchestra — complete with five extraordinary horn players, harp and timpani — filled nearly half of the auditorium floor.Read More »

Music Hall renovation stories

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The scene a few weeks ago in Springer Auditorium.
The scene a few weeks ago in Springer Auditorium.

So, I had asked our techies to put all of our Music Hall stories on one page, so that you, the public, could follow the renovation. However, the page (musichall.cincinnati.com) seems to be not working. Therefore, I have posted as many articles, renderings, letters and opinions as I could find on my Pinterest page. https://www.pinterest.com/janellespics/janelles-arts/

 

Music Hall then and now

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Then:  This week, the May Festival provided me with the the 360 photo that was taken for posterity on the final night of the season, May 28, just before demo began. See if you can find yourself by moving your cursor around the photo: http://360around.com/panos/mayfest-tour/mayfest.html

Now:  You may have seen The Enquirer’s update of Music Hall’s construction project last week. I’ve included more of my own photos below.Read More »

My diary: When James Levine visited Cincy in 2005

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THE MET ORCHESTRA
Courtesy Metropolitan Opera

You probably saw the news that James Levine, 72, is stepping down as music director of the Metropolitan Opera after 40 years, for health reasons. He will finish the remainder of his very busy season, and continue as music director emeritus, the first ever position at the Met. He has struggled with Parkinson’s Disease for some time, and has had other severe health issues, as well.

Levine is a Cincinnati native, and having lived in Cincinnati for most of my adult life, I have learned that just about everyone here a) knew his parents b) heard him play piano as a child, or c) went to Walnut Hills High School with him. Read More »

Music Hall in the news

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image
Lobby chandeliers will be taken out and replaced with more streamlined “torchiere” lights

Music Hall will close in less than two months, and we’ve been writing a number of updates about the plans. Finally, the Enquirer has a page that is dedicated to renovation stories. Watch for a call for your own Music Hall Memories soon!

Here’s the link. You can also go to cincinnati.com and put Music Hall Renovation in the search box.

Of course, Music Hall is home to the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra, Cincinnati Opera, May Festival, and  when the rehab is done, Cincinnati Ballet.Read More »