CCM Viola Studio

Cincinnati Chamber Circle

Students at CCM participate in student groups, string duos, trios, quartets, piano quartets, and so on, as part of their regular curriculum. What is the best way to develop a students’ chamber music performance experience to prepare them for today’s market? Students need to collaborate with professional chamber musicians to take the skills they seek with their student groups to the next level. We provide this unique opportunity at CCM for the students to perform chamber music along side the faculty artists in the Cincinnati Chamber Circle Series. Here students perform with such artists as Masao Kawasaki, Awadajin Pratt, Bradley Gardner, and titled chairs of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, as well as with alum.

Viola Studio Class

At CCM we recognize the importance of regular public performance. Every Tuesday the viola studio gathers for Viola Studio Class. This class is held weekly in one of the most popular recital halls at the school. Students have the opportunity weekly to perform their current repertoire in the very hall in which they are likely to play their recital. This class is flexible in it’s format. This class is always video taped for review by the students performing in that particular class.

Viola Concerto Competition

At CCM violists get the chance to compete with each other in the viola competition to win an opportunity to perform as soloist with one of the CCM orchestras.

Orchestral Repertoire and Audition Class

At CCM we offer two Viola Orchestral Repertoire and Audition classes. One class is designed for Graduate students, while the other class is for students in the undergraduate program.

Graduate Class:
This class is one that moves at a quick pace. The aim is to cover as many excerpts as possible in one quarter. This class involves weekly preparation in that every student is required to perform in every class. We work from actual audition lists in this class, perform mock-auditions, and prepare resumes and cover letters.

Under Graduates:
This class is designed to emphasize the most commonly found excerpts on audition lists. This class differs in format in that the pace is more andante. Once students have learned their excerpt, they perform them together as an ensemble. This experience allows the student to not only get the notes, bowings and fingerings into their hands, but to get the harmony and score into their hands and ears.

Student Accomplishments

Following is an brief list of some of the positions that former CCM viola students now hold. Also mentioned are some of the competitions where CCM violists have won prizes.

2000 Tertis Competition Winner
Markneukirche Competition Winner
Berlin Philharmonic, Germany
Cape-Hab Orchestra, South Africa
Chicago Symphony
Detroit Symphony
Columbus Symphony
New York Philharmonic
Residente Orkest, Netherlands
Amernet String Quartet
Sphinx Competition First Prize
Seattle Symphony
Prime Philharmonic, Korea
2003 Tertis Special Mention
Savanah Symphony
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Bowling Green State University
Florida State University
Peabody Conservatory
The Hartt School of Music
Aspen Music Festival
Ohio State University
University of Cincinnati
Quartet Fone
Colorado State University, Boulder
University of Southern Mississippi
Oregon Symphony Orchestra