University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music

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.

The last project for the CCM Village, Mary Emery Hall, was completed in 1999 and replaced an earlier Mary Emery Hall that housed practice rooms and classrooms. The hall includes classrooms, administrative and faculty offices, composition and performance labs, the Electronic Media Division, the Master Classroom and Werner Recital Hall.

The three-tiered building's interior has an open face with glass balconies overlooking its atrium. The atrium connects Mary Emery Hall to Corbett Auditorium. Updated classrooms were added, each housing video projectors, computer connections, soundboards and other equipment to facilitate instruction. Three practice pipe organs and one performance pipe organ as well as the World Music Lab and Early Music Labs are located on its third level.

Named for its primary benefactors, Patricia and J. Ralph Corbett, the four level facility houses classrooms, offices and studios for the Division of Opera, Musical Theatre, Drama, Arts Administration, Theatre Design and Production, Jazz Studies and Dance. It is the site of most of CCM's performance venues including Corbett Auditorium, Patricia Corbett Theatre, Cohen Family Studio Theatre and Watson Hall. Three full dance studios and numerous other rehearsal rooms adorn the ground floor level, as well as a centrally located scene shop. Costume shops, make-up studios, design labs, and offices occupy most of its second level. The lowest floor features Watson Recital Hall, as well as large classrooms used primarily for orchestral rehearsals and lab style courses as well as jazz studios and performance labs.

The Baur Room was added to the Corbett Center in 1999. It is an intimate room used for small receptions and student meetings. It was named in honor of Clara and Bertha Baur, the first two directresses of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.

Memorial Hall was converted from a women's dormitory in 1996 to a practice and studio facility. Among its architectural features, gargoyles are found throughout the building's facade and sculptures acting as a memorial to World War One, such as planes, U-Boats and tanks. It has chamber music rehearsal rooms, reed-making rooms, computer music center and a small chamber performance room.

The Dieterle Vocal Arts Center, commonly referred to as DVAC, was originally called Schmidlapp Hall. It was the university's gymnasium and athletic facility prior to the construction of the Armory Field House in 1954. DVAC is now the center of nearly all choral and vocal activity at CCM. Voice studios, coaching studios, accompanying studios, and choral rehearsal rooms are the main occupants of the building.

• In the multicamera Walter and Marilyn Bartlett Television Studio, control room and master control area, students work with the Grass Valley GV Director switcher and three high end Grass Valley LDX 80 HD cameras that are controlled remotely via a GV OCP camera control unit through fiber connection. Shows are recorded in 10 bit ProRes to an SSD via the Blackmagic Design Hyperdeck Studio. Students monitor the shows with a 55" multi-view monitor. The studio light grid features IKAN high output LED panels and Fresnel fixtures controlled via an ETC Color Source lighting board.
• The Ralph J. Corbett Audio Production Center includes acoustically treated recording spaces, state-of-the-art multi-track control rooms, digital audio workstations and audio post-production suites using Pro Tools, Logic and Adobe Audition technologies. The studios are designed to support surround sound production and mix environments.
• The Jack and Joan Strader Radio Center offers radio production facilities for the student-run internet radio station and media organization, Bearcast Media. The Bearcast facilities includes 4K digital cinema cameras, lights, audio equipment and a high-end computer workstation for Adobe video audio and web site development tools.
• The Avid Media Composer/Adobe Creative Suite 4K Postproduction Lab. Since 1996, E-Media students have been using Avid Media Composer, the industry leader in professional editing software used in major production markets like LA and NYC and in edit suites around the country and internationally. In addition to the Avid Media Composer and Adobe Creative Suite software, the fully 4K capable editing facilities include the Avid Artist DNxIQ hardware and run on iMac Retina 5K 27" 4.2  GHz i7 Quad Core  computer workstation along with color calibrated BenQ EL2870U 28 inch 4K HDR10 Editing Interface Monitors and BenQ EW3270U 32" 4K HDR Full Screen Editing Monitors.
• The Judith and Jim Van Cleave Multimedia Laboratory offers E-Media students access to the latest computer hardware and software, including the Adobe Creative Suite, used by today's media professionals, maintained and updated periodically by CCM's IT department.

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. Now, the space primarily acts as the main rehearsal hall for all of CCM's mainstage productions.

CCM's largest performance venue, Corbett Auditorium currently seats 663.[14] Most of the choral, orchestral, wind concerts, ballet, opera and musical theatre productions take place there. The hall features a front-of-stage hydraulic system for conversion into an orchestral pit, a series of trap doors mid-stage, a hidden pipe organ and a large stage shell that can be used to toggle the space between acting as a concert hall and a theatre/opera house. During the 2017 renovation, all seats and carpeting were replaced, the stage floor was rebuilt with a new trap door system, the electric grid was updated, a new lighting system was installed, and all fly rails were automated by TAIT Towers. This is currently the largest automated TAIT system in the country.

This 1971 construction seats 378.[15] It hosts jazz concerts, ensemble performances, ballets, operas, musical theatre shows and drama productions. This hall features a proscenium thrust stage, a hidden and exposable orchestra pit, and a retired pipe organ that sits stage left. Patricia Corbett Theater received new seats and curtains during the renovation in 2017.

A 250-seat recital hall acting as CCM's main space for degree-required solo recitals, chamber music concerts and guest artist masterclasses.[16] Completed in 1999 as part of Mary Emery Hall, the venue is very centrally located at the Northwest corner of CCM Plaza.

The renovated 140-seat recital hall contains a Balcolm and Vaughan organ of forty four ranks, a gift of John J. Strader, IV and his wife. Watson Hall also serves as a fully equipped classroom.[17]

Constructed in 1991, this space is unique in that though the atmosphere is like that of a black-box theater, a large brick wall in the shape of an arc on one side limits performances to either facing north or south. However, a full and partially removable balcony, as well as a false floor to allow for pit orchestras or creative sets, adds versatility. CCM generally stages two musicals, two plays, a fully student-choreographed ballet concert and two or three operas (one of which is dedicated to undergraduate voice students) in this performance space each season, although specifics vary from year to year. This hall also holds composer recitals, lighting showcases and the freshman musical theatre showcase. Some performances staged in the Cohen Family Studio Theater are free and open to the general public, while other public performances require paid admission. Ticket prices vary from performance to performance.[18] Pricing specifics are available online at https://ccmonstage.universitytickets.com.

CCM offers postgraduate, graduate and undergraduate degrees in music, along with an academic minor.[19] Doctor of Musical Arts degrees are offered in all performance, conducting, and academic areas (except classical guitar and jazz studies) 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.[20]

The musical theater program at CCM is the oldest bachelor's degree program in the U.S., the most selective program at the University of Cincinnati, and is one of the nation's top programs.[21] According to Playbill, CCM is represented on Broadway the second-most of any institution during the 2017–2018 season.[22] 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.[23]

CCM Opera and vocal studies ranked second in the United States in 2017.[24] The Masters program focuses on stage experience, vocal technique, coaching and academic musicality. Masters students and recent alumni are 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 the Corbett 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. A highlight is the annual undergraduate opera, which is performed double-cast with orchestra, lights, sets and costumes.

CCM offers a BFA in acting designed to train students for the dramatic theater as well as for work in film and television.[25] 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.[26] In 2015, The Hollywood Reporter named CCM number 12 on its list of the top 25 undergraduate drama schools in the world.[27]

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

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

The largest and fastest growing program at CCM is electronic media. The program offers a general Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in electronic media, as well as an academic minor.[28] 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. Electronic Media student organizations include a student radio station and student-run campus television station.