College-Conservatory of Music
Inspiring the stars of tomorrow
Music. Theater. Performance. Media arts. Nationally ranked and internationally renowned, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) is a preeminent institution for the performing and media arts, uniquely embedded within a comprehensive research university and a city with unparalleled opportunity. The synergy created by this distinct advantage defines our objective: to educate and inspire the whole artist and scholar for positions on the world’s stage.
CCM’s annual calendar boasts nearly 1,000 events, ranging from solo recitals to fully staged opera and musical theater performances. The College is the largest single source of performing arts presentations in the entire state of Ohio. CCM ensembles have performed internationally, recorded for major labels, and won ASCAP awards for excellence and programming.
CCM’s educational roots date back to 1867, and visionary instruction has been at its core since that time. The school’s roster of renowned faculty regularly receives distinguished honors for creative and scholarly work, and its alumni have achieved notable success in both performing and media arts. More than 150 internationally recognized faculty members work with students from around the world, specializing in Arts Administration, Electronic Media, Ensembles and Conducting, Keyboard Studies, Music Composition, Music Education, Performance Studies, and Theatre Arts.
The CCM Village
Nestled in the heart of UC’s award-winning campus (among the world’s most beautiful, according to Forbes), CCM’s facilities include the Gorno Memorial Music Library, housing more than 120,000 volumes of books, music scores, periodicals, microforms, and recordings. The College’s Music Listening Center offers an advanced audio system with 48 listening stations and 24 computer stations.
Among CCM’s performance spaces are the 380-seat Patricia Corbett Theater, the versatile Cohen Family Studio Theater, the 250-seat Robert J. Werner Recital Hall, the 140-seat Watson Recital Hall, and the newly renovated, 740-seat Corbett Auditorium—one of the most visually striking and acoustically balanced college theaters in the nation.
Production facilities include an 8,500-sq. ft. scene shop; a 3,000-sq. ft. costume shop; wig, makeup, and prosthetics studios; a design/drafting studio; a sound design studio; and a lighting laboratory.
Experience is calling
With opportunities to hone their craft on campus and within the city of Cincinnati—including through a notable partnership with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra—students gain real-world experience, which can make all the difference as they begin professional careers. This emphasis on experience-based learning is part of the University of Cincinnati’s DNA—we invented cooperative education in 1906, and we’ve never stopped reinventing it.
This kind of “roll-up-your-sleeves” immersion means Cincinnati students graduate with a résumé, ready to make an impact on day one thanks to UC’s Bearcat Promise—a commitment to our students that they will graduate with a degree in one hand and a career plan in the other.
Recognition and rankings
In 2009, CCM received the designation of “All Steinway School,” a distinction shared by the top conservatories in the world. CCM has also become one of the largest repositories of Steinway pianos outside the company’s Long Island City, New York–based factory.
CCM was recognized in 2011 as Ohio’s first Center of Excellence in Music and Theatre Arts by the Ohio Board of Regents and named one of the top six college programs in the nation for actors on a budget by Backstage.com. Out of 200 incoming fall first-year students, about 60% of CCM students received a talent-based scholarship (2013).
American Theatre magazine ranked CCM among the nation’s top 13 Musical Theatre programs (2017), while BuzzFeed ranked the program #2 in the nation (2018). Playbill also ranked CCM the #2 Most Represented College on Broadway (2017).
