CCM announces initial schedule of performances for 2026-27

CCM announces initial schedule of performances for 2026-27

Tickets are now on sale for some of CCM's most highly anticipated concerts and shows

Tomorrow's performing and media arts professionals get their start on CCM's stages. Don't miss your chance to catch a rising star: come hear the music play!

The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) has announced its initial schedule of major performances for 2026-27. These 15 events include beloved titles for the stage like La bohème, RENT and Cabaret, along with concerts showcasing the works of Gustav Mahler, Duke Ellington and John Williams … just to name a few highlights!

This schedule of major performances runs Sept. 15, 2026, through April 23, 2027. Tickets for all 15 concerts and shows listed below are on sale now. See individual performance listings for additional information.

Catch a rising star

Performance Schedule

CCM Philharmonia. Photo by Mark Lyons.

7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15
• CCM Orchestra Series •
RUSSIAN GIANTS
CCM Philharmonia
Timothy Muffitt, guest conductor
Featuring TBA student soloists
The Philharmonia kicks off the season with guest conductor Timothy Muffitt in a program of Russian masterworks, including the rarely heard Symphony No. 3 by Sergei Rachmaninoff.
PROKOFIEV: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26 (1921)
RACHMANINOFF: Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 44 (1936)
Estimated run time: 100 minutes
Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $19.50 adult, $15 student, $15 UC faculty/staff, $10 UC student, $5 CCM student; group discounts available.

CCM Wind Symphony. Photo by Mark Lyons.

7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 17
• CCM Winds Series •
PLACES WE CAN NO LONGER GO
CCM Wind Symphony
Kevin Micheal Holzman, music director and conductor
Featuring guest artists John Mackey, composer; and Lindsay Kesselman, soprano
CCM welcomes guest composer John Mackey in a concert that showcases Places we can no longer go, featuring GRAMMY Award-nominated soprano Lindsay Kesselman. Written about Mackey's mother's struggle with dementia, Places we can no longer go is the story of the disease, but in reverse as confusion turns to clarity, and grief turns into comfort. The concert opens with CCM Commercial Music Production faculty member Jasmine Guo's the sound of where i came from. Commissioned by the League of American Orchestras, Guo's piece acts as a musical exploration of home, culture and personal memory. The performance closes with Mackey's newest work The isle is full of noises, inspired by Shakespeare's The Tempest.
GUO: the sound of where I came from
MACKEY: Places we can no longer go
MACKEY: The isle is full of noises, Symphony No. 2
Estimated run time: 90 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission
Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $19.50 adult, $15 student, $15 UC faculty/staff, $10 UC student, $5 CCM student; group discounts available.

Promotional graphic for "Brigadoon in Concert." Design by Mikki Graff.

8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25
8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26
• CCM Musical Theatre + Orchestra Series •
LERNER AND LOEWE'S BRIGADOON
IN CONCERT
Book and Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
Music by Frederick Loewe
Original dances created by Agnes DeMille
CCM Philharmonia
Featuring CCM Musical Theatre students
Ian Axness, music director and conductor
Eric Byrd, director
The CCM Philharmonia and CCM Musical Theatre collaborate on a special concert performance of Lerner and Loewe's Brigadoon. Brigadoon tells the story of a mystical Scottish village that appears for only one day every 100 years. The musical concert blends romance and fantasy with some of Broadway's most recognizable songs, including "The Heather on the Hill" and "Almost Like Being in Love." Presented with colorful lighting designed by CCM Lighting Design and Technology students.
Estimated run time: 2 hours and 15 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission
Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $26 adult, $15 student, $20 UC faculty/staff, $10 UC student, $5 CCM student; group discounts available

LERNER AND LOEWE's BRIGADOON is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supported by MTI. www.mtishows.com

Promotional graphic for "Intimate Apparel." Design by Mikki Graff.

8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1
8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2
2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3
8. p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3
• CCM Play Series •
INTIMATE APPAREL
By Lynn Nottage
Torie Wiggins, alumni guest director
Inspired by turn-of-the-century photographs of her own relatives, Nottage's play follows the life of Esther, a gifted African American seamstress living in New York City in 1905. Esther creates beautiful clothes for women from every part of society, but longs for her own romantic partner and home life. While drawn to the Hasidic shopkeeper who sells her cloth, she nonetheless begins a correspondence with a Caribbean man, George, who asks to marry her, sight unseen. A delicate and tender exploration of the human heart, Intimate Apparel won the 2004 New York Drama Critics Award for Best Play.
Estimated run time: 2 hours and 15 minutes, plus one 15-minute intermission
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Tickets: $26 adult, $15 student, $20 UC faculty/staff, $10 UC student, $5 CCM student; group discounts available.

INTIMATE APPAREL is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing, LLC, servicing the Dramatists Play Service collection. (www.dramatists.com)

Promotional graphic for "La Bohème." Design by Mikki Graff.

8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29
8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30
2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31
• CCM Opera Series •
LA BOHÈME
Music by Giacomo Puccini
Libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica
Jose Maria Condemi, director
Aik Khai Pung, conductor
Rent is overdue, but passion burns bright among a group of young friends scraping by on talent, wit and borrowed time. Puccini's soaring arias tell the tale of Mimi, Rodolfo, Marcello and Musetta - dreamers adrift in Paris on the cusp of a new century, where the city is literally reinventing itself. As the first Paris Métro trains rumble beneath, ushering in a breathless age of speed and possibility, life in the garrets above remains unchanged: cold, precarious and lit by the fierce glow of youth. A story that transcends time and place, its message is for the artists, the dreamers, and the everyday people who face challenges but never lose sight of love and connection. Sung in Italian with projected English supertitles.
Estimated run time: 2 hours, including a 15-minute intermission
Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $36 adult, $20 student, $15 UC faculty/staff, $10 UC student, $5 CCM student; group discounts available.

Logo for "RENT."

8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12
8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13
2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14
8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14
• CCM Musical Theatre Series •
RENT
Book, Music and Lyrics by Jonathan Larson
Musical Arrangements by Steve Skinner
Original Concept/ Additional Lyrics by Billy Aronson
Music Supervision and Additional Arrangements by Tim Weil
Dramaturg Lynn Thomson
Ray Hogg, guest director
Jake Sinsky, graduate student music director
La Vie Bohème! Based loosely on Puccini's La Bohème, Jonathan Larson's RENT shaped a generation of dreamers and taught us all to measure our life in love. The story follows a year in the life of a group of starving young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York's Lower East Side, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. RENT is about falling in love, finding your voice and living for today. Winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the musical has become a pop cultural phenomenon with songs that rock and a story that resonates with audiences.
Content advisory: This production has mature themes, including drug addiction, HIV/AIDS, sexuality, and strong language
Estimated run time: 2 hours and 30 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission
Location: Patrcia Corbett Theater
Tickets: $36 adult, $20 student, $15 UC faculty/staff, $10 UC student, $5 CCM student; group discounts available.

RENT is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supported by MTI. www.mtishows.com

CCM Choral Studies. Photo by Mark Lyons.

7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20
• CCM Orchestra and Choral Series •
A SEA SYMPHONY
CCM Philharmonia, CCM Chamber Choir, CCM Chorale
Joe Miller, conductor
Featuring TBA student soloists
Ralph Vaughan Williams' A Sea Symphony gives voice to majesty and mystery of the ocean, bringing musical life to sea poems from Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. A Sea Symphony is celebrated for its ambitious scope, masterful integration of choral and orchestral forces, and its deep emotional and philosophical impact. It stands as a testament to Vaughan Williams' creativity and his ability to capture the grandeur of the natural world through music. Presented with colorful lighting by CCM Lighting Design and Technology students.
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: A Sea Symphony
Estimated run time: 1 hour and 45 minutes
Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $19.50 adult, $15 student, $15 UC faculty/staff, $10 UC student, $5 CCM student; group discounts available.

CCM Jazz Orchestra. Photo by Mark Lyons.

7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22
• CCM Jazz Series •
DUKE ELLINGTON'S NUTCRACKER SUITE
CCM Jazz Orchestra
Scott Belck, music director
The romantic melodies of The Nutcracker Suite transform into jumping jazz tunes arranged by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. Swing into the season with jazz interpretations of the beloved holiday masterpiece, including "Toot Toot Tootie Toot (Dance of the Reed-Pipes)," "Peanut Brittle Brigade (March)" and "Sugar Rum Cherry (Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy)." Presented with colorful lighting by CCM Lighting Design and Technology students.
Estimated run time: 75 minutes
Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $26 adult, $15 student, $20 UC faculty/staff, $10 UC student, $5 CCM student; group discounts available.

CCM Dance. Photo by Dale Pickett.

8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 3
8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4
2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5
8 p.m., Saturday, Dec 5
• CCM Dance Series •
DANCE WORKS
Shauna Steele, Hee Ra Yoo, Deirdre Carberry and Gema Diaz, choreographers
Join us for an evening of magic and mystery as we visit beautiful gardens and shadowy kingdoms. The program includes selections from two classical ballets - "Kingdom of the Shades" from La Bayadère and "Jardin Animé" from La Corsaire- plus Pas de Quatre, a work originally choreographed for the four greatest ballerinas of the 19th century. CCM Dance Chair Shauna Steele creates a new contemporary work exploring themes of dissonance, veritas and the indomitable nature of the soul.
Estimated run time: 2 hours and 15 minutes, plus one 15-minute intermission
Location: Patricia Corbett Theater
Tickets: $36 adult, $20 student, $15 UC faculty/staff, $10 UC student, $5 CCM student; group discounts available.

CCM Feast of Carols. Photo by Mark Lyons.

2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5
5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5
2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 6
5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 6
FEAST OF CAROLS
CCM Chamber Choir, CCM Chorale, UC Choruses and Cincinnati Youth Choir
Featuring guest choirs from Little Miami High School, Lakota East High School, Kings High School
Joe Miller, Brett Scott, conductors, with guest conductors Sarah Baker, Megan Johnson and Hope Milthaler
A Cincinnati tradition for more than 100 years! Bring family and friends to CCM to welcome the 2026 holiday season with festive choral favorites performed by CCM's, UC's and CYC's fabulous choirs and outstanding guest choirs. Presented with colorful lighting by CCM Lighting Design and Technology students.
Estimated run time: 90 minutes
Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $26 adult, $15 student, $20 UC faculty/staff, $10 UC student, $5 CCM student; group discounts available.

Promotional image for "Cabaret." Graphic Design by Mikki Graff.

8 p.m. Thursday, March 4
8 p.m. Friday, March 5
2 p.m. Saturday, March 6
8 p.m. Saturday, March 6
• CCM Musical Theatre Series •
CABARET
Book by Joe Masteroff
Based on the play by John Van Druten and
Stories by Christopher Isherwood
Music by John Kander
Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Rachel Stevens, director
Ian Axness, music director and conductor
Jessica Harris, choreographer
Forget all your troubles and come to the Cabaret, where life is beautiful and the music is always playing. Daring, provocative and exuberantly entertaining, Cabaret explores the dark and heady life of bohemian Berlin in the late 1920s. With the Emcee's bawdy songs as wry commentary, Cabaret explores the tumultuous life of Berlin's natives and expatriates as Germany slowly yields to the emerging Third Reich. Cliff, a young American writer, is immediately taken with English singer Sally Bowles. Meanwhile, Fräulein Schneider, proprietor of Cliff and Sally's boarding house, tentatively begins a romance with Herr Schultz, a mild-mannered fruit seller who happens to be Jewish. A Tony Award-winning musical, beloved songs include "Willkommen," "Cabaret," "Don't Tell Mama" and "Maybe This Time."
Content advisory: This production contains mature themes, including strong sexual content, profanity, drug use, abortion, violence, antisemitism and Nazi imagery.
Estimated run time: 2 hours, including a 15-minute intermission
Location: Patrcia Corbett Theater
Tickets: $36 adult, $20 student, $15 UC faculty/staff, $10 UC student, $5 CCM student; group discounts available.

CABARET is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Tams-Witmark LLC. www.concordtheatricals.com

CCM Philharmonia. Photo by Mark Lyons.

7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 10
• CCM Orchestra Series •
MAHLER FIVE
CCM Philharmonia
Mark Gibson, music director and conductor
The next stop on CCM Philharmonia's Mahler excursion is his epic Symphony No. 5, paired with the world premiere of CCM Professor Michael Fiday's new orchestral work "5." Introduced to American audiences with its U.S. premiere by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in 1905, Mahler's fifth is a romantic masterpiece - from the iconic trumpet fanfare opening to the final Adagietto, often dubbed Mahler's "greatest hit," the music takes audiences on an emotional journey from mourning to triumph.
FIDAY: "5" *World Premiere
MAHLER: Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp Minor (1902)
Estimated run time: 100 minutes
Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $19.50 adult, $15 student, $15 UC faculty/staff, $10 UC student, $5 CCM student; group discounts available.

CCM Wind Symphony. Photo by Connor Boyle.

7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 6
• CCM Winds Series •
STAR WARS X THE PLANETS
CCM Wind Symphony
Kevin Michael Holzman, music director and conductor
Journey through the galaxy in a cosmic concert featuring Gustav Holst's celestial showpiece The Planets and John Williams' epic Star Wars Suite. Presented with colorful lighting by CCM Lighting Design and Production students.
HOLST: The Planets
WILLIAMS: Star Wars Suite
Estimated run time: 2 hours, including a 15-minute intermission
Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: $19.50 adult, $15 student, $15 UC faculty/staff, $10 UC student, $5 CCM student; group discounts available.

Promotional graphic for "Ariadne Auf Naxos." Design by Mikki Graff.

8 p.m. Thursday, April 15
8 p.m. Friday, April 16
2 p.m. Saturday, April 17
• CCM Opera Series •
ARIADNE AUF NAXOS
Music by Richard Strauss
Libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal
Brian Robertson, director
William R. Langley, conductor
A lighthearted "opera within an opera," Ariadne auf Naxos entertains audiences with high art and low comedy. Heartbreak meets humor when a serious opera and a bawdy comedy troupe are forced to perform simultaneously on stage. The result is a witty, yet heartwarming, story about love, loss and transformation. Sung in German with projected English supertitles.
Estimated run time: 2 hours and 35 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission
Location: Patricia Corbett Theater
Tickets: $36 adult, $20 student, $15 UC faculty/staff, $10 UC student, $5 CCM student; group discounts available.

CCM Wind Symphony. Photo by Mark Lyons.

7:30 p.m. Friday, April 23
• CCM Winds + Orchestra Series •
JOURNEYS THROUGH TIME
CCM Wind Symphony
Kevin Micheal Holzman, music director and conductor
CCM Philharmonia
Mark Gibson, music director and conductor
Travel across time, myth and imagination in a concert that blends vivid contemporary soundscapes with the sweeping power of the Romantic era. Music by David Biedenbender, Ida Gotkovsky and Patrick Harlin launches us into a world where time bends and motion propels us forward. The journey continues with the majestic music of Richard Wagner, from the radiant Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg to the shimmering forest textures of "Waldweben" and the thrilling momentum of "Siegfried's Rhine Journey." From fleeting moments to epic sagas, this program invites audiences to experience music that captures the passage of time and the power of storytelling in sound. Presented with colorful lighting designed by CCM Lighting Design and Technology students.
CCM Wind Symphony:
BIEDENBENDER: Time Flies
GOTKOVSKY: Poeme du feu
HARLIN: The Time Traveler
CCM Philharmonia:
WAGNER: Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (1868)
WAGNER: "Waldweben," from Siegfried (1876)
WAGNER: "Siegfried's Rhine Journey," from Götterdämmerung (1876)
Estimated run time: 2 hours, including a 15-minute intermission
Location: Corbett Auditorium
Tickets: 19.50 adult, $15 student, $15 UC faculty/staff, $10 UC student, $5 CCM student; group discounts available.

Purchasing Tickets

Tickets can be purchased online by visiting ccmonstage.uc.edu. Student and group discounts are available.

If you have questions or need assistance ordering tickets, please contact the CCM Box Office by email at [email protected].

Directions and Parking

CCM is located on the campus of the University of Cincinnati. For detailed driving directions, visit ccm.uc.edu/directions.

Parking is available in UC's CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. All University of Cincinnati Parking Services locations are cashless. Pay for parking securely with your credit/debit card. All major credit cards accepted.

CCM OnStage patrons can add pre-paid parking to their checkout carts when purchasing tickets. Pre-paid parking is date/performance specific. CCM Garage parking rates for a performance or special event is usually available for $10-15. Learn more about parking at UC's CCM Garage.

For additional information on parking at UC, please visit uc.edu/about/parking.

Thank You to Our Supporters

CCM recognizes and thanks the following corporations, foundations and individuals for their generous support.

Featured image at the top: a decorative graphic showcases several concert and show titles from CCM's 2026-27 performance season. Graphic/Mikki Graff

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