It's been a busy year at the new Erich Kunzel Center for Arts Education, the sparkling downtown campus of
Cincinnati's School for the Creative and Performing Arts. Beyond their performances and demanding schedules, students have enjoyed another year of master classes, private lessons and special sessions with visiting and resident professionals thanks to the
Mayerson Foundation's Artistic Excellence Fund.
Fledgling dancers stretched and spun with the
Cincinnati Ballet's internationally known choreographer-in-residence,
Adam Hougland, whose contemporary reimagining of Igor Stravinsky's classic "The Firebird" will be performed March 18 and 19.
In April, visual arts SCPA students will hear from
Jimmy Baker, a Northside-based artist fresh from his first solo show at the
Contemporary Arts Center.
All year, young musicians have enjoyed private lessons and public performances with members of the
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's renowned
Brass Quintet.
"The purpose of the Fund is to help ensure that the arts education taking place in the new facility is as world-class as the facility itself," says Jeff Seibert, grants officer with the Manuel D. and Rhoda Mayerson Foundation.
Since it began in 2009, the Fund has introduced SCPA students to master classes with violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, pianist Gabriela Montero and violist Nokothula Ngwenyama. Future collaborations are in the works with musicians in the
MusicNow Festival and
WCET.
Seibert has been surprised both by the generosity of artists who enjoy sharing their talents with SCPA students and "the dramatic and nearly immediate impact on students' level of artistic excellence when they come into contact with extraordinary master artists."
In the $72 million facility, the vision of learning by engaging performing professionals in the educational process, has always been part of the plan. "Although Erich (Kunzel) didn't live to see the fruition of his vision, his spirit is present whenever the talented SCPA students strive for the level of artistic excellence that embodied Erich's lifelong work," Seibert says.
Do Good:
• Get brassy. Attend a free concert at SCPA by the Mayerson Brass Ensemble-in-Residence, March 23, 7 p.m.
• Catch a rising star. Mark your calendar for the 25th Anniversary Corbett-Mayerson Awards at SCPA, May 12, from 5 to 7 p.m., with a free performance following dinner and entertainment. Proceeds of the $50 dinner benefit the non-profit Friends of SCPA. Email
Karen Dorn for more information.
• Support your local artist. Attend an art show or a concert, buy an original painting, take piano lessons. Repay their generosity with your own. Need inspiration?
Watch this!
By Elissa YanceyPhoto of Gabriela Montero working with SCPA students courtesy of Scott Beseler.
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