CIM Balances Operating Budget

The Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) held its annual meeting July 8, 2010. Trustee Richard W. Pogue presided over the meeting.

Mr. Pogue announced that CIM has balanced its operating budget for the fifteenth year in a row despite a challenging economy. During the 2009-2010 fiscal year, $1,073,730 was raised for CIM’s Annual Fund. Mr. Pogue thanked the many individuals, corporations and foundations that provided operating support.

Other funds raised in the 2009-2010 fiscal year included:

• $150,000 for special projects and contingent funds

• $470,261 in endowment and estate gifts. Estate gifts were received from the following: Wilma Evans, Jay R. Klein, Elliot Veinerman and R. Robert Koch. Endowment gifts established the following scholarships: the In Loving Memory of Frank J. & Ellen M. Troha Scholarship, the Kurt Loebel Preparatory Scholarship, the David I. Kaplan Preparatory Scholarship in Bassoon, the M.R.K. Memorial Scholarship, the Michelina and Gaetano Gioia Scholarship.

In addition to funds raised, CIM had an exciting 2009-2010. Under the leadership of President, Joel Smirnoff, CIM has begun a new strategic planning initiative.

~ EVENTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS ~

The second stellar season of the Mixon Hall Masters Series brought distinguished artists to perform in Mixon Hall and present master classes for CIM students. The series received critical acclaim for both its performers, which included Grammy Award-winning soprano Dawn Upshaw, cellist Alisa Weilerstein with pianist Inon Barnatan and the piano virtuoso Yefim Bronfman, and also acoustics and aesthetics of this unsurpassed recital hall.

The Cavani String Quartet followed last year’s exciting Beethoven & Brotherhood project in local libraries by bringing the quartets home to CIM and completing the first year of a two-year Complete Beethoven Quartet Cycle.

In the fall, the legacy of CIM’s first director and a prolific composer, Ernest Bloch, was celebrated world-wide, commemorating the 50th Anniversary of his passing. CIM hosted four concerts in his memory, which included a Symposium: Ernest Bloch - The Life and Times of CIM’s First Director, moderated by President Joel Smirnoff. A concert featuring The Cleveland Orchestra Piano Trio followed. The final Bloch Celebration was at The Temple-Tifereth Israel in Beachwood. Guest speaker Rabbi Roger Klein previewed a concert with performances by Joel Smirnoff, his wife and CIM faculty member, violin virtuoso Joan Kwuon, violinist Peter Salaff, pianist Carolyn Gadiel Warner and others.

CIM’s New Music Ensemble began an exciting partnership with the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (MOCA) in 2009-2010. New music wed new art in two concerts, Harmonic Hues: CIM@MOCA, held in the dynamic entrance space at MOCA. Enthusiastic guests strolled the galleries before the performances and then enjoyed receptions with the performers after. The partnership continues in the 2010-11 season.

The CIM Opera Theater, directed by David Bamberger, had an exciting year. In addition to opening the season with an Opera Gala, the ensemble performed the first local production of Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos, in its entirety. An opera within an opera, it taxes even the most experience vocalists, but the Plain Dealer positively reviewed both the opera students, as well as the orchestra, directed by Harry Davidson, calling it “a testament to the healthy state of vocal things at CIM.”

CIM students, alumni and faculty continue to bring great pride to CIM. As an example, cellist Matthew Allen, student of Melissa Kraut, was the first prize winner of the prestigious Gaspar Cassado International Competition in Japan, competing against 60 cellists from around the world. As a result, Matt appeared on local television channels 3, 5 and 8, spotlighting CIM. Additionally, CIM was well represented when the 2010 Grammy nominations were announced. Violinist Caroline Goulding (student of Paul Kantor) and alumnus Thomas Moore (BM ’86, MM 88) were nominated for Caroline’s self-titled debut album. Faculty members Yolanda Kondonassis (harp) and Joshua Smith (flute) were nominate for their album of works by Debussy and Takemitsu, Air, for which alumnus Tom Knab was the recording engineer. Additionally, a quartet in California was nominated for their album of work by Dave Brubeck, a member of CIM’s International Council and honorary doctorate (2001).

Students in the Preparatory Department made headlines and won awards this year. The Piano/Ohio competition, administered by the Cleveland International Piano Competition, included four CIM students– a great honor for a school to have that many participants! First prize winners included the 2010 National League of Performing Arts’ Young Artists Showcase Competition (which resulted in a Carnegie Hall performance, won by pianists Megan and Stephanie Lee), the 2010 Ohio Viola Society Competition (high school division, won by Jessica Pasternak), the 2010 Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra-Frieda Schumacher Young Artist Competition (won by violinist James Thompson), just to name a few.

~ NEW BOARD MEMBERS ~

The Annual Meeting included the re-election of current board members and officers for the 2010-2011 fiscal year. It was announced that Charles T. Young, Shawn M. Riley, Oscar Villarreal and Richard J. Hipple were appointed as trustees and CIM Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Eric Bower, was appointed as an Ex-Officio member. Babs Glickman retired from the board after 21 years of service and will be presented with a framed photograph of Mixon Hall, to commemorate her dedication to the Institute. Long-time board member, Dorothy Pegg, passed away this spring and was honored posthumously at the meeting.

Charles Young is the principle architect of Charles T. Young PC, Architects, founded in 1983. Mr. Young has been involved in the planning, design and construction of approximately $500 million of symphony hall, music conservatory, opera house and multi-use facilities, including CIM’s Mixon Hall. Prior to having his own firm, he was an associate partner with Pei, Cobb, Freed & Partners (I.M. Pei & Partners). Other arts projects Mr. Young has worked on include the Palm Beach Opera Center, the St. Louis Performing Arts Center in Missouri, The Washington Opera, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music and others.

Shawn M. Riley is the head of the Cleveland office of McDonald Hopkins and co-chair of the firm’s Business Restructuring Services Department. He represents businesses of all types in need of restructuring, with expertise ranging from credit agreement amendments to refinancing, from creditor compositions to bankruptcies and Chapter 11 reorganizations. He is the author of numerous articles on restructuring and commercial law and is a frequent lecturer in bankruptcy matters.

Oscar Villarreal** is the managing partner of Standard Asset Management, a hedge fund that invests in both private and public equities in Latin America, primarily in Mexico. Prior to founding Standard, Mr. Villarreal ran WW Capital Partners, where he focused the firm’s investment strategies in the industries of Oil & Gas, Infrastructure and Steel. Under his leadership, the firm had 16 consecutive profitable quarters and invested over $40 million USD in the Mexican marketing. Originally from Mexico, he attended Baldwin Wallace College, The University of Geneva (Switzerland), and Harvard Business School. He studied piano performance for 17 years and won several regional competitions in both Mexico and Salamanca, Spain.

Richard J. Hipple is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Brush Engineered Materials, Inc, one of the world’s premier advanced materials and service companies. With 2009 sales of $715 million, Brush Engineered Materials is traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Prior to joining the company in 2001 as Vice President, Alloy Strip Products, he served 26 years in the steel industry, serving in a number of capacities including project engineer, strategic planning, supply chain management, operations, sales and marketing and executive management.

Babs Glickman has been a CIM trustee for 21 years. She took an active part in the most recent capital campaign which included the $41 million renovation and expansion of CIM’s campus, completed in 2007. As a member of the Capital Campaign Major Gifts Committee, she participated in the visits to Rice and the Moores School of Music in Texas and the selection committee to choose the architect space consultant in 1998. She and her husband, Carl Glickman, are avid supporters in the Cleveland philanthropic community – having served on the boards of the Cleveland Jewish Community Federation, the Cleveland Catholic Diocese Foundation, John Carroll University and Cleveland State University, and they founded the Glickman Family Violence Prevention Center.

Eric W. Bower has served the administration of the Cleveland Institute of Music since 1982. Initially appointed Assistant in Development, he has held positions of Director of Financial Aid, Director of Business Services, Comptroller, Chief Financial Officer and since 2008, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. During his tenure at CIM, he has also taught choral conducting and been an assistant conductor and tenor soloist for the University Circle Chorale and Chamber Choir. He has been involved in numerous recitals/concerts/operas in the tri-state area. Mr. Bower recently represented CIM as a guest conductor at Northeastern University in Shenyang, China. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Westminster College (PA) and a Master of Music degree in voice from CIM.

Dorothy Pegg passed away in April at the age of 104. She was a founding member of CIM’s Legacy Society and a civil rights leader – becoming the first black leader of the Women’s City Club of Cleveland. A member of the Council on World Affairs, Mrs. Pegg traveled the world with her late husband and was the perfect fit for CIM’s Host Parent Program. An active member of CIM’s board for 25 years, she participated in a marketing committee meeting just two weeks before her death. Over the decades, she was also vice president of the Cleveland League of Women Voters and a trustee of the Cleveland Play House, Metropolitan YWCA, National Council for World Visitors, Great Lakes Theater Festival and more. As one of the first 25 members of The Cleveland Orchestra’s Heritage Society, she stressed the importance of CIM establishing its own planned giving society. With degrees from three universities, Mrs. Pegg taught in the D.C., Baltimore and Cleveland areas, specializing in reading skills for black remedial students. During World War II, she was a correspondent for the American Red Cross.