CIM reaffirms its mission, values, and resolve at clear-eyed 2024 Annual Meeting

Mission statements are more than mere words. They also can be rallying cries.  

This was the refrain of CIM’s 2024 Annual Meeting. 

Cheered by recent triumphs and poised to address challenges, CIM’s Board of Trustees as well as staff, students, and donors gathered Wednesday night in Mixon Hall to celebrate the school’s many recent victories and reflect on its bedrock aims and values.  

Stathis Antoniades, President of the University Hospitals (UH) Cleveland Medical Center, was the night’s keynote speaker. In remarks likening the hospital’s pursuit of excellence to ongoing work at CIM, he noted that in challenging moments, one’s mission can and must be a point of unity.     

“The shared commitment...allows trust to grow,” Antoniades said. “Solidarity around identity and leadership [can] have...a profound impact on an organization as complex, and as focused on excellence, as CIM.”   

The challenges CIM faces are clear. Already experiencing effects from the nationwide “enrollment cliff,” the school is braced for continued enrollment headwinds and the impacts of unionization by its faculty.  

These, though, do not obscure the many great strides and achievements of CIM’s students, faculty, administrators, alumni, and supporters hailed at the 2024 Annual Meeting.   

Nor should they cloud the future or dampen excitement for all that CIM has in store for the remainder of this academic year, next year, and beyond, including the ongoing renovation of Kulas Hall, which is expected to reopen with great fanfare next fall.  

“Anyone who’s spent time here at CIM knows that we strive to do and be our best, to nurture consummate skill and professionalism,” said Paul W. Hogle, CIM’s President & CEO.  

“Wrapped into our mission and exhibited all over our hallways is CIM’s desire for each CIM student to consistently compete for top-echelon music careers.” 

Below are highlights from the 2024 Annual Meeting and the last fiscal year. For more information about CIM’s many other successes in 2024 – in the areas of recruitment, new faculty and guest artists, alumni outcomes, and philanthropy – please visit cim.edu/advantage. 

ALUMNI AWARDS 

A clear highlight of the 2024 Annual Meeting was the announcement of next year’s Alumni Awards, which are granted every May at Commencement.  

In his remarks to the assembly Wednesday, Hogle revealed that the honorees in 2025 will be Grammy Award-winning conductor and violinist John McLaughlin Williams (BM ’97, MM ’97) for the Distinguished Alumni Award; and violist Jennifer Arnold (BM ’03, PS ’05), former Director of Artistic Planning and Orchestral Operations and current Artistic Advisor at the Richmond Symphony, former violist in the Oregon Symphony, Director of CIM’s Summer Programs, and a CIM Career Advisor, for the Alumni Achievement Award.  

Both recipients will be honored at length in May, during Honors Convocation and Commencement. Also, at that time, CIM will grant an Honorary Doctor of Musical Arts (HDMA) degree to a candidate to be announced in January.  

COMMUNITY 

CIM refreshed its commitment to civic engagement in 2024. Under the banner of being Cleveland’s Institute of Music, the school launched an ambitious series of performances by student artists in local institutions and gathering places.  

Most prominent was Museum Melodies, a new series of free lunch-hour concerts every Thursday and Friday at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Launched in fall 2024 and generously supported by the Schlang Family Fund, the series consisted of 26 concerts including solo piano recitals and chamber music performances.  

Meanwhile, the school maintained a busy schedule of appearances elsewhere. Other venues where students regularly presented concerts included the Cleveland Museum of Art, Severance Music Center, University Hospitals, Hope Lodge, Moreland Courts, and Judson Senior Living communities. During the ongoing renovation of Kulas Hall, the CIM Orchestra also appeared at the Maltz Performing Arts Center and high schools in Mentor and Cleveland.  

In this way, CIM continued giving back to Northeast Ohio, expanding its audience, and nurturing the future of classical music.  

Antonio Pompa-Baldi, head of CIM’s Piano Department, called these community concerts “a great opportunity for everyone.”  

“In addition to performing for the community,” he said, “our students will learn vital professional skills, all of it with a community partner that is literally steps away. It does not get much better than that.”   

HIGHER LEARNING COMMISSION 

For the last several years and especially in 2024, CIM has been preparing in earnest for its 2024-25 Comprehensive Evaluation by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), CIM’s institutional accreditor.  

An accreditation team composed of faculty and staff and led by Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the Institute Dean Southern worked diligently all year on an Assurance Argument, the lengthy document that serves as the foundation of the Comprehensive Evaluation, and CIM’s Academic Affairs Committee contributed meaningful oversight and guidance.  

The HLC evaluation process culminates in a site visit Feb. 10 and 11 by a team of peer reviewers from other institutions of higher learning. CIM was encouraged to learn that five of the six reviewers have a background in music.  

CIM looks forward to the visit, to sharing the significant progress it has made and to receiving the HLC’s valuable perspective and counsel along with an extension of the commendation CIM earned with its 2022 Interim Report. 

To more fully prepare for the February visit, CIM’s Accreditation Team conducted meetings with faculty, staff, students, and trustees, and developed and launched a web resource called Tuning Up.  

KULAS HALL RENOVATION PROJECT 

Renovation of Kulas Hall began almost immediately after Commencement in May 2024. Thanks to prudent planning and oversight by the Kulas Hall Renovation Task Force chaired by Bonnie M. Cook (BM ’77) and project leader and Chief Financial Officer Brian J. Foss, the project remains on budget and on schedule.   

As of this writing, the plaster ceiling, stage, seats, and sidewall paneling had been removed, the HVAC ductwork had been replaced, and the orchestra pit overhauled. Much of the work to this point entailed removing, upgrading, and re-rerouting systems for heating, cooling, and electricity.  

Work is slated to continue through the remainder of the 2024-25 school year, with completion expected in June, acoustical tuning in July, and the grand opening in fall 2025. 

NEW FACULTY 

CIM received a significant infusion of talent this year, in the form of new faculty. Over the course of 2024, 27 artists were appointed at the school or assumed new titles and responsibilities. They included leaders in the Academy and Conservatory as well as artists-in-residence and guest and visiting faculty.  

A complete list of new faculty members is below:  

• Steven Banks, Saxophone Faculty, Conservatory  
• Jennifer Call, Associate Dean of Academic Operations and Student Success; Voice Faculty, Academy 
• Alex Cooke (MM ’14, DMA ’18), Director of Professional Skills and Breadth Development; General Education Faculty, Conservatory  
• Jennifer Conner (MM ’87, DMA ’92), Director of Academy Musicianship Studies; Music Theory and Composition Faculty, Academy  
• Tyler Duncan, Voice Faculty, Conservatory; Historical Performance Practice Program  
• Andrew Hosler, Manager of Concerts and Events; Saxophone and Chamber Music Faculty, Academy 
• Ilya Itin, Piano Faculty, Conservatory and Academy  
• Jessica Lee, Chair, Violin Department; Chamber Music Faculty, Conservatory 
• Hannah Hammel Maser, Flute Faculty, Conservatory  
• Artina McCain (MM ’06), Career Advisor 
• Gabriela Montero, Piano Faculty, Conservatory; Jonathan and Linn Epstein Artist-in-Residence  
• Charles Paul, Double Bass Faculty, Conservatory 
• Daniel Pereira, Cello and Chamber Music Faculty, Academy; Director of Academy Performance Studies; Coordinator of CIM 360 Wellness Initiative  
• Daria Rabotkina, Director of Academy Piano Studies; Piano Faculty, Conservatory and Academy  
• Marcelo Rebuffi, Core Curriculum, Conservatory  
• Brian Wendel, Trombone Faculty, Conservatory  
• Cynthia Wohlschlager, Voice Faculty, Academy  

• Wei Yu, Cello Faculty, Conservatory  

   

VISITING FACULTY   

• Matthew Ernst, Visiting Trumpet Faculty, Conservatory 
• Timothy Pitts, Visiting Double Bass Faculty, Conservatory 

GUEST FACULTY  

• Mariam Adam, Guest Clarinet Faculty, Conservatory 
• Emil Khudyev, Guest Clarinet Faculty, Conservatory 
• Jack Sutte, Guest Trumpet Faculty, Conservatory 

OUTCOMES 

CIM graduates enjoyed a historic level of professional success in 2024. The ever-changing roster on CIM’s blue wall of fame testified to the waves of good news the school received this spring, summer, and especially fall, as alumni reported professional appointments, competition prizes, notable awards, and other achievements.  

Among the many appointments were positions in the famous “Big Five” orchestras of Cleveland and Philadelphia as well as the internationally esteemed orchestras of Atlanta, Minnesota, Edmonton, Houston, Cincinnati, Seattle, Louisville, and Milwaukee.  

CIM alumni also won prominent positions in regional orchestras and earned faculty appointments at noted colleges, universities, and conservatories. Others found success at the administrative level, landing posts with major performing arts institutions.  

Two notable examples among voice alumni: mezzo-soprano Irene Roberts (MM ’08) received critical praise for her starring role in The Handmaid’s Tale at San Francisco Opera, and Armando Contreras (BM ’14) was hailed by the Los Angeles Times for delivering “one of the performances of the year” in Pacific Opera Project’s Don Bucefalo.   

“The ‘CIM Advantage’ is not just a catchphrase,” said Scott Harrison, CIM's Executive Vice President & Provost. “It is a real phenomenon illustrated time and again by the careers our students make for themselves and the impact they continue to have on the world of classical music.”   

PARTNERSHIPS 

Along with a new commitment to civic engagement came a slate of new partnerships, formal and informal relationships between CIM and peer organizations in Northeast Ohio and beyond.  

Driving these new affiliations was a deepened understanding of the value such arrangements bring to CIM students, rounding out their education with teaching, exchange, and performance opportunities beyond the scope of one school.  

Key examples include:  

• Cleveland Museum of Natural History: CIM launched the Museum Melodies lunchtime concert series, in the museum’s new lobby. 
• Exchange programs: CIM laid the groundwork for two new overseas exchange programs. In addition to other schools, CIM students may now spend time at the University of Music and the Performing Arts in Vienna and the Conservatory of Music in Puerto Rico. 
• Gateways Music Festival: A still-developing relationship with the Rochester-based network of African American musicians will begin with a teaching and performance visit this spring from the Gateways Brass Collective. 
• Lang Lang International Music Foundation: Going forward, CIM will continue to host the Lang Lang Young Scholars Summer Summit and “Play it Forward” outreach program.  
• Piano Cleveland: The winner of the 2024 Cleveland International Piano Competition will teach and perform at CIM next fall. 

“We’re teaching our students that their talents are not ends in themselves but means to serving our communities and serving the world around us,” said Scott Harrison. “We want them to view their work as part of a living, dynamic, impactful art form.” 

PHILANTHROPY 

CIM’s individual, corporate, and governmental supporters were uncommonly generous last year, committing gifts and pledges at record levels.  

At the government level, the State of Ohio offered significant support to both the CIM Academy ($600,000) and the Kulas Hall Renovation Project ($500,000). 

CIM’s private supporters also stepped up for the school in a big way. Twenty members of the Board of Trustees and others made their largest gifts to CIM this year. Among them were 11 gifts of $1 million or more to the Second Century Campaign.  

All of this came in addition to a $5 million gift from Kevin and Kristen Stein & Family, the largest single gift from a couple in CIM history. With this gift and others, CIM’s Second Century Campaign surpassed $36 million.  

“CIM will never be able to truly thank [our supporters] enough, but we hope that the illustrious careers and phenomenal performances their gifts make possible over the coming decades will be a fitting reward,” Hogle said.  

TRUSTEES 

Also at the 2024 Annual Meeting, CIM Trustees elected the class of 2027 and recognized retiring Trustees and those who passed away this year.  

The following Trustees were elected to new, three-year terms:  

• A. Chace Anderson    
• Cynthia Bassett   
• Eric W. Bower (MM ’82, HDMA ’23)  
• Ann Buescher   
• Jeffrey M. Davis  
• Bruce Hearey 
• John L. Malcolm, IV  
• Roy Minoff 
• Katrina Redmond  
• Kevin Stein  
• Sanford E. Watson 

With great appreciation for their service, CIM also thanked the following Trustees and ex-officio Trustees who retired from or rotated off the Board in the past year: 

• Stephen P. Ban  
• Jonathan P. Miller  
• Donna M. Sciarappa  

Two Trustees also were appointed as Trustee Emeriti: Marilyn Sanders Mobley, the former Vice President of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity at Case Western Reserve University; and Robert Conrad, co-founder of radio station WCLV.  

The Board of Trustees also elected (or re-elected) four members to leadership positions.  

Unanimously re-elected were Susan A. Rothmann, Chair; Kevin Stein, Vice Chair; Katrina Redmond, Treasurer; and Bonnie M. Cook, Secretary. Newly elected as a Vice Chair was Eric W. Bower.  

Also re-elected were the Officers of the Institute: Paul W. Hogle, President & CEO; Scott Harrison, Executive Vice President & Provost; and Brian J. Foss, Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Treasurer of the Board of Trustees. 

Finally, all those gathered reflected on those members of the CIM community who passed away in 2024, with a performance by student cellist April Lee with pianist Icy Nguyen.