California College of Music

of Music was formed in August 1955 from the merger of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, formed in 1867 as part of a girls' finishing school, and the College of Music of Cincinnati, which opened in 1878. CCM was incorporated into the University of Cincinnati on August 1, 1962. The college is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, its original name.
CCM's first opera department was established in 1917 under the leadership of Ralph Lyford, an American composer and conductor. In 1920 Lyford founded the Summer Zoo Opera at the Cincinnati Zoological Gardens, a summer performance series that eventually evolved into what is now known as Cincinnati Opera. Cincinnati Ballet's debut performances took place at Wilson Auditorium on the University of Cincinnati campus in 1964 and 1965. In 1966, the directorship of the ballet company passed on to David McLain, who at the time also headed CCM's Dance Division. Cincinnati Ballet's early connection to CCM gave the new company studio space …