WATCH: CCM Musical Theatre students share Project Exhale

Musical Theatre students at the UC College-Conservatory of Music present Project Exhale, a collection of performances to celebrate BIPOC voices. Project Exhale is now available to watch on CCM's YouTube channel. 

Project Exhale is the "brain child" of three Musical Theatre students who recently graduated: Joshua Johnson (BFA, '21), Veronica Stern (BFA, '21) and Sofie Flores (BFA, '21). They approached Musical Theatre Professor Diane Lala in late fall of 2019 to propose the project.

"They wanted to bring BIPOC students together to produce a piece that would bring awareness," Lala says. "It was also a way for students looking to come to CCM to be able to see that there is a place for them here. We had a date set for April in 2020 but COVID had other plans. The students pivoted, like everyone else, and came up with a way to produce this through video. It is our hope that Project Exhale will continue throughout the years."

Project Exhale features performances by Musical Theatre students and alumni: Jamal Stone, Jeffrey Cornelius, Michael Lee Jr., Veronica Stern, Sofie Flores, Camila Paquet, Joshua Johnson, Mikayla Renfrow, Madison Mosely, Annalise Prentiss, Alloria Frayser, Julia Schick, Sasha Spitz, Christian Feliciano, Kai Horvit, Christian Kidd, Benjamin Cheng and Peter Neureuther. The cast and production team followed COVID safety protocols during the making of Project Exhale.

The performance is educational in nature and intended as a tribute to the artists whose works are covered in the video. Students perform Maya Angelou's "Still I Rise," "Meet the Plastics" from Mean Girls, "Me Voy," "Gee, Officer Krupkee" from West Side Story, "Sola," a Disney Princess Medley, Stevie Wonder's "As," "Hold On," "Till We Reach That Day" from Ragtime, "Brand New Day" from The Wiz and student-created songs and monologues.

Project Exhale is supported by the CCM Harmony Fund.

CCM's Harmony Fund supports artistic works that fight hate and prejudice through the performing arts. John Harrison and Ginger Warner were two of the visionary founders and inspiring leaders of the CCM Harmony Fund based on the belief that the arts inspire imaginative thinking, encourage conversations, present contrasting attitudes and help us examine our own viewpoints. The Harmony Fund supports the students and faculty at CCM to explore issues and encourage them to find a voice that often would not be able to happen without The Harmony Fund. Learn more.