150 TH ANNIVERSA R Y SEASON Save 15% and pay no order fees when you subscribe by NOV 24 mayfestival.com
A SEASON 150 YEARS IN THE MAKING
THE FUTURE OF CHORAL MUSIC IS NOW.
Ahead of its time in many ways, the May Festival created the first composer prize competition in the United States in 1880. The Festival has since commissioned and premiered numerous choral works.
Continuing the tradition, this season the May Festival will premiere three commissions by eminent composers of our time, adding to the canon of choral music that others will enjoy for years to come.
THE NEXT GENERATION OF MUSIC MAKERS.
Providing choral music opportunities for youth has been an important part of the May Festival since 1906. Many former Youth Chorus members can be found singing in today's May Festival Chorus, with hundreds of others populating choruses around the country. Heading into the 150th season, the May Festival has expanded its opportunities for young people to make music.
A CHORUS OF EVERYDAY PEOPLE.
Talented volunteer singers from all walks of life come together each year for more than 45,000 combined rehearsal hours to focus solely on creating the powerful music we enjoy each Festival. This dedicated group of individuals also hones skills like teamwork, cooperation and leadership skills they bring home to their own neighborhoods, fostering better places to live, work and play.
THE CITY THAT SINGS.
Just as it was in the 1800s, the Cincinnati region is one of America's choral epicenters, with hundreds of choirs and tens of thousands of singers. The May Festival is celebrating this regional tradition with its 25 for 25 project— commissioning 25 composers to create original works for 25 local choirs, each incorporating the unique elements that make choral music such a dynamic and diverse cultural expression.
A CINCINNATI TREASURE.
The May Festival and its Chorus have received local, national and international recognition for their concerts, tours, recordings and broadcasts. BBC Music Magazine named the May Festival one of the best classical music festivals in the USA and Canada in 2021 and 2022.
WELCOME TO THE 2023 MAY FESTIVAL!
As we celebrate this major milestone, our 150th Anniversary, I cannot tell you how excited I am about our plans for this year. You, our wonderful May Festival audience, will be treated to performances of Bach’s Magnificat, Mozart’s Requiem, excerpts from Nathaniel Dett’s The Ordering of Moses, and Mahler’s mighty Symphony No. 8, Symphony of a Thousand, all performed by our very own May Festival Chorus, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and a stellar line-up of soloists. You will also hear three new commissions, works that will enjoy their first public performance on stage at Music Hall, by James MacMillan, James Lee III and Julia Adolphe.
I sincerely hope you’re able to join me for what promises to be a memorable Festival for us all!
Juanjo Mena Principal Conductor
Juanjo Mena Principal Conductor
GREETINGS, FRIENDS!
The upcoming May Festival showcases some of the best and most significant choral music from across the ages, spanning the 17th to the 21st centuries. It promises compelling musical experiences for the May Festival Chorus, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and for you, our May Festival extended family! You’ll enjoy works by two of my favorite composers—Bach and Mozart—and not to be missed is music by Nathaniel Dett. I could go on about the music, because there is always a fascinating story to be told. But I’ll stop for now—we can discuss the music more when I see you next May! The 2023 May Festival promises to be a brilliant spectrum of musical experiences, and the Chorus and I do hope to see you!
Best wishes, Robert Porco Director of Choruses
VAULTED VOICES
SAT APR 1 7:30 PM
HYDE PARK COMMUNITY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
The May Festival brings the immersive experience of soaring vocal music in a sacred space to a new venue! Director of Choruses Robert Porco conducts Handel's celebratory Dettingen Te Deum, the first work ever performed at the May Festival. Matthew Swanson leads the Youth Chorus in a varied program, including a 25 for 25 commission from composer Olivia Bennett. Tickets for this performance are free, but a suggested donation of $25 per ticket to the Music Makers of Tomorrow Fund is welcomed and encouraged.
PROGRAM TO INCLUDE:
George Frideric HANDEL Dettingen Te Deum Olivia BENNETT New Work*
*May Festival Commission; World Premiere
Olivia Bennett
Robert Porco, conductor Matthew Swanson, conductor May Festival Chamber Choir May Festival Youth Chorus
Robert Porco
Director of Choruses
Hyde Park Community United Methodist Church
Matthew Swanson Associate Director of Choruses
BACH’S MAGNIFICAT
FRI MAY 19 7:30 PM | MUSIC HALL
Juanjo Mena, conductor
Berit Norbakken, soprano
Robin Johannsen, soprano
Marianne Beate Kielland, mezzo-soprano
Toby Spence, tenor
Christian Immler, bass
May Festival Chorus
May Festival Youth Chorus
Cincinnati Boychoir
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Music Director Juanjo Mena opens the 150th Festival with world premieres by American composer James Lee III and former May Festival Creative Partner James MacMillan. Given its American premiere at the 1875 May Festival, Bach’s celebratory Magnificat was described then as we would now—as “the highest form of human expression.”
*May
James MacMILLAN Timotheus, Bacchus and Cecilia*
James LEE III Breaths of Universal Longings* Johann Sebastian BACH Magnificat
Festival Commission; World Premiere
Robin Johannsen
Berit Norbakken
James MacMillan
James Lee III
Christian Immler
Juanjo Mena
Toby Spence
Marianne Beate Kielland
MARIN ALSOP: AMERICAN VOICES
SAT MAY 20 7:30 PM | MUSIC HALL
Celebrated maestra Marin Alsop makes her May Festival debut with a showcase of composers who crafted the American musical identity. Samuel Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915 is a lyrical dream of the Tennessee summer, while Aaron Copland's "The Promise of Living" rings with the hope of prosperity. The "uncanny radiance" (The New Yorker) of Robert Nathaniel Dett's The Ordering of Moses a work the Festival premiered in 1937—returns to Music Hall.
Samuel BARBER Symphony No. 1 in One Movement
Samuel BARBER Knoxville: Summer of 1915 Robert Nathaniel DETT Excerpts from The Ordering of Moses Aaron COPLAND “The Promise of Living” from The Tender Land
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Marin Alsop, conductor Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha, soprano Laquita Mitchell, soprano Briana Hunter, mezzo-soprano
Marin Alsop
Nicholas Newton Rodrick Dixon
Laquita Mitchell Briana Hunter
Rodrick Dixon, tenor Nicholas Newton, bass May Festival Chorus Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
MOZART’S REQUIEM
THU MAY 25 7:30 PM |
James Conlon, conductor Erica Petrocelli, soprano Kate Lindsey, mezzo-soprano Joshua Blue, tenor
Michael Sumuel, bass May Festival Chorus Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Conductor James Conlon, May Festival Music Director Laureate, returns to lead a new work by American composer Julia Adolphe and Mozart’s famous music for a Requiem Mass. First performed by the May Festival in 1882, the Requiem radiates fearless brilliance—sacred music that touches on the sublime.
*May Festival co-commission; world premiere
Julia ADOLPHE Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART Requiem
James Conlon
Kate Lindsey Joshua Blue
Michael Sumuel
Julia Adolphe
MAHLER’S SYMPHONY OF A THOUSAND
SAT MAY 27 7:30 PM | MUSIC HALL
Juanjo Mena, conductor Sarah Wegener, soprano Camilla Tilling, soprano Lauren Snouffer, soprano Kate Lindsey, alto Briana Hunter, alto Barry Banks, tenor José Antonio López, baritone Reginald Smith, Jr., baritone
May Festival Chorus
Cleveland Orchestra Chorus May Festival Youth Chorus
Cincinnati Boychoir Cincinnati Youth Choir Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Mahler called his Eighth Symphony “the biggest thing that I have ever done…in which the most beautiful instrument in the world is given its true place.” Principal Conductor Juanjo Mena concludes the 150th May Festival with a work of gigantic proportions—music of triumph and transcendence featuring the combined forces of five choruses, eight soloists, and the CSO in the acoustic expanse of Music Hall.
Gustav MAHLER Symphony No. 8, Symphony of a Thousand
Barry Banks
José Antonio López
Briana Hunter
Reginald Smith, Jr.
Sarah Wegener
Camilla Tilling Lauren Snou er
Kate Lindsey
In celebration of Cincinnati's vibrant choral community, the Festival is commissioning 25 new works for 25 local choral ensembles—all written by composers from New York's Luna Composition Lab, a mentorship and education program for young female, non-binary, and gender non-conforming composers. Look for performances by
25 FOR 25 PROJECT PARTICIPATING CHORUSES
• Cincinnati Boychoir
• Cincinnati Camerata
• Cincinnati Choral Academy
• Cincinnati Men’s Chorus
• Cincinnati Youth Choir
• CinKoa: Cincinnati Korean Choir
• Classical Roots Community Choir
• Hear Us, Hear Them
• Heri et Hodie
• Little Miami Chorale
• May Festival Youth Chorus
• MUSE: Cincinnati Women’s Choir
No Promises Vocal Band
Northern Kentucky Community Chorus
Northern Kentucky University Chamber Choir
The School for Creative and Performing Arts Chorale and Concert Choir
Saint Ursula Academy Vocal Ensemble Thomas More University Choir Tron
UC College-Conservatory of Music Chorale
Ursuline Academy Choir
Voices of Indiana World House Choir
Xavier University Choir
Young Professionals Choral Collective
Classical Roots Community Choir
Northern Kentucky Community Chorus
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MUSICAL FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION NON PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID CINCINNATI OH PERMIT NO. 7369 Subscribe by NOV 24 with no order fees! mayfestival.com • 513.381.3300 Juanjo Mena, Principal Conductor Robert Porco, Director of Choruses “One of the best classical music festivals of the USA and Canada” BBC Music Magazine
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