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Register by October 17 to Secure Your Spot!
| Registration Type | Member Price |
|---|---|
| Early Bird Registration (Sept. 11-Oct.3) | $750 |
| General Registration (Oct. 4-Oct.17) | $850 |
May Festival Chorus
The May Festival Chorus has earned acclaim locally, nationally, and internationally for its musicality, vast range of repertoire, and sheer power of sound. The Chorus of 140 professionally trained singers is the core artistic element of the Cincinnati May Festival, as well as the official chorus of the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra. Throughout each season, the chorus members collectively devote more than 40,000 hours in rehearsals and performances.
Founded in 1873, the annual May Festival is the oldest, and one of the most prestigious, choral festivals in the Western Hemisphere. The annual Festival boasts the May Festival Chorus and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra as anchors, hosts an international array of guest artists, and presents two spectacular weekends of dynamic choral programming. Many important choral works have received their world and American premieres at the May Festival, including Johann Sebastian Bach’s Magnificat, Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 3, Benjamin Britten’s Gloriana, Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Death of the Bishop of Brindisi and Robert Nathaniel Dett’s The Ordering of Moses.
Beyond Cincinnati, the May Festival Chorus has performed with great success at numerous venues across the country, including four celebrated appearances at Carnegie Hall. The Chorus returned to New York City in May of 2014 for the Spring for Music Festival at Carnegie Hall, with James Conlon and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
The May Festival Chorus has further strengthened its national presence through numerous PBS broadcasts of live concerts and several award-winning recordings, many in collaboration with the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra. In 2001, the Chorus recorded Christmas with the May Festival Chorus, a popular a cappella holiday compact disc. Its 2004 Telarc release, the world premiere recording of Franz Liszt’s St. Stanislaus featuring James Conlon and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was awarded the 30th International F. Liszt Record Grand Prix by the Liszt Society of Budapest. In May 2016, the May Festival will release the world premiere recording of R. Nathaniel Dett’s The Ordering of Moses, recorded live at Carnegie Hall in 2014. The May Festival gave the world premiere performance of the work in 1937.
The May Festival Chorus has garnered two awards in recognition of its continuing artistic excellence and performances throughout the state. In 2011, the Chorus received the Spirit of Cincinnati USA Erich Kunzel Queen City Advocate Award from Cincinnati USA Convention and Visitors Bureau. In 1998, the Chorus earned the Irma Lazarus Award from the Ohio Arts Council’s annual Governor’s Awards for the Arts.
