It’s a remarkable achievement. As Cincinnati’s May Festival prepares to open its season on May 19, it is celebrating its 150th anniversary, making it the oldest choral festival in the Western Hemisphere, according to festival management.
Small wonder, then, that principal conductor Juanjo Mena was reflecting on his tenure as leader of the festival. There have been performances by world-famous soloists and notable world premieres. There was the inspiring return to Music Hall after its $143 million renovation. And the forced cancellation of the 2020 festival because of the pandemic.
But Mena, who is entering his sixth and final season with the festival, admits to a special fondness for a 2018 performance that many others might overlook. It was what some referred to as “The Singalong ‘Messiah.’”
A community chorus of 300 or so people was invited to participate in the event instead of merely being audience members. Some of the singers, he said, had never before sung as part of a chorus.
“Their experience as singers wasn’t important – the musical impact was incredible,” said Mena, speaking by phone from his home in the Basque region of Spain. “All these people working as nurses or teachers or moms or taxi drivers, suddenly singing ‘Messiah’ with the May Festival. It was spectacular.”
It wasn’t just the extra voices that meant something to Mena. It was the sense of community that it engendered, the idea of bringing people together to revel in a sense of togetherness by the act of singing together.
“It was one of the things that attracted me about Cincinnati,” said Mena. “There were so many choirs there. Singing was such an important part of the Cincinnati history. The more I learned, the more I wanted to be a part of that history.”
In many ways, it’s a shame that this is his final season. The May Festival has broken much new ground under his leadership. But when Mena was brought on board in 2018, he was following in the wake of James Conlon, who had been the May Festival’s music director for 37 years.
“The idea was that by bringing in a new principal conductor every few years, we could more effectively encourage innovation and new ideas,” says Steven Sunderman, the May Festival’s executive director.
So Mena was signed to a three-year contract. If things went well during his initial term, he might be reengaged for an additional three years. Between Mena’s successes and the impact of the pandemic, his contract was indeed extended.
Mena’s tenure has been a memorable and especially adventurous one.
“They told me that my first parameter was that I should take risks,” Mena said when he was introduced as the principal conductor. “I had to respect the past. But I was to make something new in Cincinnati.”
And as he closes out his time in Cincinnati, Mena will leave us with several palpable reminders of that directive. May 19’s opening concert is a perfect example of the rich and varied musical mix that has become a hallmark of his leadership.
The concert features one of the momentous standards of the choral repertoire – Bach’s “Magnificat.” But alongside the Bach, the concert will include a pair of world premieres commissioned by the May Festival; James MacMillan’s “Timotheus, Bacchus and Cecilia” and James Lee III’s “Breaths of Universal Longings.”
“The Bach, of course, is a work of genius,” said Mena. “But it is also a work that people have heard many times before. When they hear James MacMillan and James Lee, they will hear new sounds, new harmonies and, I hope, have new musical experiences.”
The May Festival lineup also includes:
May 20 – “American Voices,” Marin Alsop conducting; Samuel Barber’s “Symphony No. 1 in One Movement” and “Knoxville: Summer of 1915,” Robert Nathaniel Dett’s “The Ordering of Moses,” Aaron Copland’s “The Promise of Living” from “The Tender Lands Suite.”
May 25 – James Conlon conducts the world premiere of Julia Adolphe’s “Crown of Hummingbirds” (a May Festival commission) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’ “Requiem in D Minor.”
May 27 – Mena conducts Gustav Mahler’s “Symphony No. 8,” popularly referred to as the “Symphony of a Thousand.”
“The Mahler is a very demanding piece,” says Mena, noting that there will be more than 350 performers involved with the performance. “But it is so well-written. It is a joy. I think it is the perfect work to end my time with the May Festival because that has been a joy, too. So much great music. So many great audiences. A joy.”
May Festival 2023
When: May 19-27.
Where: Springer Auditorium, Music Hall, 1241 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine.
Tickets: $15-$104.
Information: 513-381-3300; www.mayfestival.com.
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