CINCINNATI — May is often a time for choral concerts in Ohio and across the country. In Cincinnati, the longest-running concert series in the Western Hemisphere is now underway: May Festival.
What You Need To Know
- Cincinnati’s May Festival is celebrating 150 years with concerts May 19-27
- The all-volunteer chorus features 120 men and women
- Three new commissioned works will be featured along with some old favorites
- Tickets start at $16 with special rates for students
It started in 1873, five years before Music Hall opened. In fact, the main reason they built it was to house the popular choral concerts that are still attracting audiences 150 years later.
The first conductor was a German immigrant named Theodore Thomas, recruited by socialite Maria Longworth and her husband, George Nichols. Thomas later founded the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Now, the May Festival is in the hands of Principal Conductor Juanjo Mena from Spain and Director of Choruses Robert Porco.
Much of the music has remained the same. This year, the festival opens with Bach’s Magnificat, which had its American premiere at Mayfest in 1875. They’re also featuring three modern, original works making their world premieres at Music Hall.
“It’s amazing because it’s the first time it’s going to be done in any setting like this,” said Mary Ann Sprage, who is making her debut as a chorus member this year along with about 25 others. The chorus is all-volunteer and features 120 men and women who audition for the chance to join the prestigious group.
Like many of her fellow singers, Sprague first heard the chorus when she was a kid. Her grade school music teacher, Ellen Baker, sang in the chorus. She became Sprague’s musical mentor, and they have remained friends to this day, Sprague said.
“As a child getting to see these people come together and sing with such beautiful harmonies with such power and strength, it was so inspiring as a kid,” she said. “It made me want to be a part of it as I became an adult and wanted to continue choral music.”
The Greater Cincinnati native honed her skills in Nashville, where she graduated from Belmont University and then sang in some bands and performed in commercials and music videos. She has also worked as a dance instructor and counselor, after earning a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
“I had moved back to Cincinnati to take care of my parents who were getting sick,” Sprague said. “I wanted to get back into music and I saw the auditions come up last year and decided to try out and so here I am finally getting to be part of the May Festival after all these years.”
She’s part of a younger group of singers who were attracted to the chorus after the isolation from the pandemic. In the past two years about 50 new members have joined the chorus, a turnover of nearly half its members, said Tyler Secor, director of Publications and Content Development for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
“I absolutely have felt welcomed since day one,” Sprague said. “The women who sit around me in the soprano section have been nothing but nice to me and welcoming and encouraging and honestly, it’s made my experience what it is.”
Sprague said she has been encouraging others to audition and join in the fun, including teenagers from 8th to 12th grade, who sing in the Youth Choir and also get to perform at the May Festival.
“It really feels like a big family, especially in this part of the year where we’re rehearsing night after night after night,” Sprague said. “Everyone is getting to know each other better, and it really is like a home away from home.”
This year’s festival runs May 19-27 at Music Hall. Tickets start at $16 for adults, with special pricing for students.
