Rising choral conductor Max Trombley has been tapped as the Cincinnati May Festival’s Choral Conducting Fellow for the 2025-26 season.
Trombley is a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate in choral conducting at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He has already performed internationally and with major American orchestras, including the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra as a vocalist. He currently serves as a VOCES8 U.S. Scholar. He also teaches on the summer voice faculty at Interlochen Center for the Arts.
“I am thrilled to work with the May Festival Chorus as the next Choral Conducting Fellow,” Trombley said. “To be a part of the oldest choral festival in the Western Hemisphere is truly an honor, and I’m excited to be able to connect the community with the highest quality performances of great music.”
What the fellowship offers
The May Festival is Cincinnati’s longest-running community engagement project, and after nearly 150 years, it continues to inspire. In 1873, a group of visionaries launched a music festival designed to endure and grow, putting the city on the cultural map. Since then, scores of nationally and internationally acclaimed soloists and conductors have participated, shaping not just May Festival history but the broader story of American music.
Building on this legacy, the Choral Conducting Fellowship began in 2013 through the generosity of Ginger Warner, a longtime University of Cincinnati trustee and May Festival board director emeritus.
In collaboration with CCM’s graduate choral conducting program, the festival selects a Doctor of Musical Arts student each year to serve one season as assistant conductor of the May Festival Chorus. The fellowship gives emerging conductors the chance to commission new works, arrange music, gain real-world conducting experience, and take part in leading one of the country’s top choral organizations.
Trombley will work directly with Director of Choruses Matthew Swanson and Associate Director of Choruses Jason Alexander Holmes in leading the May Festival Chorus in its upcoming season. He will also collaborate with industry professionals, including this year’s May Festival director, Julia Bullock.
“We look forward to all that (Trombley) will achieve with the May Festival chorus, the College-Conservatory of Music, and in our broader community,” Swanson said.
Strong foundation in performance, education
Trombley earned a master’s degree in choral conducting from Western Michigan University after beginning graduate studies at the University of Miami. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from Eastern Michigan University.
Before graduate school, he taught secondary choral music in Michigan public schools, where his choirs toured nationally and earned top ratings. He also coordinated honors choirs and adjudication festivals for the Michigan School Vocal Music Association.
As a vocalist, Trombley has performed with the CSO, New York Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, among others. He has sung at the Spoleto Festival USA, Bay View Music Festival, and as part of Seraphic Fire’s early artist program.
In 2024, he received a research grant from the University of Miami’s Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas to revive the music of 19th-century Puerto Rican composer Felipe Gutiérrez y Espinosa. He was also named a semifinalist for the 2025-26 Fulbright U.S. Student Program.
Executive Director Julianne Akins Smith stressed that Trombley’s experience and talents will make him an “invaluable” addition to the May Festival’s artistic team this year, noting that 12 previous fellows have gone on to notable careers in choral music.
“We are eager to welcome him to this important program – aligning his experience, expertise and passion with our organizational goals,” she said.
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