The Cincinnati May Festival will return in 2026 with a season that bridges its storied past with a bold new vision, featuring the most diverse lineup of composers in the festival’s history.
The lineup, which will run May 15-23 at Cincinnati Music Hall, pairs beloved choral masterworks with contemporary pieces and new collaborations with the Cincinnati Ballet and Classical Roots Community Choir.
Under the artistic leadership of 2026 Festival Director Julia Bullock and Director of Choruses Matthew Swanson, the 2026 season revisits works from the festival’s 150-year history while introducing music never before performed by the May Festival Chorus.
Performances will once again include the May Festival’s longtime partner the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, under the batons of Cristian Măcelaru and guest conductor Anthony Parnther. Swanson will conduct as well.
“After almost a year of research and conversations, I am thrilled to share our key programming for this year’s May Festival,” said Bullock, an acclaimed soprano and 2024 Grammy Award winner for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album. She has also built a reputation for bold, creative projects and for leading efforts to make the arts more equitable – from the multimedia anthology “History’s Persistent Voice,” which explores the influence of pre-Emancipation poetry and music, to “Perle Noire: Meditations for Josephine,” a collaboration with director Peter Sellars.
Bullock, the third festival director in May Festival history, brought that rich background into the planning process.
“Historically, the festival has focused on gathering together local arts communities and performers, commissioning new work and presenting unexpected repertoire side-by-side,” she added. “I’ve followed that same ethos in planning this year’s music and events and am excited that these four core programs so clearly represent the May Festival in all its breadth and flair.”
Festival highlights
The 2026 May Festival kicks off May 15 with Măcelaru on the podium and Bullock taking the spotlight as soloist in Anton Bruckner’s “Psalm 150.” The program also includes works by Alexander von Zemlinsky and Margaret Bonds, culminating in an “Eclectic Mass” – a compilation of sacred movements from Carlos Simon, Palestrina Bach, Bonds and Handel. Simon will make his festival debut performing on Hammond organ, with Jason Alexander Holmes as preacher.
The May 16 program, also conducted by Mǎcelaru, explores the theme of water through Duke Ellington’s “The River” and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “A Sea Symphony.”
On May 21, the Cincinnati Ballet’s Second Company joins the festival for the first time, performing new choreography by Yoshihisa Arai set to Igor Stravinsky’s “Les noces” and Carl Orff’s “Catulli Carmina.” Guest vocalists include Victoria Okafor, Sara Couden, Nicholas Phan and Yannis François.
The finale on May 23 will unite the May Festival Chorus, Classical Roots Community Choir and May Festival Youth Chorus for a performance of selections from “Porgy and Bess,” featuring Bullock as “Bess” and Alfred Walker as “Porgy.” The program also includes William Grant Still’s “Plain-Chant for America,” Stephen Paulus’ “Prayers & Remembrances,” Leonard Bernstein’s “Make Our Garden Grow” from “Candide,” and wraps with the traditional “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s “Messiah.”
“It has been invigorating and inspirational to plan the 2026 May Festival with Julia Bullock. We are fortunate to welcome her as both a world-leading performer and an acclaimed curator,” Swanson said. “The members of the May Festival Choruses and I eagerly invite our entire community to join us for this unique festival.”
Just the beginning
May Festival Executive Director Julianne Akins Smith said her team carefully chose each piece in the lineup to take returning and new guests alike on a “transformative musical journey.” She emphasized that the announcement is only the beginning.
In the months ahead, Akins Smith and her team will share more details about additional experiences, performances and social gatherings – “all inspired by the traditions and music” of the May Festival.
Festival passes are now available at mayfestival.com, by phone at 513-381-3300 or at the Music Hall box office. Passes include access to all concerts and early discounts on extra events, including a recital featuring Bullock and a collaboration with Cincinnati’s Vocal Arts Ensemble. Single tickets go on sale Feb. 3.
“With so many can’t-miss moments, from season opener to festival finale, this year is a true celebration of music inspired by the one instrument that connects us all – the human voice,” Akins Smith said.
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