It is a rare thing to remain with one artistic organization for 30 years - something less than a handful of music directors in America have achieved. But this week's blogger, James Conlon, has been leading the Cincinnati May Festival for 31 seasons - more than any other music director in the Festival's 137 years. And for good reason: the May Festival is the oldest continuous choral festival in the Western Hemisphere - its founding in 1873 is directly responsible for the development of Cincinnati's venerable Music Hall. During May Festival's two week run, Conlon reflects on why a choral festival's history is so intertwined with our city's past, present and future.
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Highlights of My Tenure with the May Festival
Posted By: James Conlon
5/20/2010
I have enjoyed presenting world premiers of works by noted composers, public television and recording projects, guest appearances by great vocalists from the classical music world, and performances at Carnegie Hall. We are experimenting with multimedia presentations through collaborations with the Cincinnati Art Museum-- projecting works of art in Music Hall which enhance and articulate the such as the May Fesitval's rarely-performed presentation of Hector Berlioz' L'Enfance du Christ, Romeo et Juliette, and in the 2010 season, Bach's St. Matthew Passion.
Events such as these are of considerable interest, confronting the reality of the American public's progressive shift to being more visually oriented. They are becoming increasingly popular. Although some perceive these as an intrusion, many welcome the visual component as an enhancement to the concert going experience. Some have lost or never acquired the habit of listening to classical music in a stationary position with a shared audience. Uniting audio and visual art can be a "spiritual" experience. It is true that I prefer to hear music without distraction, but we have to be realistic. The danger for the present and future is that all this great music will not be played for a larger audience. The fault is not in the music (Bach's St. Matthew Passion need not prove itself on anyone else's terms) but in ourselves.
Also personally meaningful are our Sunday evening concerts at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington. I instituted these in 1980 and they have become a May Festival tradition. I like to bear in mind that sacred music sung in church settings provided the context for what we now call "classical" music. The Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, one of this country's most beautiful sacred spaces, is a perfect setting for listening to these works of Gabrieli, Hassler, Byrd, Palestrina, Bruckner and Britten the way they were first meant to be heard. Thirty years of sold-out performances attest to their importance.