May Festival 150th Anniversary Opening Concert

May Festival Principal Conductor Juanjo Mena will lead the Chorus and CSO in Johann Sebastian Bach’s Magnificat, which received its American premiere by the May Festival in 1875, as well as two world premieres by composers Sir James MacMillan and James Lee III, both written for the May Festival Chorus and May Festival Youth Chorus.

One of the most prolific choral composers of today, MacMillan’s Credo received its U.S. premiere at the May Festival in 2018, and in 2019, MacMillan joined the May Festival as a guest conductor and Creative Partner. In 2012, under the direction of Juanjo Mena, the CSO performed James Lee III’s Sukkot Through Orion’s Nebula. The CSO will perform Lee’s Amer’ican on June 11, 2022 as part of its MAC Music Innovator program.