Julia Bullock

Curious when Opera & Ballet communities will shift our focus, attention, voices, and bodies towards the actions in: Lebanon, Palestine, West Bank, Congo, Sudan, Yemen, Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, Syria, Ukraine, Israel and yes, the dangers running rampant in the United States Can we channel our energy to address these injustices loudly and publicly? Because people in our community are being targeted.

This #ICE #sign could be seen every few blocks in #Chicago while I was visiting. It was a (weather) #warning, but let it also be a #prophecy. All I want for Xmas is: [ ] for I.C.E. to be disbanded in its current form, if not completely [ ] for I.C.E. to stop terrorizing U.S. civilians — documented and undocumented [ ] for families to be reunited [ ] for the for-profit prison companies that forcibly hold our friends, families, co-workers, pregnant & new parents, and CHILDREN in their facilities to be held accountable for the human rights violations, and be shut down That’s all I want for Xmas.

in short, I join the many voices who plead #AllowHumanitarianAccess #immediate #ceasefire #EndCyclesOfViolence

A DREAM DEFERRED: Langston Hughes in Song 🎵🌸TOMORROW! 🎵🌸 Every concert for the @mayfestivalcincy is inspired by the culture in #Cincinnati, however THIS program I wanted to remount for the May Festival, because of how the language of #LangstonHughes echoed across continents, and still resounds today. Hope you can join us all on May 17th at Memorial Hall (right next to Music Hall — and first time the Festival has utilized this space 💜) This will be a celebratory afternoon of poetry and music, in a more intimate setting. ARTISTS Julia Bullock Nicole Cabell @nicolecabell Sankara Harouna @lepatron4 Stefani Matsuo violinist Christopher Pell clarinetist Ricky Ian Gordon @rickyiangordon John Arida @johnarida MUSE Cincinnati’s Women’s Choir @musechoir (Reina Dickey artistic director) Members of the May Festival Youth Chorus (Jason Alexander Holmes @jasonalexanderholmes director)

THE FAMILY LOUNGE! 🤗 This is another first for the May Festival, and I can’t wait to be there with my family TONIGHT! Starting at 5pm (before the “Water Journey” concert), thru the May Festival Youth & Meridian Chorus performances, and the performance of Duke Ellington’s THE RIVER. What was the inspiration? 🌸 I know how meaningful it has been to feel welcomed with my 3 year old kiddo into rehearsals and performances to hear live music, and that is something that should be open and available to all. So I asked the May Festival @mayfestivalcincy crew how many ways we can welcome families so they can feel relaxed, maybe take over a space, have snacks(!), and enjoy a concert all together? The May Festival and Cincinnati Symphony are increasingly working to be a place that encourages the warmth of intergenerational exchanges, and this is now one of the ways they are implementing it! Buy a $15 family ticket, or simply pay what you can afford ($1 is great!) No one will be turned away! ALL ARE WELCOME!

Wild cheers and applause for the entire ensemble at our Opening Night performance which concluded with a Hallelujah Chorus that brought the house down! The 2026 May Festival is off to a glorious start! Bravo!👏🤩🙌🎶

Thanks Anne Arenstein at @citybeatcincy for this lovely article covering the May Festival! There are so many firsts for the#MayFestival this year (from musical events to installations) — check out the @mayfestivalcincy website!

DÎNER EN FLEUR — Dine among the Flowers 🌸 What was the inspiration for this event? 🎵 The May Festival used to have parades and food gatherings to lead people into the hall in the early years! I wanted us to re-introduce that tradition! Before the opening night @mayfestivalcincy concert on May 15, come early to the Washington Park — just outside of Music Hall! Enjoy some food from @findlaymarket (you can even bring your own!), drinks and music outdoors, before gathering inside for AN ECLECTIC OPENING NIGHT! Register at mayfestival.com 🌼

about your presence right now 💜

Xtra in the Nati's Sarah White got to go to the May Festival for their concert with 3rd graders from many different Cincinnati Public Schools. The May Festival is passionate about making singing more accessible to young people! /

What a BRILLIANT way to launch the May Festival — with 1,500 3rd grade public school students and their teachers! These young people had been preparing for months and we finally(!) were able to sing all together yesterday! It’s the first concert of its kind in this history of the festival — and what I hope will become an integrated part of the over-150-year #MayFestival Legacy! I remember the first time I went to a symphony concert hall. It was in 2nd grade with my classmates in elementary school. The stage was full of instrumentalists playing powerful music. And I couldn’t help but think: WHAT WOULD IT FEEL LIKE TO SING IN THERE?!?! Since the @mayfestival is about singing — even more to the point: singing together 🤗 I asked the May Festival crew how we could devote an entire concert to let young people take over the space. And this is what they came up with! We sang the song “We All Shine” a commission for this year’s May Festival. With text by Jason A. Holmes & Edy Dreith, and music composed by a local public school music teacher Sonja I. Morales-Matos. 🎵 It centered on how we are smart, have heart, and are brave. ❤️ And when our intelligence, emotions and courage come together within us, we illuminate and SHINE! ⭐️🌟 Thank you Jason @jasonalexanderholmes , Edy @empressdreith and Thea for guiding us through the history of the Music Hall, the music that was made here during the Harlem Renaissance, and through the newly commissioned song today! What shining (and singing) gems each of you are!

You can explore online and SOON pick up the #MayFestival program booklet in-person to use for the entire festival! 🥰 From essays, to biographies, to photographs: this booklet shares the range of events and programs this year! Can’t wait to see you here @mayfestivalcincy !