May Festival Extends Contract Of Principal Conductor Juanjo Mena

Following the enthusiastically received 2018 May Festival, the first with Principal Conductor Juanjo Mena, the Cincinnati May Festival announced a three-year contract extension for Mr. Mena. He will now serve as Principal Conductor into the May Festival's 150th anniversary in 2023.

Mr. Mena, who made his Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) debut in 2012, was the unanimous choice of the Festival's Artistic Leadership Search Committee following an international search in 2016. His first May Festival as Principal Conductor in 2018 garnered acclaim for powerful performances with the May Festival Chorus, CSO, and guests artists from around the world, as well as a focus on community that brought singers together from throughout the region.

"Cincinnati is truly the city that sings and it is my honor to build on the May Festival's tremendous legacy," said Mr. Mena. "We continue to cherish great traditions while infusing new energy, perspectives and innovations into this unique cultural treasure."

The previously announced 2019 Festival lineup features seven unique concert programs taking place between May 15 and 25, and an additional performance at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington on April 14. Single tickets are now on sale at the Music Hall Box Office, via phone at 513.381.8700 and online at mayfestival.com.

The annual May Festival features the May Festival Chorus and the CSO and is programmed to inspire audiences with fresh collaborations while also drawing on its rich tradition as Cincinnati's longest running arts organization. Cincinnati's Music Hall was originally built for the May Festival in 1878.

Juanjo Mena

One of Spain's most distinguished international conductors, Juanjo Mena is Principal Conductor of the Cincinnati May Festival and Associate Conductor of the Spanish National Orchestra. He has been Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic, Artistic Director of the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, Chief Guest Conductor of the Orchestra del Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa and Principal Guest Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. He has worked with many prestigious orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala, Milan, Bavarian Radio Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, as well as with all the major orchestras in Spain.

He has conducted most of the leading orchestras in North America, including the Chicago, Boston, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Montreal and Toronto Symphony Orchestras, New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras, the Cleveland Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, Washington, the Minnesota Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

A guest of international festivals, he has appeared at the Stars of White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia, the Hollywood Bowl, Grant Park (Chicago), Tanglewood and La Folle Journée (Nantes). He has led the BBC Philharmonic on tours of Europe and Asia, including performances in Cologne, Munich, Vienna, Madrid, Beijing and Seoul, and annual concerts at the BBC Proms in London.

His operatic work includes The Flying Dutchman, Salome, Elektra, Ariadne auf Naxos, Duke Bluebeard's Castle, Fidelio and Erwartung and productions including Eugene Onegin in Genoa, The Marriage of Figaro in Lausanne and Billy Budd in Bilbao.

He has made several recordings with the BBC Philharmonic, including recent releases of Ginastera's orchestral works to mark the composer's centenary, two discs of works by Manuel De Falla, one of which was a BBC Music Magazine Recording of the Month, a Gabriel Pierné release which was a Gramophone Editor's Choice, and works by Albéniz, Montsalvatge, Weber and Turina which have gained excellent reviews from the specialist music press. He has also recorded Messiaen's Turangalîla Symphony for Hyperion with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, an interpretation which is said to "utterly redefine the terms under which past/current/future Turangalîlas need to be judged" (Gramophone, October 2012).

Highlights of Mr. Mena's 2018-19 season include a tour of Spain with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, performances at Madrid's Teatro Real, his debuts with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, the Bamberger Symphoniker and the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, and return visits to the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Minnesota Orchestra.

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