Partners
The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops Orchestra appreciates the support of incredible partners throughout our community. Here we highlight a few of our most prominent partnerships, with gratitude.
Our partners include:
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Music & Event Management Inc. (MEMI) is the largest promoter of live entertainment in Southwest Ohio and is recognized as an innovative leader in creating, booking, producing, and marketing first-class live entertainment experiences.
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Everyone from the Dixie Chicks to Frank Sinatra has taken the stage of Riverbend Music Center, nestled along the banks of the Ohio River in Cincinnati, Ohio. For over 30 years, Riverbend Music Center has provided the Cincinnati area with the best in entertainment experiences with approximately 35 major contemporary music events each season, hosting over 400,000 music-lovers annually.
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Located on the same campus as the Riverbend Music Center, PNC Pavilion opened in 2008 and provides top tier entertainers in an exceptional an intimate setting with great amenities and flexible production potential. PNC Pavilion hosts approximately 25 major contemporary music events and hosts over 75,000 concert-goers each season.
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Located in the heart of downtown Cincinnati, the Taft Theatre, which opened in 1928, is a gorgeous display of the neo-classical/art deco architecture that prevailed during the time period and has become a premier entertainment destination. The 2011 $3.2 million renovation integrated 21st century comfort while maintaining the historic ambience and character of this gem of Cincinnati. MEMI acquired a long-term management contract in 2010 and has since tripled the show count and attendance in the performance spaces, hosting 155,000 music-lovers each year.
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Weighing in at 4,200 seats, this state-of-the art amphitheater offers a completely covered and intimate fixed seating area, excellent artist amenities, and an exceptional entertainment experience in the Dayton, Ohio market. Having opened its doors in 2015 with 29 events, the Rose Music Center is our newest venue, and has seen increases in the number of shows and concert-goers in attendance each year.
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Official Chorus of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
The May Festival Chorus has earned acclaim locally, nationally and internationally for its musicality, vast range of repertoire and sheer power of sound. The Chorus of 145 professionally trained singers is the core artistic element of the Cincinnati May Festival as well as the official chorus of the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra. Throughout each season the chorus members collectively devote more than 40,000 hours in rehearsals and performances.
Founded in 1873, the annual May Festival is the oldest, and one of the most prestigious, choral festivals in the Western Hemisphere. The annual Festival boasts the May Festival Chorus and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra as anchors, hosts an international array of guest artists and presents two spectacular weekends of dynamic programming and choral preparation of Robert Porco. James Conlon, Music Director Laureate, provided the artistic leadership for more May Festivals than any other Music Director in the Festival’s 141-year history, directing the festival for the later part of the 20th century and stepping down in 2016. Many important choral works have received their World and American premieres at the May Festival, including Johann Sebastian Bach’s Magnificat, Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 3, Benjamin Britten’s Gloriana, Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Death of the Bishop of Brindisi and Robert Nathaniel Dett’s The Ordering of Moses.
Beyond Cincinnati, the May Festival Chorus has performed with great success at numerous venues across the country, including three celebrated appearances at Carnegie Hall. They returned to New York City in May of 2014 for the Spring for Music Festival at Carnegie Hall, with James Conlon and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
The May Festival Chorus has further strengthened its national presence through numerous PBS broadcasts of live concerts and several award-winning recordings, many in collaboration with the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra. In 2001 the Chorus recorded Christmas with the May Festival Chorus, a popular a cappella holiday compact disc. Their 2004 Telarc release, the world premiere recording of Franz Liszt’s St. Stanislausfeaturing James Conlon and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was awarded the 30th International F. Liszt Record Grand Prix by the Liszt Society of Budapest. The Chorus is also featured on the 2012 Cincinnati Pops release, Home for the Holidays.
The May Festival Chorus has garnered two awards in recognition of its continuing artistic excellence and performances throughout the state. In 2011 the Chorus received the Spirit of Cincinnati USA Erich Kunzel Queen City Advocate Award from Cincinnati USA Convention and Visitors Bureau. In 1998 the Chorus earned the Irma Lazarus Award from the Ohio Arts Council’s annual Governor’s Awards for the Arts.
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Founded in 1920, Cincinnati Opera is one of the oldest and most highly regarded opera companies in the United States. Known for its longstanding partnership with the CSO, a roster of world-class singers, and its spectacular performance venue, Cincinnati Music Hall, Cincinnati Opera has received numerous accolades and awards.
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Since 1963, Cincinnati Ballet has been the cornerstone professional ballet company of the region, presenting a bold and adventurous array of classical, full-length ballets and contemporary works, regularly with live orchestral accompaniment from the CSO.
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Cincinnati Public Radio is the most trusted, independent source of journalism, music and culture empowering a vibrant, engaged and informed community.
With award-winning news from 91.7 WVXU and inspiring classical music from 90.9 WGUC, plus jazz and independent music on its HD2 digital channels, Cincinnati Public Radio reaches over 288,000 listeners each week.