JASON ALEXANDER HOLMES, Director
David Kirkendall, Accompanist and Assistant Director
Lisa Peters, Musicianship Instructor
Jennelle John-Lewis, Chorus Operations Manager
Kathleen Moran, Chorus Librarian
The May Festival Youth Chorus connects, inspires and educates young people through the study and performance of choral music. Since its founding in 1987, the Youth Chorus has appeared annually at the May Festival to perform choral-orchestral works with the May Festival Chorus, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and internationally renowned conductors and soloists. In addition, the Youth Chorus presents its own concert series and collaborates with cultural institutions and organizations throughout greater Cincinnati.
Highlights of the Youth Chorus experience include a broad range of repertoire; annual commissions and world premieres; free professional voice instruction; access to free and discounted tickets to the May Festival, CSO and Pops concerts; frequent concert appearances with the CSO and Pops at Music Hall; and a community of enthusiastic and skilled peer musicians from across the Tri-State. Notably, the Youth Chorus is tuition-free; acceptance is based solely on ability.
JASON ALEXANDER HOLMES
Associate Director of Choruses and May Festival Youth Chorus Director
Jason Alexander Holmes is a music educator and performer from Ridgeway, Virginia, and serves as the Associate Director of Choruses for the Cincinnati May Festival and Resident Conductor of the CSO’s Classical Roots Community Choir. Before coming to Cincinnati, he was director of educational programming at the Boston Children’s Chorus. Prior to his time in Boston, Holmes taught music at the elementary and secondary levels in Rochester, New York. He also led the University of Rochester Gospel Choir and the Eastman Young Children’s Chorus. Holmes holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music and Ithaca College.
Choirs under Holmes’ direction are consistently praised for their energetic, unified tone and engaging performances. He is known for innovative programming that celebrates the cultural context while encouraging singers and audiences alike to stretch their awareness by living in many different musical worlds. Pedagogically, Holmes is committed to implementing culturally responsive practices in music education. He has given workshops and taught sessions on this topic at professional development seminars, schools and conferences.
At the core of Holmes’ teaching and performing is the belief that we are all expressive and musical beings who deserve to witness and participate regularly in moments of truth and beauty.