Julianne Akins Smith Named New Executive Director of Cincinnati May Festival, Vocal Arts Ensemble and Cincinnati Boychoir
CINCINNATI, OH (November 8, 2024)—The Cincinnati May Festival, Vocal Arts Ensemble (VAE) and Cincinnati Boychoir have announced the appointment of Julianne Akins Smith as their new Executive Director following a national search. With an extensive background in performing arts management and a passion for youth education, attracting new audiences and community engagement, Smith is set to lead the organizations into an exciting new era of choral music.
“It is an honor to serve as the next Executive Director of the Cincinnati May Festival, Vocal Arts Ensemble and Cincinnati Boychoir,” said Smith. "This upcoming era is filled with potential to build upon the distinct legacies of each organization while creating new entry points to music, actively engaging and uniting the community through the transformative power of singing. I look forward to working with talented performers, ensembles and team members within the unique fabric of Cincinnati's thriving artistic community.”
Now in its 152nd season, the Cincinnati May Festival is poised to solidify its status as a leading force in the choral music world. With the acclaimed May Festival Chorus and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra at its core, the May Festival remains committed to extraordinary artistic excellence and furthering the impact of its community engagement. Its innovative new artistic leadership model, launched in 2024, aims to invigorate concert experiences while honoring its rich choral traditions. Each year, a new Festival Director is invited to bring fresh perspectives and innovations, fostering exciting new collaborations. Recently, the May Festival announced Grammy Award-winning soprano Renée Fleming as its 2025 Festival Director, succeeding Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Julia Wolfe, who was the inaugural Festival Director under this new model.
The Vocal Arts Ensemble, Greater Cincinnati’s premier professional vocal ensemble established in 1979, is committed to the presentation of innovative choral works and the development of modern chamber music that raises and nurtures the public’s appreciation of the choral arts. VAE has earned a reputation for artistic excellence, presenting rich, passionate performances of a broad variety of choral works, and since 2014, has operated under a shared administrative services agreement with the May Festival to leverage synergies and increase impact in the community. Similarly, to further increase access to enrichment opportunities for young singers across the region, the Cincinnati Boychoir and May Festival recently formed a new strategic alliance, uniting two of Cincinnati’s renowned choral arts organizations to achieve shared programming and access goals. Upon her arrival, Smith will oversee all three organizations as Executive Director.
“The May Festival and Cincinnati Boychoir have long been cornerstones of choral music here in Cincinnati,” said May Festival Director of Choruses Matthew Swanson. “I am excited to work with Julianne Akins Smith as we collaborate to engage with audiences and young singers in fresh and meaningful ways. Together, we will work to ensure that our tradition of excellence and community impact continue for generations to come.”
Smith brings more than 14 years of experience in the field, having recently served as the Executive Director of the Wintergreen Music Festival located at Wintergreen Resort in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains since 2016. She brings extensive experience in organizational growth and community engagement, successfully supervising diverse teams to produce a four-week music festival featuring daily multi-genre events, while also fostering key partnerships with venues and community stakeholders. Under Smith’s leadership, earned and contributed revenue experienced significant increases, resulting in record attendance and new donor commitments. Additionally, Smith has championed educational initiatives, ensuring accessibility for diverse participants of all backgrounds. Smith also served in roles spanning business development, patron services, sales and operations at the Richmond Symphony.
“With Julianne’s unique blend of vision and operational expertise, we are confident that the May Festival will reach new heights,” said May Festival President and CEO Jonathan Martin. “Her dedication to fostering talent and promoting choral music aligns with where we want to go, and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for the May Festival and Cincinnati community.”
May Festival Board Chair Michael Curran, Vocal Arts Ensemble Board Chair John Earls and Cincinnati Boychoir Board Chair Katy Sheehan echo these sentiments: “We are excited about the direction that Julianne Akins Smith will take the May Festival, Vocal Arts Ensemble and Cincinnati Boychoir. Her experience and passion for choral music will drive us forward as we embrace opportunities for the future and work to realize our vision for choral music here in Cincinnati and beyond.”
JULIANNE AKINS SMITH
Julianne Akins Smith brings more than 14 years of experience in performing arts management and a passion for youth education, audience development and community engagement. Most recently, she served as Executive Director of Wintergreen Music since 2016, where she brought fresh perspectives and strategic direction to the organization. Under her leadership, Wintergreen Music thrived, overcoming pandemic challenges and achieving record ticket sales and grant support. Her commitment to fostering connections within the classical music community has also enriched the cultural landscape of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Prior to that, she served in roles spanning business development, patron services, sales and operations at the Richmond Symphony.
Julianne is a graduate of The Ohio State University where she earned her Bachelor of Music degree in performance, studying tuba under her father, Jim Akins, retired Principal Tubist of the Columbus Symphony. Her performance experience as a tubist includes roles with the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, Columbus Symphony and Richmond Symphony. She has also performed as a member of the choruses for both Columbus and Richmond Symphonies. Julianne earned her Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business and is frequently sought after as a lecturer on philanthropy and business marketing.
MAY FESTIVAL
“One of the Best Classical Music Festivals in the U.S. and Canada” (BBC Music Magazine, 2021, 2022 and 2023) and recognized as a leader in increasing diversity, equity, inclusion and access in the choral world (Chorus America, 2022), the Cincinnati May Festival is distinguished by its unique community-based structure and standard of extraordinary artistic excellence. Founded in 1873, the annual May Festival is the oldest choral festival in the Western Hemisphere. Many important choral works have received their world and American premieres at the May Festival in the past 150 years, 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. Anchored by the May Festival Chorus and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the May Festival hosts an international array of guest artists in dynamic productions each year.
May Festival is also committed to serving young singers in the region through educational programs that include the May Festival Youth Chorus for SATB voices in grades 8-12, Greater Cincinnati Choral Academy for grades 3-6 in Cincinnati Public Schools and May Festival MiNiS, a mobile early childhood education program that introduces children of all ages to music through exploration of the world’s most accessible musical instrument, the human voice.
VOCAL ARTS ENSEMBLE
Founded in 1979, the Vocal Arts Ensemble of Cincinnati (VAE) is Greater Cincinnati’s premier professional vocal ensemble, committed to the presentation of innovative choral works and the development of modern chamber music that raises and nurtures the public’s appreciation of the choral arts. Earning a reputation for artistic excellence, VAE presents rich, passionate performances of a broad variety of choral works with precision and unparalleled virtuosity. VAE has enjoyed artistic leadership by some of the nation’s leaders in choral conducting; Grammy Award-winner and seven-time nominee Craig Hella Johnson currently leads the ensemble. Considered one of the finest choral conductors in the U.S., Johnson is praised for his visionary approach and brings depth of knowledge, artistic sensitivity, and rich imagination to the organization. Under his direction, VAE’s recent album recording of Kile Smith’s Canticle helped to propel Blanton Alspaugh’s Grammy nomination and win for Producer of the Year in 2020.
CINCINNATI BOYCHOIR
Cincinnati Boychoir is a choir for male-identifying youth of all musical abilities from across the Greater Cincinnati region. Founded in 1965, the Boychoir is a teaching and performing organization that offers musical enrichment, performance, and touring opportunities. Its goal is to provide accessible programming for boys of all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds so they have the opportunity to experience the life-changing impact of immersive arts participation.
Singers work with professional music educators who teach towards personal growth, artistic excellence, cultural appreciation, and community engagement. Boys from grades 3-12 attend weekly rehearsals. In addition to rehearsing with voice- and age-based ensembles, all boys come together once a week for a combined rehearsal in a multi-age environment where older and younger boys can learn from and be inspired by each other.
Cincinnati Boychoir presents approximately 20-25 annual performances across the Greater Cincinnati region, in addition to performing nationally and internationally.