European May Festival performance drew Nesbitt to Cincinnati

The May Festival is an international phenomenon. No one knows this better than tenor Scott Nesbitt, who is finally celebrating his 10th complete season of singing with the May Festival Chorus this year.

After earning his Masters of Business Administration in 1989 from the Wharton School, Scott took the summer to travel Europe. Oddly enough, this is where he would first encounter the Cincinnati May Festival. During his time in Dubrovnik, Croatia, Scott noticed a sign for the May Festival’s upcoming local performance and decided to attend. That fall, as Scott was preparing to move to Cincinnati to start his position with Procter & Gamble, he read that the group would be auditioning singers with a new Director of Choruses, Robert Porco. Sure enough, only two days after moving to the Queen City, Scott met Robert, auditioned for the May Festival Chorus, and became a member.

Scott was an active member of the May Festival Chorus as soon as he joined the group, serving on the Chorus Committee as a liaison to the Board and helping to secure Procter & Gamble’s sponsorship of the May Festival’s annual Carolfest program. After seven years, Scott relocated to St. Louis for work where he sang with the St. Louis Symphony Chorus during Leonard Slatkin’s last year. However, Cincinnati, including the May Festival, drew him back, and in 2001 Scott came “home.”

Scott comes from a family of choristers. His grandfather performed with a barbershop quartet in vaudeville theatres, and his mother, Dayle, was a founding member of the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, where Scott and his siblings all sang throughout their childhoods. Scott sang while attending Trinity College and even directed the Pipes, the school’s oldest a cappella group. He also joined the Flint (MI) Festival Choir after graduation.         

Today, Scott lives with his wife Bonnie in Montgomery, where they raised their two children Annie and Daniel. His ten years with the Chorus have not been consecutive, as he has taken a few years here and there to perform “Dad Duty” as a soccer coach or recital cheerleader. Now that he has risen to the ranks of “Empty Nester,” Scott looks forward to more consistent performances as a tenor with the May Festival.

In addition to the May Festival, Scott is active in Cincinnati’s community theatre scene. He has served as President of the Board at Footlighters in Northern Kentucky and performs occasionally around town. You may have seen him in Cincinnati Music Theatre’s 2012 production of Titanic at the Aronoff. The May Festival is proud to have Scott Nesbitt among our ranks and looks forward to seeing much more of him in years to come.

To learn more about how you can become involved as a member of the May Festival Chorus, visit our website.

To listen to a few of Scott’s favorite choral works, click here.