Porgy and Bess: Festival Finale

In a celebratory finale, 2026 Festival Director Julia Bullock takes center stage in her own deeply personal curation of Gershwin’s legendary Porgy and Bess.

In a finale that reimagines and uplifts iconic American music, 2026 Festival Director Julia Bullock takes center stage as Bess in her own deeply personal and poignant curation of Gershwin's legendary opera, Porgy and Bess. William Grant Still’s Plain-Chant for America issues a stirring call for unity and resilience, while Stephen Paulus’s Prayers & Remembrances seeks to impart hope and healing, before a celebratory finale of Bernstein’s radiant “Make Our Garden Grow” from Candide. Finally, we close the 2026 Festival with what has become a beloved May Festival tradition, singing the “Hallelujah Chorus” together as one.  

Porgy and Bess is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Tams-Witmark LLC. www.concordtheatricals.com

Program

The Gershwins®’ Selections from Porgy and Bess® by George Gershwin, DuBose and Dorothy Heyward and Ira Gershwin  
William Grant Still Plain-Chant for America 
Stephen Paulus Prayers & Remembrances 

• V. In Beauty It Walks 
• VI. Eternity

Leonard Bernstein “Make our Garden Grow” from Candide 
George Frideric Handel “Hallelujah Chorus” from Messiah 

Artists

Anthony Parnther conductor
Julia Bullock soprano 
Alfred Walker bass-baritone 
May Festival Chorus Matthew Swanson director 
May Festival Youth Chorus Jason Alexander Holmes director 
Classical Roots Community Choir