CCM doctoral student appointed as May Festival Conducting Fellow

Since 2013, the Cincinnati May Festival has partnered with CCM’s choral conducting department each year to select a Fellow from the doctor of musical arts (DMA) class. The unique partnership was established through the generous support of Ginger Warner, a University of Cincinnati trustee and Director Emeritus of the May Festival Board of Directors. The position provides CCM graduate student conductors with the opportunity to participate in the leadership of a major symphonic choral organization through several ways, including commissioning new works and arrangements, taking part in community engagement, and providing real-time conducting experience. 

"I’m honored to have the opportunity to work closely with the May Festival Chorus,” said Choi. “As a newcomer to Cincinnati, I look forward to building a deeper connection with the community, learning from its rich choral tradition, and sharing the highest quality of choral music with audiences throughout the region."

Choi will directly support Director of Choruses Matthew Swanson (Choral Conducting, MM '13; DMA '19), who held the May Festival Choral Conducting Fellowship in 2015, and Associate Director of Choruses Jason Alexander Holmes with leading the May Festival Chorus. As part of the fellowship, Choi will also expand on the May Festival family of choruses’ commitment to bringing high-caliber choral music to Cincinnati, with the 2027 May Festival featuring performances by the Cincinnati Vocal Arts Ensemble led by Music Director and Director of Choral Studies at CCM, Joe Miller. Choi will also work alongside esteemed industry professionals, including this year’s May Festival Director, Marin Alsop, to support a successful classical music festival, which is consistently named “One of the Best Classical Music Festivals in the USA and Canada” by BBC Music Magazine. 

During her studies at UBC, Choi was a graduate conductor for the university’s Chamber Choir, Treble Choir and Tenor-Bass Choir. She also taught choir, band and strings in public schools. In addition to educating, she has been nationally recognized for her choral work. In 2025, Choi was selected as a Conducting Fellow for the National Collegiate Choral Organization Conference, and, most recently, was awarded the Iwan Edwads Young Choral Conducting Scholarship, which is an annual scholarship presented to one candidate in Canada to support choral studies. In addition to Choi’s awards, one of her compositions was selected as the winner of the Phoenix Chamber Choir Composition Competition. 

"The May Festival is committed to cultivating the choral leaders of tomorrow," said Swanson. "Past fellows now occupy prominent leadership positions nationally and internationally. We look forward to welcoming Dami to Cincinnati and to the May Festival. Her broad and extensive experience will be of great benefit to our organization in the year ahead."

Official programming details and the Festival Pass for the 2027 May Festival will be released in the coming months. Visit the May Festival website for more information.