Park News

Celebrating James Conlon In 2015

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From the multiyear Mahler cycle, traversal of the complete Mozart Piano concertos, taking the Chicago Symphony into the Martin Theatre for a collection of Mozart operas and numerous other works, James Conlon has brought us many magical moments at Ravinia. James Conlon announced today that 2015 will be his final season as a music director of our CSO residency. Conlon and Ravinia President and CEO Welz Kauffman have shaped the 2015 season as a celebration of Conlon’s long association with Ravinia, where he has been a guest conductor since 1977.

Ravinia Presents Encore Screening Of Oscar-winning The Lady In Number 6

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Ravinia will present an encore screening of this year’s Oscar winner for Best Documentary Short Subject, The Lady in Number 6, in Bennett Gordon Hall with free general admission to ticket holders for the Monday, Aug. 25, performance by Pedja Muzijevic featuring Chopin’s complete Op. 28 preludes. The film tells the riveting, true story of the world’s oldest pianist, who also happened to be the world’s oldest concentration camp survivor, Alice Herz-Sommer. Chopin was a particular favorite of the 101-year-old, who died just one week before the film won the Oscar. The 38 minute film begins at 4:45 p.m. with the concert starting at 6:00 p.m.

Ravinia's Hometown Hosts Big Events; Parking Will Be Scarce

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In addition to Ravinia’s sold-out concerts by Train and The Wallflowers on Aug. 22 and 23, our hometown will be hosting both the Port Clinton Art Festival and the Taste of Highland Park. Parking spaces will be in especially high demand through the weekend, particularly on Saturday. Ticket holders are advised to plan ahead for heavy traffic and are reminded that the Metra Union Pacific North Line can be a convenient option, as it lets off and picks up passengers right at our gate. Those who must drive are highly encouraged to carpool. Ravinia’s parking lots will open at 3 p.m. and will fill quickly. Customers will experience the worst traffic after 5:30 p.m.

Get Approved to Foster PAWS Pet and Win Free Billy Corgan Tickets

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Billy Corgan is taking a break from recording two new Smashing Pumpkins albums, due out in 2015, to perform at Ravinia, in his hometown of Highland Park, for the first time on Aug. 30, and anyone who gets approved to foster a pet through PAWS between now and Aug. 27 will receive a free pair of Pavilion tickets to Corgan’s performance. Fostering a pet usually requires just a few weeks of love and care for a sick or abused animal until it is ready to find a permanent place to live. Applications can be filled out online. PAWS will also have a booth set up at Ravinia’s main gate on the day of Corgan’s concert. Guests are encouraged to register here to find out more about PAWS and how they can help.

Scientific Chef Bowman Transforms Ravinia With A Middle-Earth Menu

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Celebrated Chicago chef Thomas Bowman, of iNG, Baume and Brix and the recent WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot (WTF) event, returns to Ravinia as guest chef. Known for his attention to detail and scientific balancing of sweet and savory, Bowman will transform Ravinia into a Middle-earth feast fit for any hobbit or wizard when Ravinia presents the final installment of the Lord of the Rings series with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performing the live score along with the film Return of the King on Aug. 7 and Aug. 8. For dining reservations, call 847-432-7550.

Real Million-Dollar Quartet: CSO, Conlon, Bell and Women's Board

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Ravinia congratulates its Women’s Board on a terrifically successful gala benefit, held Saturday, July 26. More than 700 guests attended the formal cocktail party, dinner and concert, grossing more than $1 million for the not-for-profit festival and its REACH*TEACH*PLAY education programs. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra was conducted by Residency Music Director James Conlon and joined by violinist Joshua Bell, both of whom attended the post-concert dinner. REACH*TEACH*PLAY serves about 75,000 people throughout Chicagoland each year, bringing music to underserved schools and communities.

American Idol Phillip Phillips Joins Food Network in Concert at Ravinia

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Phillip Phillips, the winner of American Idol season 11, has been added to the roster of music talent for Food Network in Concert at Ravinia on Sept. 20. Having recently released his sophomore album, Behind the Light,Phillips joins headliner John Mayer, DJ Alexandra Richards, Twin Forks(with Dashboard Confessional’s Chris Carrabba), jazz musician Raul Midón, indie rock band California Wives, and guitarist/singer Zane Carneyand others for the daylong festival of food and music, featuring some of the best music and culinary talent. Ticket prices for admission to the event include: Lawn Only ($99), Lawn plus Greatest Hits venue-wide tasting event ($199), Pavilion 2 plus Greatest Hits ($249), and Pavilion 1 (premium seating) plus Greatest Hits ($299). Attendees will also have the opportunity to experience exclusive lunch and dinner events hosted by Food Network stars Sunny Anderson, Anne Burrell, Jose Garces, Alex Guarnaschelli,Jeff Mauro, Marc Murphy and Geoffrey Zakarian. These special add-on experiences will feature some of the best BBQ, craft beers, cocktails, wines, sandwiches, desserts and more. Prices vary from $85 and $125 per culinary event, and can be purchased with new tickets or added to previously purchased ones.

There's Something New In The Park (Besides our 50+ Debut Artists)

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Ravinia has unveiled the newest addition to its sculpture collection, a monumental painted stainless-steel figure by internationally celebrated Spanish sculptor Jaume Plensa, who attended the June 14 unveiling event.

Titled Silent Music, the 2012 sculpture is approximately 150 × 90.5 × 90.5 inches and lights up at night. The piece is on extended loan to the festival from the Joel and Carole Bernstein Family Collection. Plensa is best known locally as the designer of the Crown Fountain—popularly referred to as the “spitting fountain”—at Chicago’s Millennium Park. The sculptor found his inspiration for Silent Music in his early childhood experience of crawling underneath the family piano while his father played it, creating a complete sensory experience. “It vividly illustrates the full Ravinia experience in that our audiences can immerse themselves totally in music, just as one can literally crawl into Plensa’s sculpture to experience the artist’s vision from within, to be surrounded by art the way the boy under the piano was surrounded by music,” said Ravinia President and CEO Welz Kauffman.

New KidsLawn To Offer New Interactive Music Experiences

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Many schools are unable to expose children to classical music, but families can. Children (and students through college) are admitted free to the lawn to all classical concerts. And because Ravinia is that rare venue where guests can bring their own food and beverages, a family can have an entertaining and culturally invigorating evening for a very small investment. To make it even more involving, this year Ravinia has added KidsLawn, a project of the Ravinia Associates Board and Ravinia Women’s Board, to select Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Kids Concerts. This new family-friendly space on the north lawn is the perfect place to lay out a picnic and let the kids run between interactive exhibits, including large-scale percussive instruments on which they can make their own kind of music. KidsLawn will also feature stories, videos and our classic “instrument petting zoo.”

KidsLawn will be open for the following events: June 14, Chinese Circus of Beijing and June 14, Laurie Berkner; July 5, Justin Roberts; July 12, Tom Chapin; July 13, CSO Broadway Evening; July 19, Ralph’s World; July 20, CSO Lerner & Loewe Evening; July 27, CSO Tchaikovsky Spectacular; Aug. 2, Classical Kids LIVE!; Aug. 10, CSO Viennese Evening; Aug. 15, Young Musician Concert; and Sept. 13, Ruth Page Civic Ballet.

Kevin Cole Steps In To Play With CSO On July 29

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Due to scheduling difficulties beyond his control, Chucho Valdés will not perform with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on July 29 at Ravinia as previously announced. Valdés will perform at Ravinia on July 30, as planned, for his “Latin Night” concert with co-headliner Bebel Gilberto. Ravinia is grateful to Kevin Cole for joining conductorJames Conlon and the CSO on July 29 to perform Rhapsody in Blue, which has become a signature piece for the Gershwin expert. Cole last playedRhapsody at Ravinia in 2011, leaving the Chicago Tribune saying, “When Kevin Cole sits down at the piano, you would swear Gershwin himself was at work ... Cole stands as the best Gershwin pianist in America today.”

Did You Get Engaged At Ravinia? We Want To Hear About It!

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If you got engaged to be married at Ravinia, you’re not alone (hopefully). We want all the couples who got engaged at Ravinia to “Come Together” for the world’s largest engagement photo to be taken Saturday,Sept. 13, when Classic Albums Live performs the iconic Beatles album, Abbey Road. If you got engaged at Ravinia, tell us how it went down (the public version, please) in an e-mail to contests@ravinia.org (include an engagement photo if you can). Photos and anecdotes may be printed in Ravinia’s blog and magazine. Once verified, we will send you a complimentary pair of tickets to the Abbey Roadconcert and instructions for participating in the photo. Contest is open to couples only.

Charity Navigator Gives Us Four Stars!

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The not-for-profit Ravinia Festival has received a four-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s largest and most-utilized independent evaluator of charities. Ravinia’s mission includes presenting performances of a full range of classical music along with a variety of other kinds of light classical, jazz and popular music; maintaining a beautiful park that is welcoming to all and attractive to families; enabling gifted young performers to study under great teachers and perform in concert settings; and developing broader and more diverse audiences for classical music through education and outreach programs and by maintaining affordable ticket prices for classical music.

Celebrity Chefs As Big As Music Stars At Food Network In Concert At Ravinia

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A lot of buzz has been generated by John Mayer’s Ravinia debut headlining the Sept. 20 exclusive event Food Network in Concert at Ravinia, but the daylong festival of food and music promises an array of celebrity chefs with an equally audience-pleasing cache.

Guests will have the opportunity to experience a variety of unique food offerings throughout the day through an array of ticket packages. The Greatest Hits—a venue-wide, walk-around food and wine tasting—will feature samplings of “greatest hits” from 50 chefs and 100+ wineries, while other available culinary experiences will include the BBQ-themed Country Cookout; Farm to Turntable, featuring locally sourced, farm-fresh dishes; Breakfast Club, presenting favorite brunch foods with a creative twist; HOT HOT HOT!where guests can indulge in the spiciest of dishes from around the world; and I Want Candy, a dessert-themed tasting hosted by Food Network star Anne Burrell and featuring 15 pastry chefs from around the country.

Other popular Food Network celebrities on hand will include Alex Guarnaschelli, Jose Garces, Jeff Mauro, Marc Murphy, Geoffrey Zakarian and Sunny Anderson. Detailed information and ticket packages are available at foodnetworkinconcert.com.

Meet Ravinia With The Mix, The Drive and Chicago's 100.3 at Ogilvie

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Recalling Ravinia's origin as a train station 110 years ago, and to celebrate the start of season sales, a team from Ravinia will greet commuters during the morning and afternoon rush on Thursday, April 24, along with radio partners from The Mix (WTMX), The Drive (WDRV) and Chicago's 100.3 (WILV). They'll be handing out scratch cards and a variety of prizes, as well as season schedules and Ravinia Magazine.

American Idol Live! Comes To Ravinia July 1

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Just announced: The wildly popular American Idol Live! tour will come to Ravinia for the first time ever on July 1 as part of a 41-show national tour. Tickets go on sale, along with the rest of the Ravinia season, at 5 a.m. Thursday, April 24, exclusively at Ravinia.org; Ravinia donors may purchase tickets today. Here’s the chance for fans of the iconic television show to experience a live concert by season 13 finalists Alex Preston, Caleb Johnson, C.J. Harris, Dexter Roberts, Jena Irene, Jessica Meuse, Majesty Rose, Malaya Watson, MK Nobilette and Sam Woolf. Of course, by the time this concert occurs, one of the finalists will be the next American Idol. The two-part season finale will air on Fox on May 20 and May 21. One of the most successful American Idol winners, Carrie Underwood, also comes to Ravinia this summer with concerts on Sept. 6 and 7.

Guest Chefs Season Ravinia Menu

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Ravinia will welcome guest chefs throughout the summer to bring new flavors to the Park View and Mirabelle restaurants. Spicing things up will be Erik Freeberg from Bar Toma, June 27 (James Taylor) and June 28 (Darius Rucker); Thomas Bowman of WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot, Aug. 7 and Aug. 8 (the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performing the score to The Lord of the Rings—The Return of the King); Tony Mantuano from Spiaggia, Aug. 16 (James Conlon conducting the CSO in The Marriage of Figaro and Tony Bennett); and John Hogan of River Roast Social House,Aug. 19 (Buddy Guy) and Aug. 20 (Dawn Upshaw and The Knights).

For reservations, call 847-432-7550. Also Robin Rosenberg will introduce her new concept, Rosie’s BBQ, in Ravinia Market at the Amber Grill.

We Invite Chicagoland Students to High-School Marketing Council

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Ravinia would like to extend an invitation to high-school students from around the Chicago area to join Ravinia’s Student Marketing Board. This board, which meets once a month at Ravinia, is tasked with developing new ways to entice youth to come to Ravinia during the summer to experience the music of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Students will gain real, resumé-worthy, hands-on experience and see campaign ideas to come to life. Over the past three years this board has been responsible for such initiatives such as free lawn admission for students with valid ID and the $5,000 grant for the high school that brings the most students to CSO concerts during the summer. Here’s your chance to take it to the next level.

The first meeting of this new board will be Saturday, April 12, at 10 a.m. at Ravinia. To RSVP or inquire further, e-mail us at RaviniaCYI@ravinia.org.