Ravinia Festival President and CEO Welz Kauffman will be recognized, along with jazz vocalist Kurt Elling, as a Distinguished Musician by the Board of Directors of the Union League Club at a gala dinner on Friday, Sept. 30. The two men, honored for their outstanding contributions to the musical arts, will give a brief performance at the event.
A Good Man Documentary Set for Chicago Run
in Artist News
The award-winning documentary A Good Man will play for one week at the Gene Siskel Film Center, Sept. 23-29. The film from directors Gordon Quinn (Hoop Dreams) and Bob Hercules (Forgiving Dr. Mengele) follows Tony-winning choreographer Bill T. Jones on his creative journey to deliver Fondly Do We Hope … Fervently Do We Pray to the Ravinia stage. That full-evening dance work was part of Ravinia’s 2009 celebration of the Abraham Lincoln bicentennial. In addition to the film, there will be a Q & A discussion with the filmmakers on Sept. 23 and a panel discussion with dancers from the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company moderated by Ravinia Festival President and CEO Welz Kauffman on Sept. 27. A Good Man will have its television premiere Nov. 11 on American Masters on PBS stations, including WTTW Channel 11.
Q&A with Ray Chen
in Classical
In order for our audiences to get to know our artists better, we’ve asked those appearing at Ravinia this summer to answer some lighthearted questions. Violinist Ray Chen shares his answers below.
Q: What is your favorite movie of all time?
A: That’s like asking what is my favorite composer of all time—there are too many to choose from! But to name a few: Inception, Iron Man, 300 . . . I’m an action movie fan!
Q: What would be the most difficult thing for you to give up?
A: Eating. O.K., that would be pretty hard for anyone to give up, but I am such a foodie that the concept of giving up eating gives me the chills just thinking about it. Here's something to put things in perspective: The only reason I exercise is so I can eat more.
Q: If you could have dinner with any three famous people (living or dead), who would they be?
A: Steve Carell, because I love him in The Office; Scarlett Johansson, because I think she’s the most beautiful girl in the world; and Keira Knightley, because she's the second most beautiful girl in the world.
Q: Is there anything you miss from before you were famous?
A: Ha ha! I wouldn’t say I’m famous enough to miss the “normal life”!
Q: What will you hope to be doing a year from now?
A: Still improving.
Q: Do you have an annoying habit?
A: Yes—checking my Facebook 10 times a day. Any less and I start having withdrawal symptoms.
Q: What do you do to wind down after a performance?
A: Enjoy a gin and tonic with a dash of lemon and sprite.
For more of these fun Q&As, please pick up a free copy of Ravinia's Magazine at kiosks around the park!
Zuill Bailey’s CD of Bach’s Cello Suites Tops Charts
Widely considered one of the premier cellists in the world, Zuill Bailey has seen his recording Bach’s Cello Suites jump to the top of the Billboard classical music charts. Reviews said, "The sound is rich, like dark chocolate ... his voice is distinctive—strong and direct. Bailey reaches from the soul of his instrument to our own." The charismatic performer (he even acted on HBO’s Oz) will play Bach’s Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello in a Bennett Gordon Hall recital at 6 p.m. Aug. 28. Reserved seats are only $10. Other upcoming concerts in Ravinia’s $10 Classics series include violinist Ray Chen on Aug. 26; Broadway star Laura Benanti on Aug. 27; pianist Eldar Nebolsin on Sept. 4; pianist Dimitry Mayboroda on Sept. 7; the Afiara String Quartet on Sept. 9; and violinist Giora Schmidt performing Liszt transcriptions on Sept. 10.
Tony Bennett Rededicates His Ravinia Painting in its New Public Location
in Park News
The legendary Tony Bennett will rededicate his painting of Ravinia Festival in a small ceremony after his sound check on August 26. The singing artist presented his oil-on-canvas impression of the park to the festival in 1988. It had hung in a private area and has been moved to its new permanent home on public display in the lobby of the dining pavilion, where Bennett will make his remarks (estimated time between 5:30 and 6:15). Space is limited, but ticket-holders to Bennett's 85th-birthday concert that night are welcome to attend on a first-come, first-served basis.
Q&A with ADAM GARDNER, RYAN MILLER & BRIAN ROSENWORCEL of Guster
In order for our audiences to get to know our artists better, we’ve asked those appearing at Ravinia this summer to answer some lighthearted questions, and we will share the answers we received with you.
Q: What will you hope to be doing a year from now?
Ryan: laying on a beach made of Old Bay Seasoning
Q: Do you have an annoying habit?
Adam: I love to pick my nose and am not ashamed to do so in public, much to my wife’s chagrin.
Q: What do you do to wind down after a performance?
Brian: I usually put my hands in a bucket of ice right when we get off stage so my fingers aren't so inflamed when it’s time to abuse the hand drums again the next day. Then I'll go over the set list in my head, and with my bandmates, and figure out anything that needs to get addressed the next night. Then our tour manager will come in, hand us each a Sharpie, and say “Time for the aftershow” . . . I should say that none of this winds me down at all.
Don't miss Guster and Jack's Mannequin perform at Ravinia Festival on Saturday, Sept 3. Tickets are still available!
Author of Lord of the Rings Music Book Plans Signing
Chicago author and musicologist Doug Adams will sign copies of his new, beautifully illustrated book The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films at 6:45 prior to the live performance by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra of the entire score to the first movie in the trilogy on Aug. 19 at Ravinia Festival. A special version of the The Fellowship of the Ring—from the which the score has been digitally removed—will be shown on screens in the pavilion and on the lawn with the CSO providing the live soundtrack. Adams’s hardcover book is billed as a comprehensive account of Howard Shore’s scores (with a foreword by Shore). It comes complete with a CD of Lord of the Rings “Rarities.” The book will be available at Ravinia Gifts in the dining pavilion, where the signing takes place at 6:45 pm TONIGHT.
Frampton Stays Alive in Your Memories
Did you know that the July 5 Peter Frampton show at the Ravinia Festival was recorded? Every moment of the amazing show was captured in pristine multi-track quality! And you were there. Peter Frampton partnered with Abbey Road Live, the "live" team associated with the legendary London studio, to capture the entire show for this limited-edition, numbered collectible CD set! There are three complete CDs packaged in a handsome DigiPak container that includes every moment of the 3+ hour show! You also get a bonus fourth CD, which has an exclusive interview with Peter by legendary radio personality Redbeard. To purchase these, click here, and just scroll down for the Ravinia show! Remember, this is a limited edition, and once they are gone, there will never be any more made!
Guster’s Adam Gardner Reveals Darkest Secret
In the new issue of Ravinia Magazine, Guster guitarist/vocalist Adam Gardner reveals that the hardest thing he ever had to give up was sucking his thumb. “I didn’t stop sucking my thumb until I was 8 years old. I was tired of sneaking ‘hits’ in the bathroom.” Find out what else Adam and bandmates Ryan Miller and Brian Rosenworcel have to say in the in the new issue of Ravinia Magazine, free in the park every concert night. Remember the magazine, which includes features and programs notes, changes every week. Don’t miss an issue! Guster performs with Jack’s Mannequin on Sept. 3. Pavilion and lawn tickets are available.
Think You’re Too Busy to See Lyle Lovett? Look How Busy He’s Been!
Lyle Lovett returns to Ravinia for an Aug. 21 concert, but that’s not all he’s been up to. During the past year, he taped the final Austin City Limits episode done in Studio 6A, the show’s 36-year home; visited policymakers on Capitol Hill and performed at the Library of Congress during ASCAP’s We Write the Songs event; sang the National Anthem at Game Four of the World Series; performed with the Kansas City Symphony for the annual environmental fundraiser "Symphony in the Flint Hills"; honored Kris Kristofferson at Leadership Music's Dale Franklin Award gala; performed at Lincoln Center to benefit Paul Newman’s Hole in the Wall Camps; and recorded tracks for forthcoming Guy Clark and Buddy Holly tribute albums. Oh, and he also has an album of his own that he’s started recording. So what’s your excuse? Order pavilion or lawn tickets now.
New Steans Vocal Director Named to IU Faculty
The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music announced that pianist and vocal coach Kevin Murphy and soprano Heidi Grant Murphy will join its faculty as professor of practice and adjunct professor of practice, respectively, this fall. Kevin Murphy becomes director of the program for singers at Ravinia Festival’s Steans Music Institute in 2012.
This Week in Tweets Aug 3 - Aug 9
Each week this summer we post the top tweets of the week about Ravinia Festival under the heading This Week in Tweets. During the last week we scoured the depths of the twittersphere to bring you the best tweets that mention your favorite outdoor music festival. Log on to Twitter, follow @RaviniaFestival, tweet about us or twitpic your lawn set-up and you might wind up in our blog feature! Featured tweets will win you great prizes all summer long. We’ll contact you to claim your prize if you are featured. Don’t forget to read the contest rules too!
Composer Nico Muhly Comes to Ravinia for World Premiere
in Classical
Called one of the greatest young composers of the day, Nico Muhly has confirmed that he will be attendance when his new work, The Edge of the World, receives its world premiere at Ravinia on Aug. 9. Muhly’s concerto for five pianos and orchestra was commissioned by Ravinia and written for The 5 Browns, who will perform it here with the CSO. Five grand pianos will dominate the stage as the musical siblings will also perform other works for multiple piano.
Later that week, a second Ravinia commission, Rufus Wainwright’s Five Shakespeare Sonnets, will be performed by the singer/songwriter in his CSO debut on Aug. 14.
Ravinia Welcomes Singers to Steans Music Institute
Ravinia has welcomed 15 singers to the Steans Music Institute, the festival’s summer conservatory. The singers receive a fully paid fellowship to work with the Steans faculty, led by Brian Zeger. They will also participate in master classes open to the public and will give concert performances on Aug. 8, 11 and 15.
Representing the finest emerging talents from around the world, this year’s participants are soprano Betty Waynne Allison of Ladysmith, B.C, Canada; soprano Elizabeth Baldwin Sylvania, Ohio; baritone Jonathan Beyer of Chicago; soprano Janai Brugger-Orman of Chicago; soprano Lucia Cesaroni of Toronto; baritone Michael Kelly of Massapequa, NY; tenor Seil Kim of Seoul, South Korea; soprano Caroline MacPhie of Lancashire, U.K.; tenor Alex Mansoori of Seattle; soprano Ileana Montalbetti of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada; bass Liam Moran of Brookline, MA; mezzo-soprano Naomi O'Connell of County Clare, Ireland; tenor David Portillo of San Antonio; soprano Elizabeth Reiter of Chicago; and baritone Jorell Williams of Brentwood, NY.
They will be accompanied by piano participants Jonathan Ware of Dallas; Renate Rolfing of Honolulu; Adam Neilsen of Salt Lake City; Brent Funderburk of Spartanburg, SC; and Natalia Katyukova of Moscow.
Free Screening of A Good Man, Kartemquin Documentary on Bill T. Jones Work at Ravinia
At 7:30 p.m. on August 30, Ravinia Festival will host a free screening of A Good Man, the documentary directed by Gordon Quinn and Bob Hercules about choreographer Bill T. Jones's struggles and triumphs in creating a full-evening dance-theater work for Ravinia Festival. The movie was co-produced by PBS's American Masters, which will air it nationally on November 11. What's unique about the documentary is Ravinia President Welz Kauffman, who hired the Tony-winning Jones to create a work celebrating the Lincoln bicentennial, also invited the filmmakers in at the very beginning so they could capture the two-year creative process in bringing Fondly Do We Hope...Fervently Do We Pray from concept to stage. Tickets are required and seating in Bennett Gordon Hall is limited. Call 847-266-5100 or reserve your space now.
This Week in Tweets July 27 - Aug 2
Each week this summer we post the top tweets of the week about Ravinia Festival under the heading This Week in Tweets. During the last week we scoured the depths of the twittersphere to bring you the best tweets that mention your favorite outdoor music festival. Log on to Twitter, follow @RaviniaFestival, tweet about us or twitpic your lawn set-up and you might wind up in our blog feature! Featured tweets will win you great prizes all summer long. We’ll contact you to claim your prize if you are featured. Don’t forget to read the contest rules too!
Hibbard Elementary School Student Orchestra Appears on Making Chicago Great
WCIU, the U, created a terrific “Making Chicago Great” segment on its You & Me This Morning show about our student orchestra at Hibbard Elementary School, just one of Ravinia Festival’s many REACH*TEACH*PLAY education programs.
James Conlon honored with ECHO Klassick Award
 |
Ravinia Festival Music Director James Conlon has been honored with a 2011 ECHO Klassik Award, one of the most established and well known music awards in the world, in the category “Music DVD Recording of the Year (Documentary)” for the film A Surprise in Texas: The Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. The award will be presented to Conlon, as well as the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, at the Konzerthaus Berlin on October 2, 2011.
The documentary follows Conlon and the competitors of the 2009 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition during its rigorous three-week competition and offers an intricate view into the inner world of the most prestigious piano competitions. Some of the pianists featured in the documentary are Haochen Zang, Nobuyuki Tsujii, and Yeol Eum Son.
The last time Conlon received the ECHO Klassik award was in 2002 in the category of “Editorial Achievement of the Year” for his nine recording series of Alexander Zemlinksy’s operas and orchestral works with the Gürzenich Orchestra-Cologne Philharmonic. The ECHO Klassik Awards are annually presented by the German Phono Akademie—the cuturial institute of the German music industry association. Those who receive the ECHO Klassick are selected by a jury of individuals in politics, arts and media, and the classical division of the German music industry association. The Jury decides on the recipients of the award based off of the artist’s quality and popular success of their performances, reflecting both the opinions of critics and music connoisseurs.
Congratulations James Conlon on your continued success!
CANNON BALL!!!!!!!
No, Ravinia did not just open up a public pool. We have something better! From 3-4:45 PM on Sunday July 31st, Ravinia hosts the event Cannon Ball for high school students! Where did Cannon-Ball come from? Throughout the year, Ravinia has worked with local high school students to help us answer the difficult question facing the classical music industry: How do we market classical music to teenagers? All year we worked with a group of motivated and talented students from Highland Park High School; and with their help, we began this summer’s Classical Youth Initiative to encourage students to attend classical concerts at Ravinia.
The way the classical youth initiative contest is simple. We have kept track of every high school student that has come to the classical concerts Ravinia hosts every summer. For every night so far, each student who showed their high school ID at the box office not only got in for free on the lawn, but also won a point for their school. The school with the most points at the end of the summer will win a $1000 grant from Ravinia to their high school’s arts program! Anyone who attends Cannonball will win two points for their school!
CannonBall is a pre-concert hangout for high school students. We are going to have games, food and drinks, before the July 31st CSO concert. We want students to share their love of classical music with each other and hopefully spread the word about the great times that can be had while listening to classical music. After the party ends, the CSO Tchaikovsky concert begins, where kids can hear one of the most recognizable classical pieces, the 1812 Overture set to live cannons!
If you are a high school student who wants to attend, please go to our Facebook event page for CannonBall and click “attend”.
If you are a parent of a high school student, click on that same link, send it to your and tell them to join the party. We hope to see you there!
Eddie Pratt
Communications Intern
This Week in Tweets: July 20 - 26
Each week this summer we post the top tweets of the week about Ravinia Festival under the heading This Week in Tweets. During the last week we scoured the depths of the twittersphere to bring you the best tweets that mention your favorite outdoor music festival. Log on to Twitter, follow @RaviniaFestival, tweet about us or twitpic your lawn set-up and you might wind up in our blog feature! Featured tweets will win you great prizes all summer long. We’ll contact you to claim your prize if you are featured. Don’t forget to read the contest rules too!
