Tweet of the Week: Week Five

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 amazing 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!


Tweet of the Week

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Tweet of the Week: Week Three & Four

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 amazing 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!


Tweet of the Week


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Ravinia Adds First “El Sistema” Conductor and Teacher to REACH*TEACH*PLAY Staff

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Ravinia Festival has welcomed conductor/teacherJavier Payano to the staff of its acclaimed REACH*TEACH*PLAY education programs. Payano will help establish an “El Sistema” inspired student orchestra at the Catalyst Circle Rock Charter School in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago. Even though it’s summer vacation for them, over 30 students have already signed up to play in the new student ensemble, which will be called the Circle Rockets. Payano was instrumental in establishing an “El Sistema” program at Hibbard Elementary School, which Ravinia supports. Ravinia anticipates building student orchestras in other schools under the banner Sistema Ravinia.

Very Special Thanks from Glen Campbell Contest Winner

All I can say is wow, wow, and wow! I went with a close friend to see Glenn Campbell last night and we had a blast of a time!  The dinner was wonderful, the service excellent, hospitality what can I say! I absolutely Loved the gift shop and all of my gifts on you! I have a western hat in 2 colors that light up, and sunglasses and a cooler! Thank You, You and Me TV! I have been off of work due to a fall in 2010, this is the first time that I have felt well enough to go out! This is the best retirement present I could ask for. Retired CPS teacher starting today! Yeah! Thank you a million! Im sending pictures of our night!

—Sandy

 

Beethoven Lives Upstairs

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On July 7 the Ravinia Festival stage will host the Elgin Youth Symphony in a concert playfully titled Beethoven Lives Upstairs. This title—and the concert program itself—stems from a 1992 HBO original movie about the friendship of a young boy and his parents’ tenant, none other than the infamous Ludwig van, who lives upstairs.

The film’s elaborate storyline is fictional, but its basic notion is not; Beethoven did live upstairs. Save for his occasional trips to the countryside (which he loved), Beethoven resided in apartment buildings, where his neighbors were honored with—or, perhaps more accurately, subjected to—daily performances of the pianoforte. Apparently, once his hearing had begun to fail, Beethoven even used the floor as a soundboard by cutting off his pianoforte’s legs.

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Mix A Little Midori Into Your Summer

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If you take a look at a print copy of Ravinia’s 2012 Calendar, you will notice that only one solo performer has the honor of having her photo appear on it not once but twice. Indeed, Ravinia Park will open for just her on two nights—Tuesday, July 3, and Thursday, July 5. “She,” of course, is Midori, one of a number of exciting violin soloists Ravinia will host this summer, a group that includes as Miriam Fried, Joshua Bell, Itzhak Perlman and Steans Music Institute’s alumnus Erik Schumann.

Even a superficial review of her career reveals that Midori's musical path has been adventurous and extraordinary. When she made the front page of the New York Times, it was with the headline “Girl, 14, Conquers Tanglewood with 3 Violins.” Midori began playing the violin when she was three, after her mother, the violinist Setsu Goto, heard her humming a Bach concerto, a piece Setsu had been practicing two days earlier. Midori would then go on to astound the Juilliard Pre-College audition panel with another piece of Bach’s—the famously difficult Chaconne.

It would seem fitting, then, that Midori will perform the complete Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin by J.S. Bach here. There can be no doubt that the winning duo of Midori and Bach will conquer Ravinia. Make sure you’re there to see it, because this performer carries excitement wherever she goes.

Bluegrass and Laughs: Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers

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Comedy and music aren’t separate worlds for actor, writer and musician Steve Martin. At fifteen years old Martin was first introduced to bluegrass music before falling in love with the instrument he calls, “truly American,” –the banjo. Dropping out of UCLA to pursue a career in comedy, Martin used the banjo along with jokes, juggling and magic as a primary means to fill his early act. While using banjo for the routine, Martin began studying the instrument more seriously, writing satirical pieces for the act such as “Ramblin’ Guy” and “Grandmother’s Song.” Yet, as Martin’s acting career exploded, his musical roots became largely overlooked.

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Tweet of the Week: Week Two

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 amazing 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!


Tweet of the Week

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Jazzvinia: Join The Society

It’s not every day that we get to be the first: Neil Armstrong-the first man on the moon , Junko Tabei-the first woman to reach the summit of Mt. Everest, and Halle Berry-the first African-American woman to win the Academy Award for Best Actress. Then finally, nearly 100 years since jazz was born in New Orleans, the melting pot of America, a jazz artist was awarded the 2011 Grammy Award for Best New Artist. By paying homage to the traditions and legacies of jazz’s ancestors, Armstrong, Davis, Fitzgerald, Parker, and Coltrane, this artist gave our music a new direction and created an oasis for the listeners of the 21st century. 
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Tweet of the Week: Week One

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 amazing 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!


Tweet of the Week


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Jazzvinia: Nnenna sings Lena

Nnenna Freelon grew up immersed in music but it wasn't until she was in her mid 30s that she made her "big break", or at least a big break in jazz. This happened partly because she met Ellis Marsalis, patriarch of the Marsalis Jazz Family, who introduced her to record executives at Columbia Records. Since then she has performed throughout the country with Aretha Franklin, Ramsey Lewis and James Moody. Lena Horne was not just another singer and performer; she was the first African American performer to sign a long-term contract with a Hollywood studio, and is known for the most famous recording of 'Stormy Weather'.
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Rock Band Train to Sell Souvenir Wines Benefiting Housing Sick Children

Rock band Train’s own set of wines, which are labeled under the Save Me, San Francisco Wine Co. brand, will be available for sale at their Ravinia concerts on Aug. 11-12. The collection includes “Drops of Jupiter” Petite Sirah; “Calling All Angels” Chardonnay; and a Cabernet Sauvignon named after their recently released album, “California 37.” A portion of the proceeds from Save Me, San Francisco Wine Co. sales are donated to Family House, a non-profit organization providing temporary housing to families of seriously ill children. For more information, visit www.savemesfwineco.com.

Ravinia Trustee Marcus Lemonis to Star on TV’s Secret Millionaire

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Ravinia Festival Trustee Marcus Lemonis, the CEO of Camping World and Good Sam LLC, will appear later this summer on an episode of the ABC reality series Secret Millionaire. In each episode, one of the country’s wealthiest people has to navigate an impoverished area without the help of the resources he or she is accustomed to. Lemonis recently made it possible for the Women’s Board of Ravinia to launch a new chair-and-table rental business opening on the festival grounds this summer.

Great Start to A Morning on WCIU's 'You And Me'

We had a great morning on the WCIU 'You and Me' This Morning set! Ravinia Festival's Executive Chef Tim Radack of Levy Restaurants (pictured above with the lovely Melissa Forman) wowed the audience with a couple simple, delicious, recipies to make your Ravinia picnic the best yet! Thank you to WCIU, Levy Restaurants, and the wonderful ladies of Ravinia Gifts for making this mornings takeover a rousing success!

Ravinia Associates’ Music Matters Grosses $378K for REACH*TEACH*PLAY

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The Ravinia Associates grossed nearly $378,000 at its annual fundraiser “Music Matters” on Saturday, May 12. This black-tie event benefits the not-for-profit Ravinia Festival and its REACH*TEACH*PLAY education programs, which provide students throughout the Chicago region with free music education. This year the event also honored the 50th anniversary of the Ravinia Women’s Board. The benefit was held at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel, 221 North Columbus Drive in Chicago, and was co-chaired by Dave Gaspar and Michael Brooks. The Ravinia Associates' President is Kara Longo Korte. The event attracted a record 500 guests.
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