In its 50th anniversary year, the Women’s Board of Ravinia Festival hosted a gala benefit—starring Patti LuPone and Patricia Racette with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by James Conlon and Rob Fisher—that raised $900,000 for the festival and its REACH*TEACH*PLAY education programs. Since its inception, the Women’s Board has become the biggest donor to the nonprofit festival, having given more than $25 million. The group also started Ravinia’s first educational programs and continues to spearhead new initiatives, such as Sistema Ravinia, which creates student orchestras in underserved schools. Listen to this public service announcement from Hubbard Radio (WTMX, WILV, WDRV) about Ravinia’s Women’s Board.
Music Education
Help Ravinia Put Music Back Into Schools; Sun-Times Foundation will Match Donation
Help Ravinia’s REACH*TEACH*PLAY education programs meet a goal of raising $15,000 by October 24. The funding will help Ravinia to provide music education and live performance opportunities in more than 60 underserved inner-city Chicago Public Schools and in dozens of communities that lack access to music resources. When you make a donation through this link, the Sun-Times Foundation will match it dollar-per-dollar until the goal is reached. Thanks for your support.
Support Ravinia’s REACH*TEACH*PLAY Education Programs Through Social Media
Blackman Kallick Plante Moran has launched an online grant contest, Chicago Community Champions, for not-for-profit organizations to compete for a $25,000 award to be used to support the arts and community. Such a grant would help sustain the future of Ravinia Festival’s initiatives in schools and inner-city communities, particularly REACH*TEACH*PLAY’s new Sistema Ravinia youth orchestra at Circle Rock. This is where we need your help! Beginning today, head over to the Chicago Community Champions website and cast your vote for Ravinia! This is just the first of three possible rounds, so keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter for more calls-to-action. And, as always, thanks for your support.
Sun-Times and Chicago Community Trust Will Match Dollars Raised for Ravinia in Schools
Ravinia is the recipient of a challenge grant from the Sun-Times Foundation and The Chicago Community Trust to support our REACH*TEACH*PLAY music education programs. The Sun-Times Foundation and The Chicago Community Trust will match your donation to Ravinia up to a total of $15,000 from Tuesday July 24, 2012, through October 23, 2012. All proceeds support music education and live performance opportunities for underserved communities throughout the region and inner-city Chicago Public Schools that lack any music resources. Please help us get off to great start in meeting the challenge by donating on July 24 beginning at 5 a.m. at Suntimesfoundation.org/RaviniaReachTeachPlay.
Ravinia Adds First “El Sistema” Conductor and Teacher to REACH*TEACH*PLAY Staff
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.
Circle Rock Charter Meets Hibbard Elementary School
In preparation for the forming of the new ‘El Sistema’ influenced Ravinia Immersion in Symphony Education ( R.I.S.E. ) Orchestra, seventy-five (75) students from Circle Rock Charter School travelled to Hibbard Elementary School to meet the students of the YOURS Project.
Read MoreLet their Voices Ring
More than 200 students at all three North Shore District 112 middle schools had the unique opportunity of participating in a choral celebration with renowned choral artist, Shanka Falls, through a partnership between the 112 Education Foundation and Ravinia Festival’s Reach*Teach*Play Education Programs. On Friday, May 4, this musical experience culminated with a performance at Ravinia’s beautiful Bennett Gordon Hall.
Ms. Falls, a Ravinia Teaching Artist, spent time with each grade level at Edgewood, Elm Place and Northwood schools to introduce the students to the rich tradition of gospel music, which spans from spirituals sung by African American slaves to today’s uplifting and joyful popular songs. A classical vocalist and teacher, Ms. Falls is the director of the choral program at the Ravinia Lawndale Family Music School.
Ravinia Festival Awards 10th Annual Music Scholarship
Through the Highland Park Chamber of Commerce, Ravinia Festival awarded its 10th annual scholarship to a graduating high school senior intending to continue art or music studies in college. This year the $1,000 prize went to Spencer Hile of Highland Park High School.
WFMT Will Air 8-Part Concert Series From Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute
Chicago’s only classical music station, WFMT 98.7 FM, will broadcast From Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, an eight-part concert series hosted by Ravinia Festival President and CEO Welz Kauffman. The show will air at 4 p.m. Sundays from May 6 through June 10. Each hour-long episode will include performances captured live last year in Ravinia’s Bennett Gordon Hall along with brief interviews from participants in SMI, Ravinia’s summer music conservatory, which each year offers 60-70 fully paid fellowships to the most talented young professional musicians in the world.
Development visits Catalyst Circle Rock
On Friday, April 13, our development department made a changing impact for Catalyst-Circle Rock Charter School on Chicago’s west side. Circle Rock has participated in Ravinia’s Music Discovery Program since 2008, which offers enhancement to students’ musical skills by providing resident teaching artists, interactive music learning activities and professional development for teachers, as part of the festival’s ongoing REACH*TEACH*PLAY education programs. As a team, these staff members painted a inspirational mural in the school’s multi-purpose room.
“El Sistema” Programs Like Ravinia’s Are Sweeping Nation for Good Reason
A recent report in the Huffington Post detailed a bit of the history and success of the Venezuelan music-education system that has taken an exciting foothold around the world, including over 50 U.S. cities. Ravinia Festival is planning its third “El Sistema” orchestra in a Chicago elementary school shortly.
"El Sistema," according to Gustavo Dudamel, music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and a graduate of the program, is a "visionary global movement that transforms the lives of children through music."
Read the Huffington Post story.
Ravinia Brings Music to the Heart of Chicago’s Little Village
For two consecutive days, the Ravinia Festival, through its Guest Artists in the classroom Program (GAIC) and in collaboration with Chicago Arts Orchestra (CAO), brought educational performances of rich and diverse repertoire of classical music to students from Telpochacalli Elementary and Hammond Elementary. Students had the opportunity to enjoy contrasting and yet equally fascinating repertoire by the likes of W.A. Mozart (Exultate Jubilate), Mexico’s Ignacio Jerusalem (Sinfonia in G), Luigi Boccherini (La Musica Notturna di Madrid), and Léo Delibes (Flower Duet from Lakmé) which rendered a unique experience.
Read MoreWeek of Feb 20 in Classical Music History
As the season draws closer and closer this weekly playlist will become a bit more infrequent as we want to focus our efforts on bringing you new (and not all classical) music to your homes. This playlist should update about 1-2 times a month and will coincide with important summer Ravinia dates. Once our 2012 season draws to an end, we will go back to weekly or biweekly updates, with more more specific content. Expect our changes to take place starting next month. Add Ravinia Festival: This Week in Classical Music to your Spotify playlist, and listen to all your favorite works on the anniversaries of their initial premiers. Just click the Spotify logo, or the link above, and enjoy a week of historical moments. We update our playlist every week so there will never be a need to resubscribe! Below is a day-by-day listing of the track selections for this weeks edition of the playlist. We hope you enjoy!Week of Feb 6 in Classical Music History
This weeks selection of works is very unique. For the first time, I had the pleasure of hearing booming sound of an instrument known as thundersticks in Cowell's 1925 work "ensemble." That is just a sample of this weeks unique line up. Just add Ravinia Festival: This Week in Classical Music to your Spotify playlist, and listen to all your favorite works on the anniversaries of their initial premiers. Just click the Spotify logo, or the link above, and enjoy a week of historical moments. We update our playlist every week so there will never be a need to resubscribe! Below is a day-by-day listing of the track selections for this weeks edition of the playlist. We hope you enjoy!Week of Jan 30 in Classical Music History
January just flew by. With our schedule just a little more than a month away, it begs the question of what the future of this weekly playlist might be. Leave your feedback below and let us know if you would like this playlist to be the way it is now or possibly spread to all music genres? We would love to hear from you. Enjoy this weeks edition of Ravinia Festival: This Week in Classical Music, and listen to all your favorite works on the anniversaries of their initial premiers. Just click the Spotify logo, or the link above, and add our playlist to your library. We update our playlist every week so there will never be a need to resubscribe! Below is a day-by-day listing of the track selections for this weeks edition of the playlist. We hope you enjoy!Week of Jan 23 in Classical Music History
Happy Lunar "Chinese" New Year! This weeks playlist is the first full week of the (lunar) year, so enjoy Ravinia Festival: This Week in Classical Music, and listen to all your favorite works on the anniversaries of their initial premiers. Just click the Spotify logo, or the link above, and add our playlist to your library. We update our playlist every week so there will never be a need to resubscribe! Below is a day-by-day listing of the track selections for this weeks edition of the playlist. We hope you enjoy!Week of Jan 16 in Classical Music History
Last week was full of surprises! First major snowfall happened in the Chicagoland area, and we missed a week of this playlist! Unfortunately the flu bug seems to be going around the office, but we're back! So, relax and tune into our spotify playlist Ravinia Festival: This Week in Classical Music, and listen to all your favorite works on the anniversaries of their initial premiers. Just click the Spotify logo, or the link above, and add our playlist to your library. We update our playlist every week so there will never be a need to resubscribe! Below is a day-by-day listing of the track selections for this weeks edition of the playlist. We hope you enjoy!Week of Jan 2 in Classical Music History
It's the first full week of 2012, and that means only a couple more months until our 2012 season schedule is released! Until then, relax and tune into our spotify playlist Ravinia Festival: This Week in Classical Music, and listen to all your favorite works on the anniversaries of their initial premiers. Just click the Spotify logo, or the link above, and add our playlist to your library. We update our playlist every week so there will never be a need to resubscribe! Below is a day-by-day listing of the track selections for this weeks edition of the playlist. We hope you enjoy!Week of Dec 19 in Classical Music History
This week is a very special week for Ravinia Festival: This Week in Classical Music! At weeks end it is none other than Christmas Day! Beethoven had a particularly remarkable December 22nd 1808, and we spare no expence making sure every work he premiered that day is available for your listening pleasure. Just click the Spotify logo or the link above and add our playlist to your music library. We update our playlist every week so there will never be a need to resubscribe! Below is a day-by-day listing of the track selections for this weeks edition of the playlist. We hope you enjoy!Week of Dec 12 in Classical Music History
Another week and another update to Ravinia Festival: This Week in Classical Music, our celebration of milestone premiers of classical works. Click the Spotify logo or the link above to add our playlist to your library. This playlist will be updated every week (pending no computer issues!) with new works so there's no need to resubscribe! Below is a day-by-day listing of the track selections for this weeks edition of the playlist. We hope you enjoy!
[UPDATE] This week is especially fun! On Dec 18, 1892, Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Suite premiered. Normally only select pieces from larger works selected, but we will include the entire The Nutcracker Suite for Christmas!