Calling All High Schoolers!

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Calling all high schoolers! Join us on August 4, 2013 at 3 p.m. for the 3rd annual Cannon Ball celebration prior to the 5 p.m. “Tchaikovsky Spectacular” concert. Cannon Ball is a free party with food, refreshment and prizes hosted by Ravinia's Classical Youth Initiative every summer before the Chicago Symphony's All-Tchaikovsky Evening. The concert features live cannons as musical instruments for the “1812” Overture. As with all CSO concerts at Ravinia, high-school students who check in at the box office will get onto the lawn for free as well as receive points for their school towards a cash prize for their music programs from the Ravinia Associates board. High-school students attending the Cannon Ball will receive double  the amount of usual points. You can find the current standings of this years Classical Youth Initiative grand prize here!

The Classical Youth Initiative is Ravinia's program aimed at giving high school students in the Chicago area the opportunity to experience the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and a chance to win money for their school's music program. To help create and develop ideas that teenagers would be receptive to, Ravinia reached out to students from Highland Park High School who met weekly with Ravinia staff members to develop a way to promote classical music to their peers. The result of all their hard work is the Classical Youth Initiative.

Lucky Substitutions

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Opera audiences are usually disappointed to see an administrator stride onstage before a performance to announce a last-minute cast change, but every so often the audience gets a lot more than they expected. A case in point is soprano Latonia Moore, who will sing the title role of Verdi’s Aida at Ravinia on August 3. In March 2012 the same role was the vehicle of her stunningly triumphant Metropolitan Opera debut when she stepped in to replace the ailing Violeta Urmana, an event shared and celebrated by many thousands of operaphiles who heard the performance on a live radio broadcast.

Moore’s “star is born” experience puts her in exalted company, indeed. Back in 1957, another young American soprano made an unexpected debut in the same role after Antonietta Stella became indisposed at San Francisco Opera, where Leontyne Price had just made her company debut as Madame Lidoine in the American premiere production of Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites. It was her first opportunity to perform the title role of Aida, but hardly the last; Price came to virtually own the role, reigning as the pre-eminent Aida until her retirement from the opera stage in 1985.

 

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Guest Chef Erik Freeberg Makes Bar Toma Pizzas Outside July 26-27

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Just who is Chef Erik Freeberg?

Erik Freeberg originally planned on being the next great general manager. However, while studying restaurant management at Purdue University, it was one class requiring hands-on restaurant experience where he opted to be in the kitchen that altered his plan and laid the groundwork for his current status as a rising culinary star. After graduating from Purdue in 2005, Freeberg applied and was accepted to the Culinary Institute of America's two year associates program. His first mentor was Dan Turgeon who not only taught the basics but also instilled the foundation that Freeberg continues to build upon today.   

At the end of his program in 2008 while waiting tables at the Culinary Institute’s Escoffier room, he had a chance encounter with a guest who worked at Levy Restaurants that passed along his resume to Missy Robbins, then executive chef of Spiaggia. Only a few days later, Freeberg was invited to stage at Spiaggia, upon arrival to the restaurant and hours into his stage, he was hired on the spot to work as garde manger in the dining room.  Freeberg worked his way up the line and after a year, Spiaggia Chef/partner Tony Mantuano invited him to assist at his WINE BAR FOOD pop-up at the U.S. Open Tennis Championship. While there, Freeberg was offered a role as sous chef which then led to being named purchasing manager in 2010.

After working under Executive Chef Sarah Grueneberg for three years, he gained the tools needed to become part of the opening team as chef di cucina at Tony Mantuano’s latest restaurant Bar Toma, an Italian neighborhood bar and pizzeria in Chicago’s Gold Coast. Freeberg was equally excited by the Bar Toma concept as he was able to use his knowledge from working at a local pizzeria during his summer breaks from college.

Bar Toma opened in November 2011 and under Freeberg the restaurant has received a three-star review from The Chicago Tribune, named one of the “Top 20 Best New Restaurants in 2012” by Chicago magazine and one of the country’s “Best New Pizza Places by Food & Wine magazine, among other accolades.

Chef Erik Freeberg will call Ravinia home on July 26 & 27, when he brings his unique flare to Italian cuisine from Bar Toma to you.

Master Classes Not Just For Musicians

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VIDEO: James Conlon on his philosophy of conducting master classes.

When I was a junior in high school, I attended my first master class. It was at a four-day conference, and as I was too scared to attend as a performer, I went as an auditor instead. That means that I got to attend all the sessions but didn't play at any of them. I think I spent half my savings to do this.

At Ravinia, you don’t need to spend your savings to attend a master class. They’re free! In fact, not only are they free for the audience members, they’re also free for the incredibly talented young professionals who have been accepted into Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute (RSMI) each summer for the last 25 summers.

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It's No Secret

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Back in the day when I was still attending Northwestern University’s School of Music, I found myself, curiously enough, more attuned to the music of Haydn than that of Mozart. (Keep in mind this was before the play by Peter Shaffer turned “Amadeus” into a household name.) I’m not entirely sure why Haydn seemed more accessible to me back then, but I wasn’t alone, and the best explanation of what I felt was wonderfully summarized by a comment made by another NU Music School student during a pre-exam period of cramming for our “drop the needle” listening exams. She was a bit apologetic about it, and I still remember her words: “I can’t help but feel that there’s some secret about Mozart’s music, and that if I only knew what it was, I’d enjoy his music much more.”
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Fluty Peaks at Ravinia

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I’ve been playing the flute for 16 years. Other interests have come and gone, but that one stuck. Throwing the “Oh, I’m a flutist” bit into a conversation is also always a good idea: it never fails to make me seem an interesting drinking companion, and potential landlords are positively ebullient at the idea of me repetitively playing orchestral excerpts in their buildings.
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A Great Introduction For Kids

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I’ve often marveled at the relatively low-brow (does anyone use that term anymore?) way I was introduced to classical orchestral music as a child. It wasn’t piano lessons or music appreciation courses or anything quite so formal. Rather it was my typical kid’s addiction to cartoons on television. 

I’m not talking about latter-day Saturday morning fare like the Powerpuff Girls or SpongeBob SquarePants, but classic Hollywood theatrical cartoons that were a fixture of TV back in the day. I still remember seeing Andy Panda conduct a cartoon orchestra in a performance of Suppe’s Morning, Noon and Night in Vienna overture, or Mickey Mouse leading a band performance of the overture to Rossini’s William Tell. I was totally hooked, and those cartoon selections, among others, were my main incentive for acquiring my first classical LPs. 

It wasn’t just the animation, of course. The music seemed so right to me, and I have come to realize in retrospect just how ideal an introduction to classical music overtures can be. They are brief enough not to tax a child’s attention span, and most of them are jam-packed with wonderful tunes that today’s children—at least those with an open mind—can still find entrancing. 

This is why the Chicago Symphony Orchestra concert on Sunday, July 21, is a wonderful opportunity to introduce the children you care most about to the endlessly rewarding world of classical music. The program includes the overture to Bernstein’s Candide, the overture—and Wedding March—from Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (virtually any child will recognize that march) and two of the most perennially popular of Rossini’s infectious overtures, those to The Barber of Seville and The Thieving Magpie, both of which have made an appearance in numerous cartoons—the former was a specialty of Bugs Bunny, and a 1964 adaptation of the latter earned an Oscar nomination. Here’s your chance to give some lucky children something they can cherish for the rest of their lives—and have a lot of fun yourself along the way.

 

CSO Residency Opens To Great Reviews

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The Chicago Symphony Orchestra kicked off its 77th annual summer residency at Ravinia last week to rave reviews, with theSun-Times saying what looked strong on paper was even stronger in performance. The Chicago Tribune observed, “The verdant lawns were overflowing with members of the picnic-hamper-and-candelabra set. Metra trains rumbled through the park at the usual inopportune moments. Birds chirped in time with Beethoven. All, or nearly all, seemed right with the world.” The CSO residency continues through Aug. 16.

Entertainment Reporter Bill Zwecker To Judge Picnic Contest on Yo-Yo Ma Night

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One of Chicago’s best-known entertainment journalists, Bill Zwecker of the Chicago Sun-Times and WBBM TV, will serve as celebrity judge of the annual picnic contest sponsored by Terlato Wines. Ticket-holders for the Aug. 18  performance of The Goat Rodeo Sessions, starring Yo-Yo Ma, Chris Thile, Edgar Meyer and Stuart Duncan, are invited to participate. Categories include “creativity” and “best use of space.” Prizes include a 2014 season lawn pass that gains admission for two to all of next season’s concerts, including any sold-out events.  Sign up today.

WGN Radio Broadcasts Garry Meier Live From Martin Theatre On Aug 1

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WGN Radio will broadcast its popular The Garry Meier Show live from Ravinia’s Martin Theatre from 3 to 7 p.m. Aug. 1. Ticket-holders to that evening’s Steely Dan concert are invited to watch the broadcast. The theater will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Listeners will not be admitted to the lawn until the gates officially open. Lawn tickets for the Aug. 1 Steely Dan performance are available. Pavilion and lawn tickets are sold out for the Aug. 2 performance.

CSO Performs 'Greatest Hits' Evening of All-Time Masterpieces

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The Chicago Tribune has long “admired this truly gifted violinist,” and on July 21 James Ehnes returns to Ravinia with James Conlon conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on a program of time-tested favorites that includes Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, overtures to Rossini’s The Barber of Seville and The Thieving Magpie and Bernstein’sCandide, and Mendelssohn’s Overture, Scherzo and Wedding March fromA Midsummer Night’s Dream. Ehnes will perform Chausson’s Poème and Saint-Saëns’s Introduction and Rondo capriccioso. The concert begins at 5 p.m. and, as with all classical concerts at Ravinia, admission on the lawn is free to children and students through college. Ravinia President and CEO Welz Kauffman advises this popular fare, combined with free-offer on a Sunday afternoon, make this the perfect opportunity to introduce young listeners to symphonic music.

Brooklyn Rider Music 'Tour' Brings The Midwest Premiere of Brooklesca

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Brooklyn Rider, the chamber ensemble that NPR describes as “powerful”, will present a music tour at its July 16 Ravinia debut in the Martin Theatre. The ensemble—made up of members from The Knights, violinistsJohnny Gandelsman and Colin Jacobsen, violist Nicholas Cords and cellist Eric Jacobsen—will take listeners on a romp through culture, style and geography (much like Bartók’s explorations of folk music in Europe and the Far East), ending with the Midwest premiere of Jacobsen’s Brooklesca, an aurally colorful tour of the melting pot that is Brooklyn. The program also features Mozart’s String Quartet K. 421; Jacobsen’s Three Persian Miniatures, Ljova’s Budget Bulgar and Bartók’s String Quartet No. 2.

Brian Wilson Bio-pic Begins Filming As Beach Boys Co-Founder Hits Ravinia

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The Hollywood trade paper Variety has reported that the biopic Love & Mercy: The Lives, Times and Music of Brian Wilson has begun filming in Los Angeles. The Beach Boys co-founder, whose bottomless list of hits defined an era, makes his Ravinia debut with Al Jardine and David Markson July 26. Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood) will star as young Brian Wilson, with Chicago favorite-son John Cusack playing the older version. Graham Rogers (Revolution) appears as Jardine.

WFMT Rebroadcasts Studs Terkel Interview With Maxim Vengerov

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Both a common touch interviewer and a Pulitzer-Prize winning author, Studs Terkel examined culture and Chicago from 1952 through 1997 on WFMT. At 10 p.m. Friday, July 5, Chicago’s only classical radio station will re-broadcast Terkel’s 1996 conversation with violin sensation Maxim Vengerov. Vengerov returns to the U.S. this summer, and his only stop will be Ravinia, where he’ll give a Martin Theatre recital on July 15 and a performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on July 17.  For a clip of Vengerov in action, visit The Best of Studs Terkel.

Lang Lang Returns To The Gala Stage That Launched Him To Stardom

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Ravinia welcomes back international megastar Lang Lang to the very event that launched his career in 1999, the annual Gala Benefit Evening. The 2013 affair, which takes place at 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 27, features the Chicago Symphony Orchestra led by James Conlon, Music Director of the orchestra's residency at Ravinia. A 17-year-old Lang Lang became an international superstar after playing a Ravinia gala in 1999 as a last-minute replacement for an ailing artist.

The special black-tie portion of the evening will begin with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres on the lawn at 5 p.m. At 7 p.m. benefit guests will be escorted to the Pavilion for the concert, which will have no intermission. Immediately following the concert, dinner will be served in the Gala Marquee on the north lawn. Hosted by the Ravinia Women’s Board, the annual gala is the only performance fundraiser benefiting the not-for-profit festival and its mission, especially its efforts to bring music back into schools through its REACH*TEACH*PLAY education programs. The décor for the evening will be designed by Event Creative, and the dinner will be catered by George Jewell Catering. To purchase tickets to the gala benefit, please call 847-266-5045.

Terlato Wines Invites You To Pre-Concert Tastings In The Park This Season

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Terlato Wines invites Ravinia patrons to sample some new wines from their luxury portfolio prior to the following concerts (ID required!): Lapostolle Casa Sauvignon Blanc and Casa Cabernet Sauvignon on July 2 (Matchbox Twenty / Goo Goo Dolls); Fizz 56 on July 20 (Smash Mouth, Gin Blossoms, Sugar Ray, Fastball and Vertical Horizon); Mazzoni Pinot Grigio and Vermentino Chardonnay on Aug. 2 (Steely Dan); and Mike Ditka Wines on Aug. 25 (Chicago).

OneRepublic Duets With Finalist On Season Finale Of The Voice

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Perhaps the most star-studded evening in the history of television singing competitions, the hugely popular band OneRepublic performed its latest hit “Counting Stars” with competition finalist Michelle Chamuel on the season four finale of the hit NBC series The Voice. The episode also featured performances by Cher, Christina Aguilera and Pitbull, Florida Georgia Line and Nelly, Bob Seger, Hunter Hayes, and Bruno Mars. OneRepublic makes its Ravinia debut with Churchill and Mayer Hawthorne on July 23.

Miriam Fried Recieves Honor For Her 20-Year Commitment to RSMI

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One of the most respected violin pedagogues in the world, herself an acclaimed soloist, Miriam Fried was surprised by Ravinia leaders, family and friends at a ceremony Monday when they presented her with the first Edward Gordon Award in recognition of her 20 years of leadership at Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute. Fried, who has led RSMI’s piano and strings program for most of the summer conservatory’s 25-year history, will give a concert in Ravinia’s Martin Theatre on July 5,with violinist Mihaela Martin, violists Atar Arad and Paul Biss, cellist Frans Helmerson and pianist Jeremy Denk.

Natalie Cole Shows Her Bilingual Skills On New CD And In Concert

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Multiple Grammy Award-winner Natalie Cole’s first Spanish-language album,Natalie Cole en Español, will be released June 25 on Verve/Universal. The album finds Natalie personally inspired by both the bilingual recording legacy of her father Nat King Cole, and a growing passion for the timeless romanticism of the great Latin music composers. Cole will perform songs from the new album in Spanish at her Ravinia concert with Ramsey Lewis on Aug. 28. The album balances old and new songs, including duets with Juan Luis Guerra on the Dominican maestro’s own Bachata Rosa and with Andrea Bocelli on the eternal Bésame Mucho.