RSMI Alumna Wins 'Bravas' For Singing Mozart Roles

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It’s not easy to impress the critics at the Financial Times. Layla Claire just makes it look that way. In fact, the alumna from Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute (RSMI) is winning raves from publications around the world for her performances in two Mozart operas, the Canadian Opera Company’s Così fan tutte and the Glyndebourne Festival’s Don Giovanni (which runs through Aug. 1). The Financial Times said, “Layla Claire’s Donna Anna dominates through the size of her voice and the electric current that runs through it.” Ravinia presents two Mozart operas of its own, Don Giovanni on Aug. 14 and 16 and The Marriage of Figaro on Aug. 15 and Aug. 17, with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under James Conlon in the Martin Theatre.

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.

Billy Corgan Gets Greenlit On Behind-The-Scenes Wrestling Show

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Those who don’t know Billy Corgan as the creative force behind The Smashing Pumpkins might recognize him as the Highland Park entrepreneur behind the 1930s-style teahouse Madame ZuZu’s. But it’s his third career that will bring him to television. Corgan is creative director of theChicago-based Resistance Pro wrestling league, and AMC has just given him an eight-part series that lifts the curtain on the popular attraction, showing the creation of wrestling storylines, choreography and behind-the-scenes arguments. The title and airdate of the reality show is not yet announced, but in the meantime, Corgan makes his Ravinia debut in an acoustic evening with Katie Cole on Aug. 30.

Ukulele Master Proves Nerd Cred With Montage Of TV Themes

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The fun-loving Jake Shimabukuro, described by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the best axmen in the world even though he doesn’t play guitar, has already been labeled a “ukulele hero” by the media. And now he’s labeled himself a nerd in this viral video that has the artist strumming out TV and movie theme songs on the instrument he helped to make popular again. Shimabukuro returns to Ravinia Aug. 1 to open for Lyle Lovett.

Do The Math: Five For Fighting Equals One

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Anyone who listens to contemporary radio knows that Five for Fighting is responsible for the hits “Superman (It’s Not Easy)” and “100 Years,” but can anyone name all five musicians? Nope. It’s a trick question. Five for Fighting is a one-man band, less well-known as Vladimir John Ondrasik III. The singer-songwriter, a huge fan of the L.A. Kings, adopted the hockey penalty term as his stage name. But when Ondrasik returns to Ravinia on Sept. 14, he won’t be alone. He’ll perform his hits with a 30-piece symphony orchestra.

Ravinia Awards Two Scholarships Through Chamber of Commerce

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Ravinia was so impressed with the Class of 2014 student leaders identified by the Highland Park Chamber of Commerce, that this year it awarded two scholarships. As has been tradition, the first went to a Highland Park student who intends to pursue music- or performance-related studies in college. Congratulations go to Highland Park’s Scott Greene, who has already racked up many awards for his work with the school band. In conjunction with Ravinia’s Student Marketing Board, a second scholarship was awarded for a student with a future in media or mass communications. Congratulations toShealtiel “Bosco” Israel for winning this inaugural prize. Over the past 12 years, Ravinia scholarship winners have gone on to internships at the festival, studies at Juilliard and careers in the arts. Ravinia is proud of them all and equally admiring of the Class of 2014

Documentary Explores Life Of Grateful Dead's "Other One"

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Documentarian Mike Fleiss admits in Rolling Stone magazine that he was nervous about breaking the news to Grateful Dead co-founder Bob Weir that he wanted to title the film he was making about the singer-songwriter The Other One: The Long, Strange Trip of Bob Weir. The filmmaker behind God Bless Ozzie Osbourne worried that suggesting Weir was second to the late Jerry Garcia might upset his subject, hurt his feelings or otherwise harsh his mellow. Nothing doing. Weir immediately embraced the title, and the documentary, which is expecting a release date soon, opened to rave reviews in April at the Tribeca Film Festival. Bob Weir and RatDog make their Ravinia debut on Aug. 31, joined by Dwight Yoakam.

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.

Jonas Tarm Commissioned To Write Music For New York Youth Symphony

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New England Conservatory student Jonas Tarm, 20, an alumnus of Highland Park High School and founding member of the Ravinia Student Marketing Board, has been commissioned to write a new orchestral work for the New York Youth Symphony, which will give the premiere in March 2015 at Carnegie Hall. Tarm was selected based in part on his work for string orchestra, Headline Hues, which had its world premiere in Estonia last year and received its American premiere last month with the NEC Symphony conducted by Paul Biss, a longtime faculty member of Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute.

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.

Associates Board Proves Music Matters In May 10 Event

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The Ravinia Associates Board will host its annual fundraiser, Music Matters, on Saturday, May 10, at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel in Chicago. In addition to raising funds for Ravinia’s REACH*TEACH*PLAY education programs, the event this year will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Associates and honor its founding president David Weinberg. Music Matters features silent and live auctions, raffle, cocktails, dinner, live music and dancing.

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.