The Ravinia Associates will contribute a $5,000 grant to be received by Highland Park High School, the winning school of Ravinia Festival’s first high school attendance contest for Chicago Symphony Orchestra concerts. The Ravinia Associates is a group of young professionals in the Chicago area who volunteer to support the festival by raising funds, increasing awareness of the festival’s programs and developing a younger audience for classical music through REACH*TEACH*PLAY education programs.
In an effort to bring awareness and opportunity of classical music performances to young people, Ravinia teamed with teens last year to create the Ravinia Student Advisory Board which collaborated on three main ideas to promote classical music to young listeners: free lawn attendance for high school students at all classical concerts; a summer-long CSO attendance contest in which students could gain points for their school to win a grant; and lastly a special high school night on July 31 entitled “Cannon Ball 2011,” which included a pre-concert tent event complete with free food, refreshments, games, prizes and the chance to gain double points for the attendance contest.