No, Ravinia did not just open up a public pool. We have something better! From 3-4:45 PM on Sunday July 31st, Ravinia hosts the event Cannon Ball for high school students! Where did Cannon-Ball come from? Throughout the year, Ravinia has worked with local high school students to help us answer the difficult question facing the classical music industry: How do we market classical music to teenagers? All year we worked with a group of motivated and talented students from Highland Park High School; and with their help, we began this summer’s Classical Youth Initiative to encourage students to attend classical concerts at Ravinia.
The way the classical youth initiative contest is simple. We have kept track of every high school student that has come to the classical concerts Ravinia hosts every summer. For every night so far, each student who showed their high school ID at the box office not only got in for free on the lawn, but also won a point for their school. The school with the most points at the end of the summer will win a $1000 grant from Ravinia to their high school’s arts program! Anyone who attends Cannonball will win two points for their school!
CannonBall is a pre-concert hangout for high school students. We are going to have games, food and drinks, before the July 31st CSO concert. We want students to share their love of classical music with each other and hopefully spread the word about the great times that can be had while listening to classical music. After the party ends, the CSO Tchaikovsky concert begins, where kids can hear one of the most recognizable classical pieces, the 1812 Overture set to live cannons!
If you are a high school student who wants to attend, please go to our Facebook event page for CannonBall and click “attend”.
If you are a parent of a high school student, click on that same link, send it to your and tell them to join the party. We hope to see you there!
Eddie Pratt
Communications Intern