When saxophonist Wayne Shorter died last year at 89, the jazz world lost one of the most innovative and influential voices of his generation. Given Shorter’s wide-ranging reach and impact, it is hardly surprising that two upcoming concerts as part of Ravinia’s Fall/Spring Series in Bennett Gordon Hall will pay tribute to the recently departed jazz legend. The eight-member Ravinia Jazz Mentors will raise their hats to Shorter on March 16, and vocalist Kurt Elling and Panamanian pianist Danilo Pérez, who played with the saxophonist for 20 years, will devote much of their May 3 program to his music.
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Welcome To My Shop: Opera for the Young opens a world of music theater
At one point in A Night at the Opera, Otis B. Driftwood, the slippery business manager portrayed by Groucho Marx, arrives at an opera house. “Is the opera over yet?” he asks a door attendant. When informed a few minutes remain in the opera, he becomes indignant. “Hey, you,” he chastises the hansom cab driver, “I told you to slow that nag down. On account of you, I nearly heard the opera. Now, once around the park and drive slowly.”
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National Seminario Ravinia unites students of El Sistema-inspired orchestras
To celebrate the rise of Sistema music education in the United States and help spur even more growth, the Ravinia Festival is teaming with Chicago Philharmonic to present the first-ever National Seminario from July 5 through 8. The event will bring together 130 students from 23 Sistema-style initiatives across the country and Canada to participate in intensive orchestral training and to present a culminating concert on the Pavilion stage as part of Ravinia’s Kids Concert Series.
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Announcing the Grand Opening of the Harrison Building
The newly opened Harrison building supports the growth of Reach Teach Play, the festival’s music education programs, by providing greater administrative facilities
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Women's Board Members Join Middle School Orchestra for an Unforgettable Experience
Eight Ravinia Women's Board members attend the Sistema Ravinia Lake County Middle School Orchestra rehearsal on March 23. After hearing the students perform, the Women’s Board members quickly joined the musicians in the orchestra to experience what it sounds, looks, and feels like to be embedded in the ensemble.
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Chicago Teachers Tune In to the Benefits of Music Education Workshops
“If we base everything we do in the classroom on building community, first and foremost, all of those other things fall into place. And then at that moment, learning happens when students feel like they belong, when they feel that their views are appreciated, when they feel that who they are is understood and respected, then they will open themselves up to learning,” Kelly said.
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Music Discovery Program kicks off in Chicago Public Schools Classrooms
Ravinia’s Music Discovery Program is off to a great start in Chicago Public Schools. Students are having a blast learning more about music concepts, taking part in musical activities, and more this year.
Every classroom is different in how they introduce music through the program, but ultimately the program enhances students’ musical skills by providing teaching artists for multi-week, interactive music residencies in classrooms all while also providing enrichment opportunities to the classroom teachers who have the opportunity to attend music education workshops throughout the school year.
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Sistema Ravinia Orchestras Shine in Winter Concerts
Sistema Ravinia students showcased their musical talents and holiday cheer at the Sistema Ravinia Lake County and Sistema Ravinia Austin & Lawndale concerts this week.
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Ravinia's Jazz Mentor Program Kicks Off
Founded in 1995, the Jazz Mentor Program inspires, encourages, and trains 1,000 CPS high school students each school year. A central component of the program is the competitive selection of the Ravinia Jazz Scholars, a cohort of Chicago’s most talented student musicians. The Jazz Scholars receive intensive year-round training and mentors serve as role models and give scholars insight into the life of a professional musician. Scholars also receive a scholarship to attend the Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Camp in Louisville, Kentucky.
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Reach Teach Play's "REACH" Brings Music to Thousands this Summer
Over 75,000 community members are served through Ravinia's Reach Teach Play Programs each year, ensuring that music education remains accessible to all. Our programs are designed to educate, foster diverse audience involvement, and provide the population with equitable access to live music experiences in their communities and at Ravinia. Programs that extend Ravinia’s REACH programs bring the joy of music to thousands throughout the Chicago area through programs like Classical Invitations, Ravinia Nights, Kids Lawn, Words & Music, and Opportunity Lawn Pass. Learn more about the programs that are in full swing throughout the entire summer!
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Reach Teach Play says farewell to Fifth House Ensemble
Last month, all fourth and fifth grade students from District 112 enjoyed Journey Live, an original, interactive live performance of the Grammy-nominated score to the video game “Journey” performed by the Fifth House Ensemble at Ravinia Festival.
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Reach Teach Play brings virtual live performance to families
Reach Teach Play’s Music Discovery Program brought students and their families together for a virtual live performance of the Green Golly & Her Golden Flute, a picture book, based on the Parents’ Choice Golden Award winning recording by the same name, written and performed by Keith Torgan and Barbara Siesel.
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Reach Teach Play Leader Joins El Sistema USA Board
Ravinia proudly congratulates Isaac Sinnett, Senior Associate Director of the festival’s Reach Teach Play music education programs, on being elected as the newest board member of El Sistema USA! He has worked exceptionally with Reach Teach Play for more than a decade to serve over 75,000 Chicagoland community members each year through Ravinia’s education programs, ensuring music remains accessible to all.
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’Tis the Season for Reach Teach Play Programs
Reach Teach Play programs are still in full swing this off-season, and our students have been busy showcasing their hard work. Just last week, our Sistema Ravinia Orchestra presented a winter concert at Gregory Elementary School located in Homan Square. Trumpet and clarinet students gave an auditorium performance to their fellow classmates.
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Ravinia Jazz Scholars alumni jazz it up at Green Mill
Four alumni of Ravinia’s Jazz Mentor Program—known as Jazz Scholars when they were young musicians in the program—made their way to the Green Mill Jazz Club stage for much-anticipated performances that had lines out the door.
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Ravinia’s music education program paves 12-year-old singer’s opera career path
Daelyn Calloway, who is in the Ravinia Lawndale Family Music School choir program, has already been a part of a handful of opera productions at the young age of twelve. Her most recent singing appearance in The Magic Flute occurred this month at Chicago’s Lyric Opera. She has also performed in the Lyric’s production of The Queen of Spades, The Dead Man Walking, and in the spring, she will be performing in the Tosca production.
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Reach Teach Play Looks Back at Successful Summer
Not only did live music return to the park after a dark and quiet 2020 season, so did Ravinia’s Reach Teach Play (RTP) education program participants. Although RTP instructors and students were not able to perform or meet in person for over a year, this season brought with it numerous joyful reunions and inspiring moments.
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Reach Teach Play Brings Flamenco to Elementary Classroom
This month, Reach Teach Play’s Guest Artists in the Classroom brought the Clinard Dance Flamenco Quartet to Hitch Elementary School for two performances in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. The performances brought zapateado–a Spanish word referring to the shoe strikes flamenco dancers make–to over 100 students along with mesmerizing sounds from traditional Spanish guitar, a cantaora or cante singer, and a violin.
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In Ravinia’s Reach Teach Play programs, it’s never been clearer that music matters
Every year Ravinia sends hundreds of musicians into Chicago Public Schools as well as classrooms in Highland Park, Waukegan, and North Chicago. What began in 1965 with the Women’s Board’s program of making lawn passes available to low-income music lovers has grown into Reach Teach Play, a year-round operation that reaches 75,000 children annually through a dozen distinct programs.
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Thaddeus Tukes brings all the vibes to Ravinia
“The Ravinia jazz program is one of the reasons I was actually able to go to school for jazz and develop a career. The stuff we learned and were exposed to all year long, having that match with my school curriculum, and the support from teachers were the reasons I was able to visualize what a career as a professional musician would look like,”
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