We are happy to announce the return of OneRepublic as part of the Native Summer Tour with The Script, making its debut, as part of OneRepublic's headline tour Native Summer Tour during the our “Summer of Love/Season of Stars” 2014 season on Wednesday, June 18, and Thursday, June 19. Tickets to these events and all Ravinia summer concerts go on sale to donors on March 5 and to the public on April 24, exclusively at Ravinia.org.
After being eligible for over 15 years, rock duo Daryl Hall & John Oates, known more commonly as Hall & Oates, have [finally] been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014 alongside KISS and Nirvana! Hall and Oates will be officially inducted on April 10, 2014 at Brooklyn's Barclays Center. Congratulations! (Click here for the full list of inductees)
Every season we are proud to bring you the best artists from all over the world. It's amazing to see our artists honored year after year for their hard work and this year is no different. Here is just a sample of the recent Ravinia artists receiving top honors for their work in the past year. Congratulations on the Grammy nominations and good luck!
Sel Kardan, President and CEO of The Colburn School, announced today the establishment of The Ziering-Conlon Initiative for Recovered Voices at the Colburn School. Los Angeles philanthropist Marilyn Ziering has made the Initiative possible with a generous $1 million gift to Colburn. The Initiative builds upon the Recovered Voices project at LA Opera, established to support conductor James Conlon’s long-term commitment to bring attention to the works of important composers whose music was suppressed during the Nazi years in Europe.
Mr. Kardan said, “The Ziering-Conlon Initiative’s primary focus will be performance, advocacy and dissemination of music by suppressed composers. Research and academic activities will be explored through creative collaborations, conferences, concerts and publishing. In addition, we hope that Internet, public radio and television broadcasting will provide opportunities to reach international audiences.”
He continued, “The Ziering-Conlon Initiative will give Mr. Conlon, whose leading advocacy of this repertoire is acknowledged throughout the world, the unprecedented opportunity to share his insights on this important music, literature and the history of music in the first half of the twentieth century with Colburn students and the Colburn community at large."
For the full release click here.
2013 has definitely been a good year for the works of novelist Hans Christian Andersen. David Lang's pulitzer prize-winning The Little Match Girls Passion made its Ravinia debut this season to rave reviews and just last weekend the Disney took elements of Andersen's The Snow Queen and transformed it into what some have called "the best Disney movie since 'Lion King'". Frozen staring Kristen Bell, 2012 Ravinia alum Idina Menzel, and recent Ravinia artist Jonathan Groff is in theaters now.
Congratulations to the Lincoln Trio on their 2014 Grammy nomination for Whitbourn's Annelies! They have received a nomination in the Best Choral Performance category for their collaboration with Arianna Zukerman and the Westmister Williamson Voices. This work had its Chicago premiere as part of our BGH Classics series back on February 24! The Lincoln Trio was formed in 2003 by Desirée Ruhstrat, David Cunliffe and Marta Aznavoorian, and is a nod to being based in the Land of Lincoln. We wish them the best of luck!
Only about half the money it takes to run Ravinia is raised through ticket sales. The rest comes from donors. Not only does your contribution help maintain Ravinia’s 36 beautifully landscaped acres, support and sustain classical music and the great Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and put music programs into schools and neighborhoods that need them most, but it also brings such special perks (depending on giving level) as priority on-site parking, access to special events, and the opportunity to purchase tickets in advance of the general public and at a 20 percent discount. Learn more.
Former Chicago Symphony Orchestra trombonist Edward Kleinhammer passed away on Nov 30 at the age of 94. He was a well-respected member of the orchestra for 45 year until his retirement in 1985, spending many summers here at Ravinia. He is survived by his wife, Dessie.
“What a joy it is to work with Ed; he is the most conscientious musician I have ever met. He is a fanatic about practicing. He arrives hours before rehearsals and concerts to make sure his preparation is as good as it can be. Because his personal standards of playing and conduct are so high, Ed never tries to compete with anyone but himself. He is humble about his own talents and generous in praising others.... There was only one way he could be a musician, and that was by giving 110 percent of himself.” — Jay Friedman, principal trombone of the CSO in 1985
via Chicago Tribune
Ingenuity Inc., a clearing-house placing arts programs in Chicago Public Schools, has received two honors for fulfilling its mission. Ravinia President and CEO Welz Kauffman, who has expanded Ravinia’s own REACH*TEACH*PLAY education programs in CPS, serves on the board of Ingenuity Inc., which has helped the school system develop an overall arts curriculum policy.
Ingenuity has been awarded the Chicago Innovation Award for Collaboration for its public-private partnership with the City of Chicago, the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, and Chicago Public Schools in putting the arts back into Chicago’s public schools.
Ingenuity also received the Boeing Chicago Game-Changer award, which recognizes innovative ideas and approaches for serving neighborhoods that need it most.
Ravinia Festival, a not-for-profit that raises about half its annual budget through ticket sales and the rest through private donations, has contributed $1,054,573 to its hometown of Highland Park. This is the city’s share of a record-breaking 2013 season. Ravinia President and CEO Welz Kauffman, a Highland Park resident, presented the check at the Nov. 12 Highland Park City Council meeting. This is the fifth year of a 10-year agreement through which the festival donates 5 percent of its annual gross ticket revenue to the city. The amount of the contribution to the city has increased in each successive year of the program’s life for a total of more than $4 million at the halfway mark of the 10-year plan.
“We are grateful to have this world-class venue in our own backyard. Ravinia Festival is a perfect blend of culture and economic development,” said Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering, noting that Ravinia attracts about $7 in local spending for every dollar spent at the venue. “In addition, Ravinia is a good neighbor and works collaboratively with the City of Highland Park to share costs for its city services, such as hiring our police officers to not only patrol and protect the ground, but also to manage traffic in the community on
concert nights.”
You can find a copy of the full press release here.
In April violinist/singer Caroline Shaw became the youngest composer in history to win the Pulitzer Prize. She scored this honor with Partita for Eight Voices, a piece she wrote for the innovative ensemble, Roomful of Teeth, which explores a wide range of vocal techniques. Though the four movements of this acclaimed work have been heard separately in various performances, they came together for a first complete performance at New York’s Le Poisson Rouge last week, and audiences went wild. The New York Times called it “exhilarating, sensual and playful.” (Read the full review.) Shaw and Roomful of Teeth will perform the Midwest premiere of her Partita at Ravinia on Saturday, March 29. A complete package including parking, dinner and concert ticket is only $40 when you enter promo code DINING. For information, call 847-266-5100.
Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute alumnus tenor Paul Appleby is starring in the Metropolitan Opera’s world premiere of Nico Muhly’s Two Boys as the 16-year-old protagonist, Brian. Listen to a Preview.
Appleby’s other engagements this season include Mozart’s The Magic Flute with Washington National Opera and Così fan tutte with the Canadian Opera Company and Oper Frankfurt, and Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings and Spring Symphony with Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic.
In 2012 Ravinia launched an El Sistema orchestra for kids in grades 4–6 at Circle Rock Charter School in Austin, an underserved neighborhood on Chicago's West Side. Student excitement and interest was so high that a second orchestra was launched a year later. Watch this video to see how music can transform an entire community. To find out more or to donate, please visit www.ravinia.org.
Bringing together some of the best student jazz musicians in the city, Ravinia is proud to announce the selections for the 2014 Jazz Scholars program. Through Ravinia's Jazz Scholar program, students will be mentored and coached by some of Chicago's finest jazz musicians including Pat Mallinger, Willie Pickens and Audrey Morrison. Beyond their school band instruction, Ravinia will provide inspiration, advice and intensive training through masterclasses, audition-based ensembles and individualized instruction.
Saxophone:
Marnicia Johnson, baritone – Northside College Prep, Senior
Kevin King, tenor – Lincoln Park High School, Sophomore
Joe Paukstys, alto – Jones College Prep, Junior
Trombone:
Sterling Harris – Whitney Young Magnet High School, Senior
Pier Sharke – Lake View High School, Senior
Trumpet:
Bart Coyle – Lincoln Park High School, Senior
GianCarlo Jerry – Kenwood Academy, Junior
Kathryn Kuropas – Lane Tech College Prep, Senior
Luis Lara – Curie Metro High School, Junior
Bass:
Justin Caldwell – Chicago High School for the Arts, Senior
Austen Goebel – Whitney Young Magnet High School, Senior
Tavier Robinson – Chicago High School for the Arts, Freshman
Guitar:
Oscar Brown – Lincoln Park High School, Senior
Ryan Pieniacha – Chicago High School for the Arts, Junior
Julian Richey – Northside College Prep, Freshman
Piano:
Alexis Lanier – Whitney Young Magnet High School, Junior
Josiah Maddox – Kenwood Academy, Junior
Drums:
Everett Reid – Whitney Young Magnet High School, Senior
Yardayn Watkins – Morgan Park High School, Senior
Percussion:
Christopher Sanchez – Northwest Middle School, 8th Grade
Jeffrey Wittah – Lake View High School, Senior
The Jazz Scholars will receive numerous performance opportunities including the Music Matters benefit and at Ravinia’s Martin Theatre in June. In addition, the ensemble is often invited to perform at events throughout the city. Each summer the Jazz Scholars are sent to the Jamey Aebersold Jazz Camp in Louisville, KY, a prestigious training center for pre-professionals. Many alumni from this program have gone on to study music at such colleges as Juilliard, Oberlin, Manhattan School of Music and NYU. Several alumni are now professional musicians and educators themselves.
Congratulations to RSMI (2010), Jazz Scholars alumnus and upcoming BGH Classics headliner Marquis Hill, who recently won the 2013 Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Solo Competition from the International Trumpet Guild. This is the top international competition for jazz trumpet.
Ravinia congratulates Jennifer Steans, a second-generation Ravinia trustee and head of the festival's finance committee, for being named one of the “25 Most Powerful Women in Finance” by American Banker. Steans is CEO of Financial Investments Corp., which she co-founded with her father, Ravinia Life Trustee Harrison Steans. The Northwestern MBA sits on the boards of both USAmeriBank and Cole Taylor and also serves on the board of the Chicago Foundation for Women.
Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute is accepting applications through Oct. 25 for its prestigious Program for Singers headed by Kevin Murphy. For information and instructions on how to apply go to Ravinia.org.
Each year Ravinia provides 60 fully paid fellowships to its summer conservatory. Auditions will be held in the coming months in Toronto, New York and at Ravinia.
Violinist Benjamin Beilman, who received both an Avery Fisher Career Grant and a London Music Masters Award in 2012, makes his Ravinia debut on the $10 BGH Classics series on Nov. 2 with a program that includes works by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Schumann and Brahms. Beilman’s “sweet, warm, slightly throaty tone gave considerable pleasure,” said a recent Washington Post review. As the series title suggests, reserved-seat tickets are only $10 each, but a complete evening can be had for $40, which includes dinner in the Freehling Room by City Park Grill and free parking adjacent to the theater. Tickets and complete dining packages are also available for A Far Cry (Nov. 16); Broadway and television star Jonathan Groff (Glee, Spring Awakening) in his Ravinia debut (Dec. 7); “Sounds of the Season” with Chicago Children’s Choir (Dec. 14) and Boston Brass (Dec. 21); Musicians from Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute (RSMI) (March 22) reprising David Ludwig’s Aria Fantasy, which Ravinia commissioned this summer to celebrate the 25th anniversary of RSMI; the a cappella ensemble Roomful of Teeth performing the Midwest premiere of Caroline Shaw’s Partita for Eight Voices (March 29); and Ravinia's own Marquis Hill with his ensemble, celebrating the release of his new album (April 12).
Ravinia President and CEO Welz Kauffman was honored Saturday night by the Kohl Children’s Museum at its annual gala. In an unusual twist, Kauffman performed a new arrangement of Brubeck’s classic “Take Five” with an ensemble of alumni and current players from Ravinia’s Jazz Scholars education program. They reprised their performance on the WCIU TV show You and Me This Morning. He was also surprised with performances by two Ravinia audience favorites, Sylvia McNair and Chicago Children’s Choir, led by Josephine Lee. Kauffman had spearheaded the Ravinia Festival Music Makers interactive exhibit at the museum.