Do North 2019

18 | DO NORTH Lawn Bar in the Dining Pavilion ation of the title role in Gypsy on Broadway, a performance she originated at Ravinia. Central to Ravinia’s mission is its devel- opment of new artists and new audiences. For five decades, Ravinia has made music more accessible through education pro- grams now called Reach Teach Play.These programs—including Sistema Ravinia, which creates student orchestras in ele- mentary schools without music programs of their own—serve 85,000 people each year in Lake and Cook Counties. The Jazz Mentors and Scholars, one of the longest- running RTP programs, teams the best Chicago high-school musicians with the city’s jazz giants to create a real, working ensemble. Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute is an on-campus summer conservatory, where 60 of the world’s top young profes- sional musicians receive fully paid fellow- ships to train and perform with the artists who headline the festival’s stages. In addition to its obvious cultural con- tributions to the city, Ravinia is also an economic engine for Highland Park, attracting visitors to the area, providing jobs (especially for young people just entering the workforce, many of whom graduated right from our Pavilion stage), supplementing the salaries of first respond- ers, sharing revenue with the city, providing positive publicity, and supporting many worthwhile causes. Just more than half of the revenue it takes to run Ravinia each year comes from ticket sales, and the rest is contributed by corporate and private sponsors. For information about Ravinia, including a more detailed history, visit Ravinia.org.