Ravinia 2019, Issue 7, Week 13

8:30 PM THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 2019 PAVILION AN EVENING WITH MICHAEL FEINSTEIN and HALEY REINHART † † Ravinia debut MICHAEL FEINSTEIN Born and raised in Columbus, OH, Michael Feinstein started playing piano by ear at age 5. After graduating high school, he moved to Los Angeles, where in 1977 he was introduced to Ira Gershwin. Feinstein became his assistant for six years, which allowed him access to numerous unpublished Gershwin songs, many of which he has since performed and recorded. Gersh- win’s influence provided a base for Feinstein to become a composer and arranger in addition to a performer, with a repertoire also encompass- ing Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer, Duke Ellington, and Harry Warren. Alongside five Grammy Award nominations and three honorary doctorates from his three decades of bringing the music of the Great American Song- book to the world, Feinstein has earned multiple Emmy nominations for his PBS specials, and he has hosted an acclaimed NPR series, Song Trav- els . Beyond concerts at such venues as the White House, Buckingham Palace, the Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, and the Sydney Opera House, Feinstein works as an educator and ar- chivist, creating the Great American Songbook Foundation in 2007. Based at the Palladium of the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, IN, which Feinstein is the artistic director for, the foundation is dedicated to celebrating and preserving the art form through education- al programs such as the annual High School Songbook Academy. Feinstein also serves on the Library of Congress’s National Recording Preservation Board. His own discography has most recently featured a Christmas album with Grammy-winning pianist Alan Broadbent, add- ing such discs as a two-volume celebration of Frank Sinatra; The Power of Two , a collaboration with Glee and 30 Rock star Cheyenne Jackson; and Cheek to Cheek , recorded with Barbara Cook. He co-wrote the title track of his disc We Dreamed These Days with Maya Angelou. Feinstein has been the principal pops conduc- tor of the Pasadena Symphony since 2013, and he launched a pops series at the Kravis Center in Palm Beach, FL, in 2014, focusing on Amer- ican Songbook rarities and classics. Michael Feinstein first appeared at Ravinia in 1993 and tonight plays the festival for the 10th time. AUGUST 26 – SEPTEMBER 2, 2019 | RAVINIA MAGAZINE 101