Ravinia 2022, Issue 2

MARCUS ROBERTS TRIO Florida native Marcus Roberts began teach- ing himself piano soon after losing his sight at age 5, developing an unflappable musical- ity that grew by leaps and bounds when he began formal lessons at age 12. By the end of his teens, he was studying classical piano at Florida State University, and then through the late 1980s he was immersed in jazz as a member of Wynton Marsalis’s various bands. Roberts has since amassed a discography of two dozen albums as a solo artist and band- leader, blending jazz and classical idioms and developing an entirely new approach to jazz trio performance. Since 2009 he has been recording on his own label, J-Master, most recently releasing a celebration of John Coltrane entitled Trio Crescent (2017). Rob- erts earned a Grammy nomination for 1996’s Portraits in Blue , and in 1998 the American Foundation for the Blind honored him with its Helen Keller Achievement Award. An ac- complished composer, he has created works for Chamber Music America and Jazz at Lincoln Center, and in 2013 the Atlanta Sym- phony and Savannah Music Festival co-com- missioned his first piano concerto, Spirit of the Blues , which was followed in 2016 by Rhapsody in D . Bassist Rodney Jordan joined Roberts’s trio in 2009, having been an asso- ciate professor of jazz studies at Florida State University—where they first played together as faculty members—since 2001. The Tennes- see native grew up playing bass in church and studied classical performance at Jackson State University. While holding principal chairs in regional Mississippi and Georgia orchestras, he became a sought-after jazz bassist in At- lanta, playing alongside the likes of Marcus Printup and Russell Gunn. Drummer Jason Marsalis, who began sitting in with his father Ellis’s jazz group at age 7, has played along- side Roberts since graduating from the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts in 1995. He has also been leading his own quartet on the vibraphone since 2008. Marcus Roberts has appeared at Ravinia five times since 1989, both solo and with his trio, including to lead a public master class in 1996. Tonight marks his first return since 2000. ADRIAN DUNN SINGERS The Adrian Dunn Singers are a professional vocal ensemble whose members have trained at some of the top conservatories and uni- versities across the country. The group was founded by Adrian L. Dunn to reestablish the narrative that Black Americans are the authors of American music and with a vision of offering Black communities world-class music programming that reflect their expe- riences. Alongside performances at The Na- tional Cathedral, the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses, and Payne Theological Seminary, plus several national tours, the Adrian Dunn Singers have record- ed four albums: Emancipation , Redemption , The Black Messiah , and Revelations . Recent- ly the ensemble performed Joel Thompson’s Seven Last Words of the Unarmed at with the Chicago Sinfonietta and were featured in the Art Institute of Chicago’s “Prayer” exhibit, and last summer joined the Chicago Philhar- monic to performDunn’s Redemption . Earlier this year, the Adrian Dunn Singers guested with the South Side Symphony of Los Angeles during a West Coast tour, performed Mozart’s Requiem with the Elgin Symphony Orches- tra, and premiered Dunn’s Emancipation at the Harris Theater. The group also sang on the soundtrack for the 2022 Sundance Fes- tival film Honk for Jesus starring Sterling K. Brown and Regina Hall. The Adrian Dunn Singers are making their Ravinia debut. Adrian Dunn, conductor Warnell Barry Alyssa Bennett Dana Campbell Denell Covington Lynnesha Crump Waymon Cruse Patrick Dailey Ryan Dearon Kay Garrison Matthew Harper DaNotra Harris Jeffrey Jamison LaQuentin Jenkins Anthony Jones Lauryn Nelson Darshaya Oden Andre Owens Harmony Palmore Tre Reeves Erica Rene Pierre Saunders Tierra Whetstone- Christian PAVILION 5:00 PM SUNDAY, JULY 17, 2022 CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA MARIN ALSOP, conductor BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 6 (“Pastoral”) Awakening of Happy Feelings on Arriving in the Country: Allegro ma non troppo Scene by the Brook: Andante molto moto Joyous Gathering of Country Folk: Allegro [ attacca ] Tempest, Thunderstorm: Allegro [ attacca ] Shepherd’s Song. Happy, Grateful Feelings after the Storm: Allegretto –Intermission– STRAUSS An Alpine Symphony ( performed without pauses between sections ) Night Sunrise The Ascent Entry into the Forest Wandering by the Brook At the Waterfall Apparition On Flowering Meadows On the Alpine Pasture Through Thickets and Undergrowth on the Wrong Path On the Glacier Dangerous Moments On the Summit Vision Mists Rise The Sun Gradually Becomes Obscured Elegy Calm before the Storm Thunder and Tempest, Descent Sunset Quiet Settles Night Ravinia expresses its appreciation for the generous support of Season Sponsor Megan P. and John L. Anderson . RAVINIA MAGAZINE • JULY 4 – JULY 17, 2022 40