Ravinia 2022, Issue 2

FROM THE PRES I DENT AND THE CHA I RMAN JEFFREY P. HAYDON President and CEO Ravinia Festival Association DON CIVGIN Chairman Ravinia Festival Association M us i c i s for everyone — that motto is emblazoned on the shirts of participants in our year-round music education programs that we collectively call Reach Teach Play. But I don’t think we’d surprise you by affirming that it’s at the heart of how we approach everything we do at Ravinia and in our community. The extraordinary challenges of the past two years have enhanced our focus on our ongoing work to grow the accessibility of a robust range of music and the live music experience inside our park for listeners of all generations. It has also catalyzed some immediate boosts, starting with how audiences can get to the park. We are happy to have renewed our deeper partnership with Metra that allows Ravinia ticketholders to ride Union Pacific North trains to and from most concerts for free by showing their dated ticket to the conductor. The train has always been an integral part of the festival, and with the cost of transportation a concern for many this year, this perk for our patrons further reduces barriers to entry for visitors coming from Chicago or northern neighbors like Waukegan. Speaking of conductors, we are thrilled that Marin Alsop has extended her contract as our Chief Conductor through 2025. Enthusiastic responses to her programs with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra last summer were heard early and often, and anticipation is already high for her three weeks of concerts at the start of the CSO’s annual six-week residency. Most of all, together with Marin we are looking forward to engaging music lovers internationally with the new Breaking Barriers Festival, where each year we will celebrate and advance diverse artists and leaders in classical music who are ensuring an inclusive future for the arts. For three days this summer the focus is on women on the podium, coinciding with anniversaries of both the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship, which Marin founded to mentor the next generation of women conductors, and Margaret Hillis, the founder of the Chicago Symphony Chorus and first woman to conduct the CSO, who was a visionary in establishing professional choruses and mentoring their leaders. We extend special thanks to Dinah Jacobs Castle for her lead sponsorship of the inaugural Breaking Barriers Festival and the many donors and partners who have supported its creation. Ravinia is also deeply grateful to welcome back Allstate for its sixth year as Lead Reach Teach Play Sponsor. The past two years have turned a spotlight on how critical these music education and engagement programs are in our community, which is why we have begun the Building the Future of Reach Teach Play capital campaign to provide the underpinning needed to inspire more children and families than ever before. We are proud that already $8 million has been committed toward the minimum $10 million needed to right-size program operations and springboard to even greater impact. We hope you will consider joining us in supporting this campaign. Inside the park this summer, our more than 100 events will include returns to our indoor acoustic gems, the Martin Theatre and Bennett Gordon Hall, as well as expanded programming on our Carousel Stage, featuring performances from Chicago-based musicians shortly after the park opens for select Pavilion concerts. In addition to the incomparable CSO, we are pleased to present such local peers as Music of the Baroque, Hubbard Street Dance, and the Chicago Sinfonietta on our stages, and to partner with the iconic venues Metro and Smartbar to celebrate their 40th anniversary with Chicago house DJs taking over the Carousel on the penultimate night of the season. Plus, the CSO’s own Mead Composer in Residence, Jessie Montgomery, is taking up a second residence for a week here at the Ravinia Steans Music Institute to work with its young professional musicians, who are back to giving in-person concerts throughout the season. While you’re at Ravinia reading this message, consider spending about half an hour of your visit at the Ravinia Music Box. On all Pavilion concert dates, there you’ll find an immersive theater program musing on the question “What does music mean?” through the experience of one of its most famous figures, Leonard Bernstein. The theater leads to an exhibit highlighting the legacy of The Beatles, who Bernstein called “the best songwriters since the Gershwins” with music that “could almost be by Robert Schumann it’s so expansive and Romantic.” Between those two Bs of the 20th century, it’s hard to think of any artists who more perfectly emblemized that music is indeed for everyone. 418 Sheridan Road Highland Park, IL 60035 847-266-5000 ravinia.org Jeffrey P. Haydon President and CEO Nick Panfil Associate Director of Communications, Editor Chris Anderson Lead Graphic Designer PMGMA, INC. 340 Anthony Trail, Northbrook, IL 60062 847-770-4620 pmgma.com Gail McGrath Publisher & President Sheldon Levin Publisher & Director of Finance Account Managers: Rand Brichta ∙ Arnie Hoffman Mike Hedge ∙ William McAuliffe For advertising information, call 847-770-4621 or email gmcgrath@pmgma.com PMGMA, Inc. is a Woman Owned Business Published by PMGMA, Inc. All contents are copyrighted 2022. All rights reserved. Nothing may be reproduced in any manner, whole or part, without written permission from the publisher. For advertising terms and conditions, visit pmgma.com MISSION STATEMENT OF THE RAVINIA FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION Ravinia is an internationally renowned, not-for-profit music festival that presents outstanding performances by the world’s greatest artists. Ravinia’s principal objectives are • to present performances of a full range of classical music in its open-air Pavilion and enclosed recital halls, by the world’s greatest composers and musicians, along with a variety of other kinds of light classical, jazz, and popular music; • to maintain a beautiful park that is welcoming to all and attractive to families in which the music experience is enhanced by a beautiful environment and excellent dining opportunities; • to enable gifted young performers to study under great teachers and perform in concert settings; and • to develop broader and more diverse audiences for classical music through education and engagement programs and by maintaining affordable ticket prices. RAVINIA MAGAZINE • JULY 4 – JULY 17, 2022 4