Ravinia 2022, Issue 5

ERIC RYAN ANDERSON (STING) STING Getting his start with jazz fusion groups in England, Sting teamed his bass with drum- mer Stewart Copeland and guitarist Andy Summers in the midst of the burgeoning punk-rock scene of the late 1970s in London, forming The Police. The group ascended to international prominence on the strength of Sting’s songwriting, including “Roxanne,” “Message in a Bottle,” “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic,” and “Every Breath You Take.” Together they won six Grammy and two BRIT Awards and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. Af- ter the band parted ways in 1984, Sting be- gan working as an actor but also returned to music the following year—on the guitar—for his first solo album, The Dream of the Blue Turtles , demonstrating his now-famed social activism. With subsequent albums including Nothing Like the Sun , The Soul Cages , Ten Summoner’s Tales , Mercury Falling , and Brand New Day , he mixed genres to great success, amassing a further 10 Grammy and two BRIT Awards. Sting has also earned both an Emmy and a Golden Globe and received four Oscar nominations, most recently for “The Empty Chair” from the documentary Jim: The James Foley Story . In 2004 he was recognized as the MusiCares Person of the Year, and he has also received Billboard ’s Century Award, the Ken- nedy Center Honors, the Polar Music Prize, and several honorary doctorates, including from the Berklee College of Music (1994) and Brown University (2018). Sting turned his attention to classical and traditional mu- sic beginning in 2006, adapting the works of 16th-century composer John Dowland on Songs from the Labyrinth . Over 2009–11, Sting embarked on a worldwide tour dubbed Symphonicity , reimagining some of his most celebrated songs with an orchestra, which was the vehicle of his Ravinia debut in 2010. Sting also played Ravinia in 2013 on his “Back to Bass” tour, and the following year he pre- miered his Tony-nominated musical The Last Ship in Chicago. Following his world tour with Shaggy for their 2018 duo album 44/876 , he embarked on the present “My Songs” tour. Last fall Sting released The Bridge , represent- ing the many stages and styles of his career. JOE SUMNER For most of his life, Joe Sumner walked a tightrope that many folks would have a hard time understanding. Born to successful art- ist parents in the north of England, he found himself growing up in London before hitting double digits. There he attended an all-boys Catholic school where, instead of religion, he found music. Granted, he knew music from his father being the lead singer and bassist in one of the most successful bands of all time, but at that secondary school he began exper- imenting with tones, sounds, timbres, and textures. Sumner went to work as a roadie on his dad’s tour for spring break, where he dis- covered that living on a tour bus was the best thing ever, though remaining confused as to why everyone had bad headaches and bad at- titudes every morning. When the tour arrived in Boston, he was dropped off at Berklee for the summer, where he migrated to a highly liberal, innovatively structured boarding high school out in the woods. After graduation he found himself back in the UK to resume playing in his London band, an outfit called Santa’s Boyfriend that did well on the circuit and would eventually become Fiction Plane, a trio that would make a small handful of releases on a few record labels and embark on an 18-month tour with The Police before dispersing. He joined a regular jam at Molly Malone’s in Los Angeles and soon planned a night of David Bowie covers—then Bowie died, and the show was packed out. Within a short time, the band played a sold-out show at the Wiltern and hit the road. At the same time, Sumner tended to a series of studio sessions with a dozen original songs, among them the track “Hope” that was covered by the likes of Gaby Moreno, Fantastic Negrito, Patti Scialfa, Juliana Hatlfield, and Sting (or as Sumner knows him, dad) for a 2020 “get out the vote” campaign. The full album, Sunshine in the Night , is coming soon. Joe Sumner is making his Ravinia debut. BENNETT GORDON HALL 1:00 PM SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2022 NEXUS CHAMBER MUSIC YOONAH KIM, clarinet BRIAN HONG, violin and co-artistic director STEFAN JACKIW, violin # ROSALIND VENTRIS, viola ALEXANDER HERSH, cello and co-artistic director # DREW PETERSEN, piano # Dancing with the Shadow TOVAR-HENAO «Di.ver.ti.men.to» ° Brian Hong; Rosalind Ventris; Alexander Hersh ALBERGA Duo from Dancing with the Shadow * Yoonah Kim; Drew Petersen BARTÓK Contrasts Verbunkos Pihenő Sebes Yoonah Kim; Stefan Jackiw; Drew Petersen –Intermission– MOZART Clarinet Quintet Allegro Larghetto Menuetto Allegretto con Variazioni Yoonah Kim; Stefan Jackiw; Brian Hong; Rosalind Ventris; Alexander Hersh # Ravinia Steans Music Institute alum ° World premiere performance * First performance at Ravinia RAVINIA MAGAZINE • AUGUST 15 – AUGUST 28, 2022 44 I I