Ravinia 2022, Issue 6

PASHA RIGER Reeding Rainbow GRACE KELLY BRINGS PRISMATIC PLAYING TO J AZZ By DonalD lieBenson SAXOPHONE PRODIGY Grace Kelly remembers well the first time she per- formed in front of an audience. It was at St. Paul’s Church in her native Brook- line, MA. The concert marked the release of her first album. “I was so nervous,” she says in a phone interview. “I thought it would be a show for a few friends and family, but the day of the concert, our local newspaper put an article about it on the front page—250 people showed up. I had a lot of things planned for that show, including a song where I tap-danced and played the saxophone at the same time. After my nerves calmed down, I had this light-bulb moment where I thought, ‘This is amazing. I’m playing music and people are enjoying it. Is this something I could actually do with my life?’ ” She was 12. Kelly, a 2007 alumna of Ravinia Steans Music Institute, has since far exceed- ed the childhood artistic promise she displayed even before she took up the saxophone, when her teacher, jazz pianist Ken Berman, heard her sing (when she was in kindergarten!) and became her champion. “He is a big reason why I am an artist and musician,” Kelly says. She took ballet classes at age 6. She also took acting and theater classes. She wrote her first song at age 7. “I’m very grateful to my parents for signing me up for these activities at such a young age,” she says. “I really fell in love with it, and because I was so young, the stage became this friendly place I look forward to being. I never suffered from stage fright.” RAVINIA MAGAZINE • AUGUST 29 – SEPTEMBER 18, 2022 10