Ravinia 2023 Issue 1

Founded in 1988, the Ravinia Steans Music Institute (RSMI) is an international destination for young professional classical pianists and string players, classical singers, and jazz musicians devoted to uniquely honing and advancing their talents as collaborative artists. Every year, up to 65 musicians receive fellowships to focus on their professional training in one of RSMI’s intensive summer programs. Since opening its doors, RSMI has offered private coaching, master classes, and performance opportunities to over 1,600 exceptional musicians, many of whom have cultivated highly visible and successful careers in performance, leadership, and music education. SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Across the Ravinia Festival season, the fellows, faculty, and guest artists of RSMI are featured in concerts and master classes on their home stage in Bennett Gordon Hall—many with free admission—sharing the wealth of expression that resonates from their timely, emotive jazz and classical chamber music. Concerts highlighting the agile artistry of RSMI’s faculty also extend to Ravinia’s other stages. Visit Ravinia.org/SteansSchedule for a complete list of events with links to program details and ticket information. Tickets to all events may be ordered through Ravinia’s box office, including general admission to free concerts and master classes. JAZZ PROGRAM Tues., June 6, 7:30 p.m. | Bennett Gordon Hall Bridges Composition Competition Tues., June 13, 7:30 p.m. | Bennett Gordon Hall Jazz Grandstand Fri., Sept. 8, 7:30 p.m. | Martin Theatre Billy Childs / Rufus Reid / Steve Wilson Quintet with special guest Kurt Elling PIANO & STRINGS PROGRAM Thurs., June 22, 2:00 p.m. | Bennett Gordon Hall Master Class with cellist Gary Hoffman Wed., June 28, 2:00 p.m. | Bennett Gordon Hall Master Class with violinist Miriam Fried Thurs., June 29, 2:00 p.m. | Bennett Gordon Hall Fri., June 30, 2:00 p.m. | Bennett Gordon Hall Sat., July 1, 2:00 p.m. | Martin Theatre Ultimate Brahms and Haydn: Miriam Fried and faculty play two “final” works in honor of her 30th, final year as Piano & Strings Program Director Wed., July 5, 2:00 p.m. | Bennett Gordon Hall Master Class with pianist Robert Levin Thurs., July 6, 7:30 p.m. | Bennett Gordon Hall Fri., July 7, 2:00 p.m. | Bennett Gordon Hall Mon., July 10, 7:30 p.m. | Bennett Gordon Hall Thurs., July 13, 2:00 p.m. | Bennett Gordon Hall Fri., July 14, 2:00 p.m. | Bennett Gordon Hall Premiere: Untranslatable by James Lee III, commissioned in honor of Miriam Fried Sat., July 15, 2:00 p.m. | Bennett Gordon Hall Sat., July 15, 7:30 p.m. | Pavilion Miriam Fried plays the Brahms Violin Concerto with Marin Alsop and the CSO Mon., July 17, 7:30 p.m. | Bennett Gordon Hall Wed., July 19, 2:00 p.m. | Bennett Gordon Hall Thurs., July 20, 6:00 p.m. | Bennett Gordon Hall Expressive Friedom: A Tribute to Miriam Fried with the Ariel Quartet, violinist Ayano Ninomiya, cellist Karen Ouzounian & pianist Henry Kramer Fri., July 21, 2:00 p.m. | Bennett Gordon Hall Sat., July 22, 2:00 p.m. | Bennett Gordon Hall Celebrating Women in Chamber Music SINGERS PROGRAM Tues., Aug. 1, 2:00 p.m. | Bennett Gordon Hall Master Class with Chief Conductor Marin Alsop Mon., Aug. 7, 7:30 p.m. | Bennett Gordon Hall “Your Tired, Your Poor”: Migration in Song, curated by dramaturg Cori Ellison Thurs., Aug. 10, 2:00 p.m. | Bennett Gordon Hall Fri., Aug. 11, 2:00 p.m. | Bennett Gordon Hall Master Class with soprano Ailyn Pérez Sat., Aug. 12, 2:00 p.m. | Bennett Gordon Hall The Stories and Music of Lieder and Mélodie with song scholar Graham Johnson Sun., Aug. 13, 2:00 p.m. | Bennett Gordon Hall Tues., Aug. 15, 7:30 p.m. | Martin Theatre Soprano Ailyn Pérez and pianist Kevin Murphy Thurs., Aug. 17, 2:00 p.m. | Bennett Gordon Hall Sat., Aug. 19, 2:00 p.m. | Bennett Gordon Hall Songbook Standards, curated by Kurt Elling Sun., Aug. 20, 5:00 p.m. | Pavilion Tchaikovsky Spectacular featuring Kevin Murphy playing the First Piano Concerto and Singers fellows performing arias from Eugene Onegin with George Stelluto and the CSO Visit YouTube.com/Ravinia to watch free events live wherever you are, as well as to watch archived recordings of these performances and select programs from previous seasons. Celebrating Miriam Fried in Her 30th and Final Season as Piano & Strings Program Director Encapsulating the impact and growth Miriam Fried has spurred at Ravinia Steans Music Institute is practically highlighting RSMI’s entire history. She first arrived as a guest faculty member in 1991, three years after the Piano & Strings program was founded; three years later, she was leading the whole program: “It’s one thing to waltz in here and teach and leave, but it’s quite another to be responsible for so much of what happens here.” A lifelong devotee of chamber music, Fried laid the path for collaborative music-making to be the hallmark of RSMI. Thirty years later, that responsibility has had its perks. The familial summer retreat atmosphere Fried has brought to RSMI—cutting out the “competitive, negative aspect” of some elite music schools—is buoyed by the fellows now mostly being housed in Ravinia-owned residences adjacent to the grounds. (That has also led to bonus family time with one of her sons, now mayor of nearby Evanston.) In her 20th year, Fried became the first recipient of the Edward Gordon Award, named for the late Ravinia executive who established RSMI, in recognition of service to music education. Fried began a spring touring program with Piano & Strings alumni in 1998, first across Illinois but quickly expanding to venues across the US—even internationally with an exchange of chamber music with Cuba in 2014 and ’15. Most recently, Fried led the tour in performances at Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center. Roughly half of RSMI’s alumni network has Fried at its center. But with her continuing mentorship at the New England Conservatory, we know that number will continue to grow: “I love teaching. The most significant way you can really impart the fundamentals of the profession is through teaching.” Thank you, Miriam Fried, for solidifying the fundamentals of Ravinia Steans Music Institute for generations to come. RAVINIA MAGAZINE • JUNE 6 – JULY 2, 2023 80 RAV INI A S T EANS MUS I C INS T I TUT E