Ravinia 2023 Issue 2

AMANDA LOPEZ (MARKS) CAROUSEL STAGE 7:30 PM THURSDAY, JULY 13, 2023 MIKO MARKS † † Ravinia debut MIKO MARKS With her latest music, Miko Marks tells the story of her resurgence, deftly blending coun- try, blues, southern rock, and even gospel to create a sound and experience that brings ev- ery one of her audiences to its feet. This new sound, along with her warm and soulful spir- it, catapulted her into a community of change with her doing more than breaking ground. It’s a serendipitous realization that Marks was meant to be here, at this time, in this mo- ment, for good. After releasing her critically acclaimed album Our Country via Redtone Records in March 2021, Marks dove headfirst into an industry that previously never fully embraced her. She closed out 2021 with her EP Race Records , which shined a light on the arbitrary divisions forced upon artists and audi- ences in the early days of music marketing in the 1940s. In January 2022, Marks was named to CMT’s Next Women of Country, and by April she stood alongside five other artists and managers chosen to participate in the inaugural Equal Access Development Program, a program designed by mtheory and CMT to foster and support marginalized communities underrepresented in the genre of country music. Nearly one year after the release of Our Country , Marks released “Feel Like Going Home,” the first single and namesake of her latest full album, released last fall. The lyrics sing, “Rest for the wanderer who never more shall roam.” For Marks, the time to reclaim her roots that were planted long ago is now; a powerful reconnection that can be felt in every note. No longer a wanderer, Marks has returned to her true self after years of trying to figure out her place in the world and in her first true love: music. Feel Like Going Home is an amalgamation of where Marks has been and where she is going; what she has learned and what she wants to teach. It’s an innermost look at the ebb and flow of her past, present, and future. It’s the stories she wants to tell but hasn’t been able to speak into existence ever before, messages of healing, of restoration, and distinctly individual. Miko Marks is making her Ravinia debut. BENNETT GORDON HALL 2:00 PM FRIDAY, JULY 14, 2023 RAVINIA STEANS MUSIC INSTITUTE PROGRAM FOR PIANO & STRINGS PROGRAM TO INCLUDE: LEE Untranslatable (String Quartet No. 3) ° Commissioned in recognition of Miriam Fried’s 30th and final season as RSMI Piano & Strings Program Director Nhujuanya Iktsuarpok Chesed Saudade Elation See tonight’s insert for complete program information. ° World premiere performance JAMES LEE III (b.1975) Untranslatable (String Quartet No. 3) James Lee III grew up in Benton Harbor, MI, attended Andrews Academy, and subse- quently enrolled at Andrews University—the flagship institution of the Seventh-Day Ad- ventist Church, Lee’s spiritual home—for two years before transferring to the University of Michigan as an undergraduate piano perfor- mance major. His musical interests gravitat- ed toward composition, and he remained in Ann Arbor for both master’s and doctoral de- grees, working under the guidance of Michael Daugherty, William Bolcom, Bright Sheng, and other distinguished faculty. His class- mates included Aaron and Afa Dworkin, who later founded the Sphinx Organization with a mission to develop and support diversity and inclusion in classical music, which has extended to commissions and performances of Lee’s music. Lee joined the music faculty of Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD, immediate- ly following completion of his doctorate in 2005; he currently serves as Associate Pro- fessor of Music. In addition, he has been vis- iting composition faculty at the Aspen Mu- sic Festival and School (2022) and National Orchestra Institute (2022) as well as compos- er-in-residence for the Ritz Chamber Players (2010, 2012) and Detroit Symphony Orches- tra (2008), among others. Lee received the Wladimir and Rhoda Lakond Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (2010) and a Fulbright Scholar Grant to the State University of Campinas in São Paulo, Brazil (2014). James Lee III RAVINIA MAGAZINE • JULY 3 – JULY 16, 2023 32