Ravinia 2024 Issue 1

BENNETT GORDON HALL 7:30 PM TUESDAY, JUNE 11, 2024 RAVINIA STEANS MUSIC INSTITUTE SIXTH ANNUAL BRIDGES COMPOSITION COMPETITION CLAIRE BOURG, violin # RANNVEIG MARTA SARC, violin # ROBERT SWITALA, viola ALEXANDER HERSH, cello # GREG WARD, woodwinds # GLENN ZALESKI, piano # DAN CHMIELINSKI, bass # KENNETH SALTERS, drums # CHILDS String Quartet No. 2 (“Awakening”) Wake Up Call The White Room Song of Healing Claire Bourg, Rannveig Marta Sarc, Robert Switala, Alexander Hersh CHMIELINSKI Congruence ZALESKI The Question Greg Ward, Glenn Zaleski, Dan Chmielinski, Kenneth Salters 2024 Competition Winners LASANSKY Boxes in the Attic MOUNTARIO 8UY1N9 PAN Mirror, Floating on the Water The order of performance will be announced from the stage. There will be no intermission in this program. # Ravinia Steans Music Institute alum Established in 2018, in honor of Ravinia Steans Music Institute’s 30th anniversary, the Bridges Composition Competition calls on young composers from around the globe to add their creative perspectives to the “bridge” between RSMI’s jazz and classical focuses with new works written for string quartet and jazz rhythm section. Up to three winners are selected annually to receive the David Baker Prize—an award of $2,500 and a week to further develop their music with the musicians featured on this concert and the guidance of the RSMI Program for Jazz directors: pianist and composer Billy Childs, bassist and composer Rufus Reid, and saxophonist Steve Wilson, who also adjudicate the competition. EMILIANO LASANSKY Boxes in the Attic Boxes in the Attic was inspired by the experience of clearing out my father’s attic. To open a box full of items that represent a part of a person’s life created a deep feeling of nostalgia. Other boxes provide a window into a more distant time, before you knew them, revealing a bigger picture. The various sections of this piece rep- resent the many boxes one’s entire life could be put into. Born and raised in Iowa City, IA, and currently residing in Los Angeles, CA, Emiliano Lasansky currently maintains a busy schedule as a per- former across the West Coast and beyond. Recent highlights include a 2023 ASCAP Foundation composition award as well as a master’s degree from the Herbie Han- cock Institute of Jazz Performance at UCLA (formerly the Thelonious Monk Institute). La- sansky grew up in a family environment deep- ly entrenched in the world of visual arts. His grandfather Mauricio Lasansky was a promi- nent Argentine American printmaker, visual artist, and educator. His childhood exposure to the arts continues to inspire and drive his vision for music. After he finished his undergradu- ate studies at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, Lasansky relocated to the New York City area to pursue a performance career. In 2019 he was awarded third prize in the Scott LaFaro Bass Competition at the International Society of Bassists conference. The following year, he was selected by Herbie Hancock, Am- brose Akinmusire, and Herb Alpert to join the 13th class of the Herbie Hancock Institute, com- pleting the program in 2023. This year Lasansky recorded his debut album as a bandleader with an expected release in early 2024. RAVINIA.ORG  • RAVINIAMAGAZINE 61