Ravinia 2024 Issue 6

the Machine covers. He also held a chair in the Merit School of Music’s Honors Jazz Band, which led to multiple shows at Gallery 37, where he performed with Latin jazz luminaries John San- tos, Wayne Wallace, and a young Victor Garcia. Earning a jazz performance degree at North- ern Illinois University, Ramos played gigs with pianist Dan Nimmer of Wynton Marsalis fame and saxophonist Greg Ward, with whom he still plays, as well as the NIU Jazz Ensemble direct- ed by Ronald Carter. With the Jazz Ensemble, he performed alongside greats like Carl Allen, Conrad Herwig, Byron Stripling, Dennis Mack- rel, and Red Holloway. Today Ramos remains an itinerant teacher and performer, touring to Taiwan, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Peru, Nicaragua, Russia, Austria, Canada, and across the US, adding collaborations with the likes of Jimmy Bosch, Dave Valentin, Edwin Sanchez, and Tim Robbins to his credits. RICHARD D. JOHNSON Born in Pittsburgh— home to jazz greats Art Blakey, Ray Brown, Jeff “Tain” Watts, and Ahmad Jamal—pianist Richard D. Johnson has strong territorial jazz roots. He was first introduced to the piano at age 5 by his father, a gospel pianist in the church. After graduating from the Berklee School of Music in just two years, Johnson entered the Boston Con- servatory, where he earned a master’s degree in jazz pedagogy. He then went on to earn an Artist Performance Diploma at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance at New En- gland. Johnson was invited to become a mem- ber of Wynton Marsalis’s Septet and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, which he played with from 2000 to 2005. The US State Department has named Johnson a United States Musical Ambassador. A Yamaha-endorsed piano artist, currently, Johnson is the founding member of AFARMusic, a jazz record label focusing on jazz and salsa musicians. He has been an assistant jazz piano faculty member at the Peabody Con- servatory of Johns Hopkins University in Balti- more since 2019. Additionally, Johnson serves as the piano instructor for the Ravinia Jazz Men- tor Program. Johnson is also an accomplished composer and arranger with over half a dozen musical releases as a leader. PAVILION 11:00 AM SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2024 THE JOFFREY BALLET ASHLEY WHEATER, MBE, The Mary B. Galvin Artistic Director GREG CAMERON, President and CEO ROBERT JOFFREY and GERALD ARPINO, founders featuring STUDIO COMPANY and BALLET TRAINEE members from the JOFFREY ACADEMY, Official School of The Joffrey Ballet SUZANNE LOPEZ, Abbott Academy Director Rita Finds Home Author & Narrator: Karla Estela Rivera Choreographer: Amy Hall Garner Illustrator, Scenic & Costume Designer: Elisa Chavarri Production Manager: Scott Nelson Costume Construction: The Joffrey Ballet Wardrobe Department Stager: Kara Zimmerman Special Props: Carley Brandeaux Music: La Barberia Del Sur (“Algo pa Nosotros”); Michael Olivera (“Ashé”); Emmett Cooke (“Always Moving Forward”); Nicholas Britell (“Don’t Look Up”); Paco De Lucía, John McLaughlin, and Al Di Meola (“Espiritu”); Chicuelo and Marco Mezquida (“Gloria Bendita”); Afrodisian Orchestra (“Gymnopédie 1”); Spark (“In Re Don Giovanni”); Symphonic Collective (“Progressions”); Tiny Music (“Spring I’m Calling You”) Premiere: July 9, 2022, Navy Pier Lake Stage at Polk Bros Park, Chicago IL There will be no intermission in this program. This performance is part of The Ruth Page Festival of Dance , an annual series of dance performances presented by Ravinia in collaboration with The Ruth Page Foundation and honoring one of Chicago’s most celebrated dancers of all time. SYNOPSIS The Joffrey’s new ballet for young audiences—a co-production with Miami City Ballet—follows Rita, a young artist, who paints and dreams of one day living in the big city despite the lush tropical island she lives in. When a hurricane thrusts Rita and her mother into a new life in an urban metropolis, she struggles to adapt to her new environment. Feeling lost, Rita embarks on a journey that helps her redefine what home means. With a little help from her new friends and her family, Rita’s spirits lift as she explores the beauty of her new city, igniting a new sense of home, and the realization that her talents never left her. RAVINIAMAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2 – SEPTEMBER 15, 2024 82