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“ e Happiest Place on Earth,” but
if you take into account all that’s been written for and played
in its animated and live-action movies and several theme
parks, it’s certainly in the running to also be the most musical.
Recognizing Disney’s role in getting children engaged with and
active in music—similar to Ravinia’s with its Reach*Teach*Play
programs in Chicago and Lake County public schools and on
its own grounds—in the early
s, then-CEO Michael Eisner
created the Disney Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra,
which featured about instrumentalists ages – , auditioned
from over ,
applicants from all over the United States
each year through the end of the decade. In
, the ensemble
congregated at nearby Lake Forest College for a -day music
camp before taking Ravinia’s Pavilion stage on July for a
concert featuring music from the lms
Raiders of the Lost
Ark
,
Sleeping Beauty
,
Mulan
(then brand-new),
Apollo
,
e
Preacher’s Wife
,
e Lion King
(pictured below), and
e Bridge
on the River Kwai
, accompanied by lm clips and led in part
by Chicago Symphony Orchestra assistant conductor William
Eddins. e program also featured a performance of “Take
Me Out to the Ballgame” with each player donning a Cubs hat
in salute to Harry Caray (pictured at right). e concert was
recorded and later broadcast on e Disney Channel, earning
an Emmy nomination.
July ,
20 YEARS AGO
ON THIS DATE
JUNE 18 – JULY 8, 2018 | RAVINIA MAGAZINE
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