Ravinia Steans Music Institute 2019

6 RAVINIA’S STEANS MUSIC INSTITUTE Over the past year, RSMI has said goodbye to some outstanding figures from its formation and growth. The impact they’ve left on the music world, and especially the legacy of RSMI, is immeasurable, and the loss of their presence will be deeply felt for years to come. Harrison I. Steans was born on July 3, 1935, in Chicago and passed away peacefully with his family around him on February 26, 2019. Harrison and Lois Steans, along with Dorothy and Richard Harza, and Arlene and Marshall Bennett, truly made Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute possible. In 1984, approval was granted for Ravinia to construct a summer music conservatory building on Ravinia’s grounds. The building, which included practice rooms, teaching studios, recording facilities, a music library, and office space, as well as an acoustically perfect concert hall, was able to be completed thanks to a matching grant offered by Harrison Steans towards the end of the capital campaign conducted to finance the building. In recognition, Harrison was given the opportunity to bestow his own family name on the institute, which he did in honor of his wife, Lois. Harrison spent many wonderful summers at Ravinia, and was especially proud of the work being done at the Steans Music Institute. Year after year, he could be found at Ravinia concerts and master classes and proudly welcoming each new class of fellows at the annual welcome dinners. His family hosted a much beloved pool party each summer at their home, which brought together RSMI Committee members, Ravinia trustees and staff, and RSMI fellows for a day of fun and relaxation in the midst of a hectic summer schedule. Harrison was part of the Ravinia family for many decades, serving on the RSMI Committee, and took particular pride in being the only male member of the Ravinia Women’s Board. In honor of the many gifts Harrison bestowed upon Ravinia, the 2019 Summer is dedicated to his memory. He will be remembered by all who knew him not just for his many significant accomplishments and generous spirit, but his personal integrity, sense of social justice, and his warmth and playful sense of humor. He was never without a smile or an inspiring anecdote, and the walls of Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute will forever hold his spirit. RSMI IN MEMORIAM Left to right: Lois and Harrison Steans sign a card for RSMI’s 25th anniversary season with RSMI Committee chairwoman Betsey Pinkert and former RSMI director Diane Dorn. Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute mourns the loss of Marshall Bennett , who passed away at age 97 on Saturday, October 13, 2018. The establishment Bennett Gordon Hall, Ravinia’s acoustically brilliant hall located inside the John D. Harza building, and home to all Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute concerts, was made possible by a generous gift from Arlene and Marshall Bennett, given for the founding of RSMI in 1988. The Ravinia family and RSMI is forever grateful to the Bennett family’s generosity in establishing a world-class concert hall suited perfectly for intimate concert experiences. When Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute was founded and Bennett Hall was named, Marshall and his wife, Arlene, requested that the name of the Hall be expanded to Bennett Gordon Hall, in honor of Ed Gordon and his vision for the establishment of a training music institute on Ravinia’s grounds. Marshall’s legacy lives on every time an RSMI musician plays in beautiful Bennett Gordon Hall. RSMI Says Goodbye to Two of Our Dear Founding Fathers Marshall Bennett with his wife, Arlene, reviewing the building plans for Bennett Gordon Hall.