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From The Lawn 2019 All Posts Park News Artists History Classical Opinion Menu From The Lawn 2019 All Posts Park News Artists History Classical Opinion All's Welz That Ends Well—Part 1 September 11, 2020 in The Park In pre-pandemic early March, Welz Kauffman sat down for a wide-ranging interview looking back at his 20 years as President and CEO of Ravinia Festival. He steps down this month, succeeded by Jeffrey P. Haydon. Although Kauffman’s 20th season was not to be, due to COVID-19 forcing its cancellation in May, here is that interview as it happened six months ago, a companion to the episode of RaviniaTV dedicated to celebrating his tenure. Read More Tags: welz kauffman , ceo , 2020 All's Welz that Ends Well—Part 2 September 11, 2020 in The Park You’ve cultivated the idea that the “Ravinia experience” is not just coming because Aretha Franklin or the Chicago Symphony is here, but because of the amenities that are also here. That’s exactly right. And for a Ravinia Family concerned about music audience, the fear with the development of Millennium Park was that Grant Park and its house orchestra would become so popular that it would steal people away from the CSO at Ravinia. And so that one assumption got me to thinking, We’ve got to do something here … Read More Tags: Welz Kauffman , ceo , 2020 All's Welz That Ends Well—Part 3 September 11, 2020 in The Park In addition to the commissions, you initiated several new programmatic series, various festivals and spectaculars, as well as the five-year music theater Sondheim Project. It was hard to go from concert production for the CSO—which is stands and chairs and a podium, sometimes a piano, maybe choral risers—to a really fully staged Sweeney Todd with costumes, lighting, staging, things like that. I remember, for many members of the Ravinia Family, it was their first time seeing a Sondheim show … Read More Tags: Welz Kauffman , ceo , 2020 All's Welz That Ends Well—Part 4 September 11, 2020 in The Park Quite a journey. One that brings us to Marin Alsop. Marin and I got to know each other when she was running the Long Island Philharmonic in the ’80s, and our paths have crossed a lot ever since. I was always trying to engage her for the various places I worked, and what finally made that happen, in what turned out to be her New York Philharmonic debut, was the Completely Copland Festival in 1999. And a little under a year later when I arrived at Ravinia, we started working to bring her in on a regular basis. And then I was able to bring her back for our Bernstein celebration … Read More Tags: Welz Kauffman , CEO , 2020 All's Welz That Ends Well—Part 5 September 11, 2020 in The Park What is the post-Ravinia future for Welz Kauffman? Will you be staying in the area? Do you see yourself being a regular here? My husband Jon is doing some consulting work in Detroit; that might turn into a full-time position. Maybe we’ll move there. We also both have very strong ties to Tucson. But I do believe that it will be important for me—and for my successor—to have me gone. I’ll always be available on the phone if they find something funky in the file drawer. But one of the great things that Ravinia board chairs do is they get out of Dodge when they finish their three-year term. It’s giving space to their successor. I’m thinking that might be a good model … Read More Tags: Welz Kauffman , ceo , 2020 WFMT, Ravinia Announce "New From the Ravinia Festival" Broadcast Series August 05, 2020 in Promos / Events , Classical Ravinia Festival is pleased to announce a new broadcast series in partnership with WFMT. The eight-program, limited-run series “ New From the Ravinia Festival ,” brings listeners new performances recorded at Ravinia — without an audience — this summer. Read More Tags: WFMT , classical , 2020 Time and Place: After 78 Years Traveling as Many Piano Keys (and More), Ramsey Lewis Issues His Own Stay-at-Home Order July 06, 2020 in The Park , The Artists “Life is great,” said Ramsey Lewis on an April afternoon, socially distanced in his Streeterville home in Chicago. Our conversation was originally to be of the face-to-face variety, but with faces having become a focal point of health awareness, we instead took to the phone. At 85, Lewis is now enjoying the freedom of retirement. He stepped away from touring nearly two years ago, leaving behind the roars of recognition he would hear when playing the first bars of “Hang On Sloopy.” No more audiences, no more applause. Why, I wondered. Read More Tags: Ramsey Lewis , Ravinia Jazz , downbeat Ravinia Zoom Backgrounds For Your Next Meeting May 11, 2020 in The Park These days people who are hunkered down at home are taking part in countless video conferences to connect with coworkers, classmates, friends, and family. Now, whether you’re attending a workout class, brainstorming with coworkers, or celebrating a friend’s birthday, you can use Ravinia Festival Zoom backgrounds to liven up your screen! Read More Tags: zoom , backgrounds , zoom backgrounds Capturing the 'Sound of Ravinia' April 29, 2020 Since 1904, thousands upon thousands of artists from all over the world and across several musical genres have taken Ravinia’s stage, but in order to experience most of these amazing performances, “you just had to be there.” So when we have occasion to set that maxim aside, it’s a rare treat. This got us thinking about the few times we’ve been able to share recordings of Ravinia performances to a wider audience, from more than half a century ago to our upcoming telecast of 2019’s Mass performance. Read More Tags: tv , telecast , ravinia on tv , the association Tiny Desk Concerts Offer a Showcase of 2020 Ravinia Artists April 01, 2020 in The Artists Like many others, we here at Ravinia are big fans of NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts video series, and have included some names that are also set to be featured in our 2020 summer concert season. Read More Tags: Tiny Desk , Npr , 2020 Artists , 2020 Season Get Ready To Buy Your 2020 Ravinia Tickets March 10, 2020 in The Park Ravinia will be announcing its 2020 season on March 12, with public ticket sales opening across April 28 and 29. Keep reading to get more information about purchasing your 2020 Ravinia tickets. Read More Tags: Announce , 2020 Season New Botero Documentary Shines Light on Ravinia's "Standing Woman" March 07, 2020 in Opinion , The Park There is a Ravinia connection to Botero, a documentary currently playing at the Wilmette Theatre. It is a multi-nominated profile of Colombian artist Fernando Botero. If his name doesn’t sound familiar, one of the octogenarian’s impressive, imaginative, and imposing sculptures most likely is to anyone who has picnicked on Ravinia Festival’s lawn. The Festival grounds’ Harriet and Harry Bernbaum Sculpture Walk includes Botero’s inflated form of the “Standing Woman.” Read More Tags: sculpture , Botero , Documentary Mames Babegenush Makes Klezmer Music a Labor (Day) of Love August 28, 2019 in The Artists The playfulness of the phrase “klezmer attack” gives an excellent sense of the musicians who conceived it: the Copenhagen-based sextet Mames Babegenush. A tight-knit group, the six men built on bonds that reach back to their youth. With 15 years of concerts and five studio albums under their collective belt, Mames has developed passionate fans on several continents, thanks to their unique, joyful take on klezmer, the Eastern European Jewish folk-music tradition. Read More Tags: Mames Babegenush Concerto Queen: Anne Akiko Meyers is in full control August 14, 2019 in The Artists Like all the world’s elite violin soloists, Anne Akiko Meyers brings supercharged skills and innate musicality to the instrument. What sets the San Diego native apart is her uncommon curiosity and openness and a kind of “Aw, shucks” groundedness. Her popular appeal led her to become Billboard ’s top-selling traditional classical instrumental soloist in 2014, and it helps explain why many of her 37 albums have debuted at...