Ravinia 2025 Issue 1

BENNETT GORDON HALL 7:30 PM TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 2025 STEANS INSTITUTE SEVENTH ANNUAL BRIDGES COMPOSITION COMPETITION CLAIRE BOURG, violin # MIHO SAEGUSA, violin # ROBERT SWITALA, viola ALEXANDER HERSH, cello # GREG WARD, saxophone # JAMES DAVIS, trumpet WALTER GORRA, piano # DAN CHMIELINSKI, bass # KENNETH SALTERS, drums # 2025 Competition Winners CHANDLER The Inland Sea STURINO A Boundless Design UM Wheel of Chronicles Please see tonight’s insert for complete program information. There will be no intermission in this program. # Steans Institute alum Established in 2018, in honor of the Steans 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 the jazz and classical focuses at Steans 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 Steans Jazz Program’s Artistic Directors: pianist Billy Childs, bassist John Clayton, and saxophonist Steve Wilson, who also adjudicate the competition. SAM CHANDLER A pianist, composer, and educator from Duluth, MN, Sam Chandler be- gan classical piano les- sons at age 5 and jazz pi- ano while in high school. He participated in the Minnesota Music Educa- tors Association All-State Jazz Ensemble, Inter- lochen’s Jazz and Improvisation Camp, and Shell Lake’s Jazz Camp in addition to his high school’s Jazz band, which won the Eau Clair Jazz Festi- val’s Big Band Class AA Competition in 2019. A Steans Jazz Program alum and Berklee College of Music graduate, Chandler is currently pursu- ing a master’s degree with an emphasis on jazz writing at the Eastman School of Music, where he holds multiple teaching assistant positions. He is also the Jazz Teaching Fellow at Interlo- chen and is a board member of the JAMConcert Series, a nonprofit that highlights the vibrant jazz community in the Duluth-Superior area. JOHN STURINO John Sturino is a Juil- liard-trained percus- sionist, composer, and educator based in New York City. He is the band- leader of Blow Globe, a 10-piece ensemble that melds the sonorities of instrumental jazz and classical with the ethos of contemporary electronic and songwriter mu- sic. Their eponymous debut albus was released in August 2024. Sturino maintains an active schedule as a music educator, having led master classes throughout the United States, Australia, Columbia, Cayman Islands, and China. Sturino is a regular faculty member of the Stanford Jazz Workshop and maintains a private lesson studio in-person and virtually. TERESA UM Teresa (Naphatraphee) Um is a jazz composer, arranger, and guitarist from Bangkok, Thailand. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Jazz Composition and Arranging at the University of North Texas under the mentorship of Richard DeRosa. Originally recognized as a dedicated jazz guitarist, she won first place in the solo di- vision at the Thailand International Jazz Con- ference in 2023. Um continues to build on her background as she develops her unique voice as a composer and arranger. RAVINIA.ORG  • RAVINIAMAGAZINE 69