Ravinia 2025 Issue 3

PAVILION 7:30 PM SATURDAY, JULY 12, 2025 CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA MARIN ALSOP, conductor JEAN-YVES THIBAUDET, piano MONTGOMERY Strum * GERSHWIN Concerto in F Allegro—Adagio Andante con moto Allegro agitato Jean-Yves Thibaudet –Intermission– TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6 in B minor, op. 74 (“Pathétique”) Adagio—Allegro non troppo Allegro con grazia Allegro molto vivace Finale: Adagio lamentoso * First performance at Ravinia Ravinia expresses its appreciation for the generous support of Premier Sponsor The Negaunee Foundation . JESSIE MONTGOMERY (b. 1981) Strum Scored for string orchestra Growing up on the Lower East Side of Manhat- tan—the child of a jazz musician/filmmaker fa- ther and theater artist/storyteller mother—Jes- sie Montgomery absorbed the experimentation, community engagement, diversity, and activism of artists residing in the surrounding neighbor- hood. She began taking violin lessons at age 4 through the Third Street Music School Settle- ment, the longest continuously running com- munity music school in the country, and now serves on its Board of Directors. Montgomery went on to study violin at The Juilliard School and composition at New York University and Princeton University, where she is completing a doctoral degree. As a violinist, Montgomery has been a member of the Providence String Quartet, PUBLIQuar- tet, and Catalyst Quartet, and has performed with the Silkroad Ensemble and Sphinx Virtuo- si. She has sustained a relationship with the Sphinx Organization, a nonprofit dedicated to “transforming lives through the power of diver- sity in the arts,” since 1999 as a two-time laureate of the annual Sphinx Competition, composer-in-residence with the Sphinx Virtuo- si, and recipient of the Sphinx Medal of Excel- lence. Her innovative work as a composer has garnered increasing attention in recent years. Montgomery has received the Leonard Bern- stein Award from the ASCAP Foundation and grants from Chamber Music America, Ameri- can Composers Orchestra, the Joyce Founda- tion, and the Sorel Organization. Montgomery served three years as Mead Composer-in-Resi- dence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (2021–24), a celebrated tenure that witnessed world premieres of three compositions, nine cu- rated CSO MusicNOW concerts, and the estab- lishment of the Young Composers Initiative for high-school creatives. The past few years have seen a flurry of awards, commissions, premieres, and appointments. Montgomery joined with six other Black clas- sical composers to form the Blacknificent 7 in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. A col- lective that supports the music of Black com- posers through concerts, scholarship, and mentorship, the Blacknificent 7 made its pub- lic debut December 3, 2023, on a CSO Music- NOW concert. Meanwhile, Musical America named Montgomery its 2023 Composer of the Year. Her composition Rounds for solo piano and string orchestra won the 2024 Grammy for Best Contemporary Classical Composition. The Juilliard School appointed Montgomery one of its 2024/25 Arnhold Creative Associates. Third Coast Percussion featured the multitalented musician as composer (two works, including the newly commissioned percussion piece Lady Justice ) and violinist (soloist in Lou Harrison’s Concerto for Violin with Percussion Orchestra ) on its 2024/25 national tour. Montgomery joined the composition and music technology faculty at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music in January 2025. On March 31, NPR’s Performance Today named her 2025 Classical Woman of the Year. Montgomery accepted the 2025 Sorel Medallion Award, which recognizes the achievements of women in mu- sic, from the National Arts Club on April 8. The Jessie Montgomery RAVINIA.ORG  • RAVINIAMAGAZINE 65 JIYANGCHEN