Ravinia 2026 Issue 2

CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA KLAUS MÄKELÄ, Zell Music Director Designate • RICCARDOMUTI, Music Director Emeritus for Life Founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is consistently hailed as one of the world’s great orchestras. In April 2024, Klaus Mäkelä was named the orchestra’s 11th music director, and he will begin an initial five-year tenure as Zell Music Director with the 2027–28 season. Riccardo Muti, the orchestra’s distinguished 10th music director from 2010 until 2023, became Music Director Emeritus for Life at the beginning of the 2023–24 season. Pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet is CSO Artist-in-Residence for the 2026–27 season. The CSO commands a vast repertoire, from baroque through contemporary music. Its renowned musicians perform more than 150 concerts annually in Orchestra Hall at Symphony Center in downtown Chicago. The ensemble regularly tours nationally and, since 1892, has made 65 international tours, performing in 30 countries on five continents. The orchestra first performed at Ravinia Park in 1905, and in July 1936 the CSO helped to inaugurate the first season of the Ravinia Festival. It has been in residence nearly every summer since. Patrons around the globe enjoy weekly radio broadcasts of CSO concerts and recordings via the WFMT Radio Network and online at cso.org/radio. Since 1916, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus have amassed an extensive discography that has earned 65 Grammy Awards from the Recording Academy. The CSO is part of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association (CSOA), which also includes the Chicago Symphony Chorus, CivicOrchestra of Chicago, SymphonyCenter Presents, and the Negaunee Music Institute. The Chicago Symphony Chorus, founded by Margaret Hillis in 1957, is the nation’s largest professional chorus. Founded by second music director Frederick Stock during the 1919–20 season, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago is a training ensemble for emerging professionals with Ken-David Masur serving as its principal conductor. Symphony Center Presents features guest artists and ensembles across an expansive array of genres, including classical, jazz, world, and contemporary. The Negaunee Music Institute is the education and community wing of the CSO with an annual reach that exceeds 200,000 each season through its programming. VIOLINS Robert Chen Concertmaster The Louis C. Sudler Chair, endowed by an anonymous benefactor Stephanie Jeong § Associate Concertmaster The Cathy & Bill Osborn Chair David Taylor Assistant Concertmaster * The Ling Z. & Michael C. Markovitz Chair Yuan-Qing Yu § Assistant Concertmaster * So Young Bae Cornelius Chiu # Gina DiBello Kozue Funakoshi Russell Hershow Qing Hou # Youngji Kim Gabriela Lara Matous Michal Simon Michal Sando Shia Susan Synnestvedt Rong-Yan Tang Baird Dodge Principal Danny Yehun Jin Assistant Principal Lei Hou # Ni Mei Hermine Gagné Rachel Goldstein Mihaela Ionescu Jasmine Mengjia Lin Wendy Koons Meir Ronald Satkiewicz ‡ Florence Schwartz VIOLAS Teng Li Principal The Paul Hindemith Principal Viola Chair Catherine Brubaker Youming Chen Sunghee Choi Paolo Dara Wei-Ting Kuo # Danny Lai Weijing Michal Diane Mues Lawrence Neuman Jikun Qin Max Raimi CELLOS John Sharp Principal The Eloise W. Martin Chair Kenneth Olsen # Assistant Principal The Adele Gidwitz Chair Karen Basrak The Joseph A. & Cecile Renaud Gorno Chair Richard Hirschl Olivia Jakyoung Huh Daniel Katz Katinka Kleijn Brant Taylor The Ann Blickensderfer & Roger Blickensderfer Chair BASSES Alexander Hanna Principal The David & Mary Winton Green Principal Bass Chair Alexander Horton Assistant Principal Dan Carson Ian Hallas Robert Kassinger Mark Kraemer Stephen Lester Bradley Opland § Andrew Sommer FLUTES Emma Gerstein Jennifer Gunn PICCOLO Jennifer Gunn The Dora & John Aalbregtse Piccolo Chair OBOES William Welter Principal Lora Schaefer Assistant Principal The Gilchrist Foundation, Jocelyn Gilchrist Chair Scott Hostetler ENGLISHHORN Scott Hostetler CLARINETS Stephen Williamson Principal John Bruce Yeh Assistant Principal The Governing Members Chair Gregory Smith E-FLATCLARINET John Bruce Yeh BASSOONS Keith Buncke Principal William Buchman Assistant Principal Miles Maner HORNS Mark Almond Principal James Smelser David Griffin Oto Carrillo Susanna Gaunt Daniel Gingrich ‡ TRUMPETS Esteban Batallán Principal The Adolph Herseth Principal Trumpet Chair, endowed by an anonymous benefactor John Hagstrom The Bleck Family Chair Tage Larsen TROMBONES Timothy Higgins Principal The Lisa & Paul Wiggin Principal Trombone Chair Michael Mulcahy Charles Vernon BASSTROMBONE Charles Vernon TUBA Gene Pokorny Principal The Arnold Jacobs Principal Tuba Chair, endowed by Christine Querfeld TIMPANI David Herbert Principal The Clinton Family Fund Chair Vadim Karpinos Assistant Principal PERCUSSION Cynthia Yeh Principal Chair sponsored by an anonymous benefactor Patricia Dash Vadim Karpinos LIBRARIANS Justin Vibbard Principal Carole Keller Mark Swanson CSOFELLOWS Ariel Seunghyun Lee, violin Jesús Linárez, violin The Michael & Kathleen Elliott Fellow ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL John Deverman Director Anne MacQuarrie Manager, CSO Auditions & Orchestra Personnel STAGETECHNICIANS Christopher Lewis Stage Manager Blair Carlson Paul Christopher Chris Grannen Ryan Hartge Peter Landry Joshua Mondie * Assistant concertmasters are listed by seniority. ‡ On sabbatical § On leave # Ravinia Steans Institute alum The CSO’s music director position is endowed in perpetuity by a generous gift from Zell Family Foundation. The Louise H. Benton Wagner and Erika & Dietrich M. Gross Principal Flute chairs are currently unoccupied. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra string sections utilize revolving seating. Players behind the first desk (first two desks in the violins) change seats systematically every two weeks and are listed alphabetically. Section percussionists also are listed alphabetically. 90th Residency at Ravinia RAVINIA.ORG • RAVINIAMAGAZINE 103