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Marin Alsop has

curated the first of

Ravinia’s multiyear

centenary celebration

of her mentor, the

larger-than-life

composer, conductor,

and pianist Leonard

Bernstein.

Leonard Bernstein would have gotten a kick out of Ravinia’s

2018 season.

That’s not just because we’re celebrating the centenary of

this towering composer/conductor who’s remembered as

“America’s music teacher,” but it’s also because his generous

spirit and passionate approach to all aspects of life—from

parenting to social activism—spark and glow in the 10 events

on our three stages from June 1 through September 16.

Conductor Marin Alsop, Bernstein’s final protégé and

the only woman he mentored, presides over the multiyear

Bernstein celebration as Ravinia’s first musical curator. Her

carefully crafted programming features Bernstein’s own

symphonic and Broadway scores, his favorite party pieces

as pianist and conductor, and the works of composers he

considered mentors and friends. The celebration features a first

for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Ravinia, hundreds

of artists on stage for the music theater work

Mass

, originally

commissioned to open the Kennedy Center.

Bernstein’s adventurous desire for

discovery is alive and well at Ravinia, which

presents 55 premieres and welcomes a diverse

range of 80 artists in their festival debuts this

summer, including Mary J. Blige, Makoto Ozone, Jason

Mraz,  Cent, David Foster, Jill Scott, Culture Club,

Whoopi Goldberg, Evanescence, Lindsey Stirling, Ozomatli,

Well-Strung, Roger Daltrey,

Trombone Shorty, and the much

sought-after conductor Gustavo

Dudamel, who has a few

Bernstein stories of his own—

including the time he broke

the maestro’s baton during

his New York Philharmonic

debut. One of Bernstein’s own

discoveries, folk legend Janis Ian,

will give an intimate performance

in the Martin Theatre to mark

a milestone of her own, her

50th anniversary as a

performing artist.

Certainly, Bernstein would have been at home in Ravinia’s

on-campus, summer conservatory. This summer marks the

30th anniversary of Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute. Each

summer RSMI awards fellowships to about 60 talented

professional musicians from around the world to hone their

performance skills with Ravinia artists. This year’s participants

will perform throughout the summer (including works by

Bernstein), and, befitting its anniversary, 30 alumni and faculty

of the program return to the festival, including pianists Yuja

Wang, Inon Barnatan, and Gilbert Kalish,

and singers Michelle DeYoung, Paul

Appleby, and Nadine Sierra.

Celebrating her 25th year

as director of the RSMI

Program for Piano

and Strings, violinist

Miriam Fried adds her

own pyrotechnics to the

cannon-fire of our annual

Tchaikovsky Spectacular,

which has expanded to two

dates by popular

demand.

A MESSAGE FROM RAVINIA’S

CHAIRMAN

and

PRESIDENT & CEO

6

RAVINIA MAGAZINE | JUNE 1 – JUNE 17, 2018