For Immediate Release

GRANT PARK MUSIC FESTIVAL MERGES CLASSICAL MASTERWORKS WITH A CONTEMPORARY FLAIR TO CONCLUDE
JULY SUMMER PROGRAMMING

July highlights include a special appearance by The Apprentice Chorale at the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series, plus Beethoven’s 7th (July 16); Gershwin’s Greatest Hits (July 18 & 19) and the Festival’s Divertimento! benefit (July 18); Russian Splendor led by guest conductor and chorus director Joseph Cullen (July 23 & 25); Luciano Pavarotti Tribune Concert featuring Italian superstar tenor  Vittorio Grigòlo and Mexican soprano Olivia Gorra (July 26); From the British Isles, an a cappella performance (July 29 & 31); and
 The U.S. Premiere of A Throw of Dice film with live orchestra accompaniment (July 30)

CHICAGO, July 9, 2008 – Chicago’s acclaimed Grant Park Music Festival, led by Principal Conductor Carlos Kalmar, continues through July with an inspired selection of classical and contemporary performances.   The Festival’s Apprentice Chorale will make a special guest appearance at the Chicago Cultural Center to perform as part of the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series Wednesday, July 16 led by guest conductor Paul French.  Also Wednesday, July 16, the Grant Park Orchestra, joined by acclaimed violinist Leila Josefowicz and led by guest conductor Hugh Wolff, will perform John Adams’ The Dharma at Big Sur, followed by the Orchestra’s performance of Beethoven’s 7th.

Guest conductor Kevin Stites returns to Chicago to conduct the Grant Park Orchestra in an evening of Gershwin’s Greatest Hits, Friday, July 18 and Saturday, July 19, with guest stage director Jay Jaski leading veteran Broadway vocalists Harolyn Blackwell, Marin Mazzie, Norm Lewis and Jason Danieley. This tantalizing program also features renowned pianist Kirill Gerstein.  Following the Gershwin’s Greatest Hits concert on July 18, the Grant Park Music Festival will hold its annual Divertimento! benefit with cocktails, dinner, a silent auction and dancing.

Russian Splendor, an evening of works showcasing legendary Russian composers, will be staged by the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus Wednesday, July 23 and Friday, July 25. Led by guest conductor and chorus director Joseph Cullen, soprano Joanna Kozlowska, tenor Bryan Griffin and baritone Darren Stokes will lend their impressive vocal talents to Rachmaninoff’s choral spectacular The Bells, based on Edgar Allen Poe’s poem of the same name.  The remainder of the program includes the original Mussorgsky version of “Night on Bald Mountain,” Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor.  In honor of Chicago’s popular Venetian Night, the Grant Park Orchestra pays homage to Italy’s most celebrated tenor with the Luciano Pavarotti Tribune Concert, Saturday, July 26. Led by renowned Maestro Alberto Meoli, opera sensation Vittorio Grigòlo makes his Chicago debut, with soprano Olivia Gorra.

Tuesday, July 29 and Thursday, July 31 the Grant Park Chorus, directed by Joseph Cullen, will perform From the British Isles, an a cappella selection of music celebrating works written by American composers, including Copland, Corigliano and Golijov.

Concluding the festival’s July programming, Grant Park Orchestra, led by guest conductor Stephen Hussey, will present the U.S. Premiere of  the 1920s Indian film classic A Throw of Dice, featuring a new score by UK composer/deejay Nitin Sawhney, Wednesday, July 30.

Weeks Three, Four and Five: July 16 – 30, 2008
* All concerts take place at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion unless otherwise noted *

DAME MYRA HESS MEMORIAL CONCERT
Wednesday, July 16 at 12:15 p.m.
Preston Bradley Hall at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E Washington Street
The Apprentice Chorale; Paul French, Guest Conductor

MAWBY	Alleluia, Christus Resurrexit
CHILCOTT	Missa Cantate
SEIBER	Three Hungarian Folk Songs
WHITACRE	Sleep

Composer/conductor Paul French has distinguished himself on the Chicago choral scene. For nearly two decades he has worked in parishes throughout the Archdiocese of Chicago. He was named Music Director at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in 2001. French studied composition, conducting, chant, and organ at St. John's University, Northwestern University, the Pontificio Istituto di Musica Sacra in Rome, and privately with William Ferris.  A composer of more than 200 instrumental and choral works, French was appointed Music Director of the William Ferris Chorale in May 2005. His work as a composer marks the continuation of the Chorale's tradition as an active collaboration between composers, conductor, and singers.

The Grant Park Music Festival, in collaboration with DePaul and Roosevelt Universities, offers a select group of highly qualified collegiate voice students a professional level training experience as volunteer members of the award-winning Grant Park Chorus.  Members of The Apprentice Chorale are immersed in the daily life of the Chorus, working with Chorus Director Christopher Bell on repertory preparation, vocal production, ensemble, and blend.  Chorale members from DePaul University School of Music include: Jack Cotterell, tenor; Max Evrard, bass; Deborah Lee, soprano; Randall Moore, bass; Diana Nevills, soprano; and Amy Oraftik, alto; while musicians from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University include: Kyle Aberle, baritone; Leila Bowie, soprano; Natalie Hatch, alto; David Hartely, baritone; Margaret Jarvis, alto; Kristin Lelm, soprano; Brian Patterson, tenor; Shannon Regan, soprano; Samantha Stein, soprano; and Jennifer Townshend, soprano.   

BEETHOVEN’S 7th
Wednesday, July 16 at 6:30 p.m.
Grant Park Orchestra; Hugh Wolff, Guest Conductor; Leila Josefowicz, Violin

MACKEY	Lost and Found
ADAMS	Dharma at Big Sur
BEETHOVEN	Symphony No. 7

Acclaimed conductor Hugh Wolff returns to the Grant Park Music Festival stage having served as its Principal Conductor from 1994 to 1997. Wolff began his professional career as Associate Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington under Mstislav Rostropovich in 1979. He later served as Music Director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra from 1985 to 1992. His association with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra began with his appointment as its Principal conductor in 1988. He held the position of Music Director from 1992 to 2000, touring with the orchestra in the United States, Europe and Japan. Wolff became Principal Conductor of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra in 1997 and remained there until the close of the 2005-06 season. He has appeared with all the major North American orchestras, including those of Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Toronto, and he has conducted ensembles in Canada, Australia and Japan. European engagements have included appearances with the Leipzig Gewandhaus, NDR Hamburg, Philharmonia, Finnish Radio Symphony orchestras and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, Dresden Philharmonic, Danish National Radio Symphony, Orchestre National de Lyon and Czech Philharmonic orchestras.

Violinist Leila Josefowicz has won the hearts of audiences around the world with her honest, fresh approach to the repertoire and her dynamic virtuosity. A regular, close collaborator with leading composers of the day, she is a strong advocate of new music - a characteristic which is reflected in her diverse programs. During her 2007- 08 season, Josefowicz returned to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Atlanta, and New Jersey symphonies, among others, and made her subscription debut with the Chicago Symphony. She appeared in recital in Philadelphia and performed chamber music at the 92nd Street Y. Josefowicz made her recording debut with Sir Neville Mariner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields in 1994 (Philips Classics), and has subsequently released several other recordings. A recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1994, Josefowicz is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music. In addition to her solo studies, she participated for several summers at Marlboro Music Festival. Josefowicz currently performs on a Del Gesu made in 1724.

GERSHWIN’S GREATEST HITS
Friday, July 18 at 6:30 p.m. (Divertimento! benefit gala)
Saturday, July 19 at 7:30 p.m.
Grant Park Orchestra; Kevin Stites, Guest Conductor; Jay Jaski, Guest Stage Director; Harolyn Blackwell, Marin Mazzie, Jason Danieley, and Norm Lewis, Vocalists; Kirill Gerstein, Piano
PlayBack, post-concert solo: Kirill Gerstein improvises on Gershwin solo tunes

Tribute will be paid to musical giant George Gershwin in Gershwin’s Greatest Hits, sung by some of Broadway’s most popular talents. Guest conductor Kevin Stites returns to lead the Grant Park Orchestra, having helmed Bernstein’s Broadway in 2007 and Sondheim in the Park in 2006. Stites is the Music Supervisor for the Broadway musical and national tour of The Color Purple, for which he also composed the Incidental Music. As Music Director and Conductor, his recent Broadway credits include the Roundabout revival of Kurt Weill’s Threepenny Opera, as well as Fiddler on the Roof; and Nine. He was choirmaster of a 2000-voice choir for the World Premiere of Maury Yeston’s An American Cantata, which was performed on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial with Leonard Slatkin and the National Symphony Orchestra. Theatrical national tours include Martin Guerre, Miss Saigon, Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, and Titanic.

Jay Jaski returns to the Grant Park Music Festival after directing Bernstein’s Broadway in 2007 and assistant directing Sondheim in the Park in 2006.Jaski’s partnership with conductor Kevin Stites began in 2002.In 2005, the pair collaborated to create and produce Children and Art – a Broadway tribute honoring the life of composer Stephen Sondheim.In addition to directing projects, he specializes in the development of emerging musicals, including work with the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center and the Richard Rodgers Award at the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His producing work has contributed to productions at some of the finest regional theaters in the country. Upcoming performance projects include two new musicals eyeing their Broadway debuts this season: Maury Yeston and Tom Meehan’s Death Takes a Holiday, and Dolly Parton and Patricia Resnick’s Nine to Five.

One of the brightest stars on U.S. stages and abroad, charismatic soprano Harolyn Blackwell has been hailed as a “model of agility, spunk, charm and silvery tone.” Blackwell’s performing career began on the Broadway stage in Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story. The transition from musical theater to opera occurred when she was selected as a finalist for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Since that time, she has appeared with many of the most distinguished orchestras in the world. Recent engagements include a gala concert with the Naples Philharmonic as well as performances with the Seattle Symphony, among others. Blackwell has been seen on numerous broadcasts from Washington, D.C. that aired on PBS, including several Fourth of July Concerts from the Capitol Mall, which have celebrated Gershwin and Bernstein, and NBC’s Christmas In Washington. She is the recipient of numerous awards and honors including two career grants from the Richard Tucker Music Foundation and most recently, an Honorary Doctorate of Music from George Washington University.

Critically acclaimed actress and singer Marin Mazzie has starred in some of the most memorable musicals on the Broadway stage and London's West End. Mazzie recently finished her run on Broadway and in the West End as The Lady of the Lake in Monty Python's Spamalot. Other Broadway credits include Ragtime, Passion, Man of La Mancha, Into the Woods, Big River, Kismet and Out Of This World. Mazzie and her husband, Jason Danieley, have performed Opposite You as part of Lincoln Center's American Songbook series and at other venues nationally. She has done extensive cabaret concert work across the country and has several television credits including guest appearances on Without a Trace, Numb3rs, Jake in Progress, Stacked, Pryor Offenses and One Life to Live. Mazzie can be heard on several cast recordings including Kiss Me, Kate and Ragtime. She holds an Honorary Doctorate and has a musical theatre scholarship in her name from her alma mater, Western Michigan University.

Broadway actor, singer and concert performer Jason Danieley has been entertaining audiences from New York's Theatre District to the Hollywood Bowl and London’s West End. Currently starring on Broadway in Kander & Ebb's Curtains, Danieley made his Broadway debut as the title character in Candide, directed by Harold Prince. Danieley has appeared as a guest artist with the country’s finest orchestras, including the New York, Boston, St. Louis, Utah, Minnesota, and Buffalo Symphonies, as well as with the Philly Pops and the LA Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. He's starred in fully-staged concert versions of Bernstein's Candide and Gershwin's Of Thee I Sing. Albums Danieley can be heard on are Candide and The Full Monty, and two of the Boston Pops albums, A Splash of Pops and My Favorite Things.

Bass Norm Lewis is currently starring on Broadway in the role of Ariel's father, King Triton, in Disney's The Little Mermaid. Lewis’ other Broadway credits include Javert in Les Miserables, Billy Flynn in Chicago, Painter in Michel Legrand's Amour, Eddie Mackrel in The Wild Party starring Toni Collette, Mandy Patinkin and Eartha Kitt, Jake in Side Show and John in Miss Saigon. Other New York roles include Nathan in Dessa Rose, Valentine in Two Gentlemen of Verona, Doc in Captains Courageous, Roger in A New Brain, Curtis in Dreamgirls starring Audra McDonald, Molokov in Chess starring Josh Groban, and Eddie Satin in The Encores Series of Golden Boy. Lewis has also appeared in several film and television episodes including Preaching to the Choir; Confidences, Mystery Woman, Cosby, Strong Medicine, All My Children and As the World Turns. Lewis recently released his debut solo CD, This is the Life.

Russian pianist Kirill Gerstein is quickly proving to be one of today's most promising and intriguing young artists. Gerstein made his major orchestral debut with the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra and has performed abroad with many of the finest orchestras. Gerstein, born in Voronezh, Russia, won his first award at the age of 11 and over the next several years attended jazz workshops after having taught himself to play. In 1993, following a meeting with Gary Burton of Berklee College, Gerstein attended the college's summer program and was invited to attend the college on a full scholarship. He moved to Boston with his mother in 1994, and at the age of 14 became the youngest college student in the school's history. While at Berklee, he studied jazz and classical piano repertoire, and attended the Boston University summer program at Tanglewood. Following his second summer at Tanglewood he decided to focus on classical repertoire and moved to New York City to attend the Manhattan School of Music, where he earned both his Bachelor and Masters of Music degrees by age 20. Gerstein continued his studies in Madrid with the famed piano pedagogue, Dmitri Bashkirov, and coaches with Ference Rados in Budapest.

DIVERTIMENTO! Benefit
Friday, July 18 at 6:30 p.m.

The Grant Park Orchestral Association hosts its seventh annual Divertimento! Benefit on Friday, July 18, 2008. Divertimento! (Italian for “an entertaining musical piece”) begins at 6:30 p.m. with the Grant Park Orchestra’s “Gershwin’s Greatest Hits” concert at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. Immediately following the concert, the concert’s celebrity guest artists will dine with guests on Millennium Park’s rooftop terrace at the Harris Theater, near the Randolph Drive entrance to Millennium Park. Post-dinner festivities include a silent auction, cocktails, and dancing. Divertimento! tickets are priced at $400 per person and include reserved seating at the concert. Proceeds support the Festival’s ongoing commitment to providing the public with free, high-quality classical music performances. Divertimento! 2008 is generously sponsored by JP Morgan Chase.

RUSSIAN SPLENDOR
Wednesday, July 23 at 6:30 p.m.
Friday, July 25 at 6:30 p.m.
Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus; Joseph Cullen, Guest Conductor and Chorus Director; Joanna Kozlowska, Soprano; Bryan Griffin, Tenor; Darren Stokes, Baritone

MOUSSORGSKY	Night on Bald Mountain (Original Mussorgsky version)
BORODIN	Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor
RACHMANINOFF	The Bells

Described by Opera News as "clearly a name to watch," Joseph Cullen was appointed Director of the London Symphony Chorus in 2001.  He has been Chorus Master of the Huddersfield Choral Society since 1999.  Cullen has also held the position of Chorus Director of the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields and Director of the Britten-Pears Chamber Choir in Snape.  He has made guest conducting appearances with orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Concert Orchestra and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields.  His innovative approach to choral training has established him as one of the foremost choral conductors in the country.  Cullen has worked closely with some of the world's leading conductors, including Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Neville Marriner, Mark Elder, Michael Tilson Thomas, Valery Gergiev, Bernard Haitink, Richard Hickox and Sir Colin Davis, with whom he won a Grammy Award for the 2006 LSO Live recording of Verdi's Falstaff.  As well as Walton's Belshazzar's Feast for Chandos and Mahler's Symphony No. 8 for EMI, other recordings for LSO Live include Britten's Peter Grimes, which also received a Grammy nomination.  He has released a pair of compilation albums with the Huddersfield Choral Society on the Signum label. He coaches singers both in the world of opera and in the monastic choirs of Benedictine Abbeys in Scotland and the Isle of Wight.  Cullen also sings with the vocal group Tenebrae.

Polish soprano Joanna Kozlowska first gained international attention by winning the Grand Prix in the Benson & Hedges International Voice Competition in London, immediately followed by winning the International Vocal Competition in Rio de Janeiro. Her presence on European opera stages includes appearances at La Scala, Covent Garden, the Vienna, Munich and Hamburg State Operas, Buenos Aires’ Teatro Colon, Venice’s La Fenice, Berlin’s Deutsche Oper, Geneva’s Grand Theatre, Brussels’ Theatre Royal de la Monnaie, Florence’s Teatro Communale and the Zurich Opera, where she is earned particular acclaim as Leonora in Verdi’s La forza del destino and Elisabetta in Don Carlo. In the United States, she earned acclaim for her portrayal of Sandrina in Mozart’s La finta giardiniera at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the Los Angeles Opera, as Alice Ford in a concert version of Verdi’s Falstaff with the Minnesota Orchestra under Jeffrey Tate, at the Atlanta Opera in the title role of Puccini's Madame Butterfly, and Gorecki's Third Symphony at the Colorado Symphony.

Tenor Bryan Thomas Griffin is a recent graduate of The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago and made his Lyric Opera debut on opening night of the 2005-06 season as Edmondo in Olivier Tambosi’s new production of Manon Lescaut.  Among Griffin’s other roles at the Lyric have been Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Tybal in Romeo and Juliet, and the Innkeeper in Der Rosenkavalier.  Griffin made his European debut on opening night of the 2007 Glyndebourne Festival Opera season, portraying Malcolm in Richard Jones’ new production of Macbeth, conducted by Vladimir Jurowski. The young tenor’s plans next season include his return as Fenton in Falstaff under the baton of Lyric Music Director Sir Andrew Davis. After receiving his undergraduate degree from The Juilliard School, Griffin pursued pre-medical studies at the University of Connecticut while working as a computer programmer. He returned to music in the summer of 2004 as an apprentice at the Santa Fe Opera. During the following season, he participated in the young-artist program of Florida Grand Opera, where he appeared in mainstage performances of Paul Bunyan, Die Zauberflöte and Lucia di Lammermoor.

American Bass-Baritone Darren K. Stokes joined the Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera in 2006 and returned in the 2007-08 season. His first season included roles in Iphigénie en Tauride and Salome with covers of Ferrando in II Trovatore, the Duke of Verona in Roméo et Juliette, Mandarin in Turandot, the Marquis in Dialogues des Carmélites, Basilio in II Barbiere di Siviglia, Curio in Giulio Cesare, and Zaretsky in Eugene Onegin. Stokes made his Chicago Opera Theater debut in 2007 as Neptune in Monteverdi's The Return of Ulysses, as well as the role of the Imperial Commissioner in Madame Butterfly with the Ravinia Festival in August, 2007.  Stokes began his professional music career with Virginia Opera in the opera chorus and subsequently toured New York State with various gospel groups.  Stokes has sung with the Sarasota Opera, Opera Memphis, Virginia Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, the Natchez Opera Festival, Opera Company of Brooklyn, Ash-Lawn Opera Festival, Amato Opera Theatre, Taconic Opera Company and the New York Opera Forum.

LUCIANO PAVAROTTI TRIBUTE CONCERT
Saturday, July 26 at 6:30 p.m.  * Note start time
Grant Park Orchestra; Alberto Meoli, Guest Conductor; Vittorio Grigòlo, Tenor; Olivia Gorra, Soprano

ROSSINI	Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Overture)
VERDI	Rigoletto (Questa o quella)
VERDI	Rigoletto (La donna e' mobile)
PUCCINI	Gianni Schicchi (O mio babbino caro)
DONIEZETTI	Elisir d'Amore (Una furtiva lagrima)
VERDI	La Traviata (Act 1)
MORRICONE	Once Upon A Time in America (Tema di Deborah)
PUCCINI	La Boheme (Che gelida manina)
PUCCINI	La Boheme (O suave fanciulla, Act 1)
PUCCINI	Tosca (Vissi d'arte)
PUCCINI	Tosca (E lucevan le stele)
MASCAGNI	Cavalleria Rusticana, (Intermezzo)
PUCCINI	Turandot (Nessun dorma)

Conductor Alberto Meoli completed his studies in composition, piano and conducting at the Conservatory Santa Cecelia in Rome, under the guidance of C. M. Giulini.  An accomplished composer, Maestro Meoli is active in the orchestral, theater and cinematic genres, and his compositions have been broadcast throughout Italy and abroad.  Primarily a conductor of opera, Maestro Meoli has conducted performances in many of the major Italian cities, and maintains a close association with the opera company Latina lirica, collaborating with them on a regular basis.  In 2003, he conducted two recitals for the Roman Association, Marlett, an homage to Maria Callas, as well as performances of Tosca at the Castel Sant’Angelo and Catona as part of the Catona Theater Festival.  In his 2005-06 season, he conducted several performances of La Traviata at the Academy of Italian Opera in Rome. That same season he conducted three recitals in Japan with local orchestras and several Italian artists.  Since 1985 Maestro Meoli has taught in music conservatories and has served as both a leading pedagogue and adjudicator in the disciplines of composition and performance.  He is currently the Chair of Composition studies at the Ottorino Respighi Conservatory in Latina.

Young Italian tenor Vittorio Grigòlo makes his Chicago debut honoring his mentor, teacher, and friend, the late, great Luciano Pavarotti with a variety of opera arias, Neapolitan songs, and new pop opera tunes written especially for him. The Italian singing sensation and an heir to Luciano Pavarotti’s throne as the king of tenors, Grigòlo was born in Arezzo in 1977.  At the age of 13, he made his debut in the role of the Pastorello in Tosca where he met Maestro Luciano Pavarotti, who congratulated him, praising his vocal and expressive talent.  Shortly thereafter, he began his professional training with Danilo Rigosa, the tutor with whom he still continues to work.  At the age of 22, Grigòlo made his debut at the Cagliari Opera Theatre in the role of Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni.  In 2000, he made his debut at the La Scala Theatre in Milan in the opening concert for the celebration of Verdi's Year, conducted by Riccardo Muti.  He has sung in the major opera houses under the batons of Riccardo Muti, Daniel Oren, Myung-Whun Chung, Lorin Maazel, Gianluigi Gelmetti and Daniele Gatti.  In 2003, Grigòlo portrayed Tony in West Side Story at La Scala in Milan, followed by a tour of Japan, as well as Lebanon at the prestigious Beiteddine Festival in Beirut.  In 2006, he opened the season at the Washington National Opera in the role of Rodolfo in Puccini’s La Bohéme. For this role, years after their first meeting in Rome, Grigòlo had the occasion to sing the role of Rodolfo under the advice of Maestro Pavarotti.  On October 13, he participated in the 32nd NIAF (National Italian American Foundation) Gala in Washington D.C. performing "Nessun Dorma" in tribute to Luciano Pavarotti for Laura Bush, Rudolph Giuliani, Nancy Pelosi, Martin Scorsese, as well as many other prestigious members of the Italian American community.

Soprano Olivia Gorra, well known throughout her native Mexico, makes her Grant Park Music Festival debut this season. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut in the role of Liu in Puccini’s Turandot and her Carnegie Hall debut with the New York Pops in an evening of Italian arias and songs.  Born in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Gorra has the distinction of being chosen by Lorin Maazel and Tito Capobianco as the winner of the TRAVIATA 2000 International Voice Competition.  Recent engagements include Mozart’s Mass in C and Bachianas brasileiras with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic and Britten’s War Requiem with the Ofunam Philharmonic in Mexico City. Gorra appeared as the soprano soloist in Carmina Burana with the Colorado Symphony and the Long Island Symphony under the baton of Marin Alsop, as well as with the Evansville and Madison Symphonies. Gorra has also appeared with the National Symphony Orchestra in Mexico, Mexico City Philharmonic, Orchestra of the Theater of Bellas Artes, Xalapa Symphony, Guanajuato Symphony, Opera Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra of Monterrey and Pittsburgh Symphony.  In addition to her orchestral engagements, Gorra has performed with the major festivals of Mexico, Festival Internacional Cervantino (Guanajuato), Festival Cultural Sinaloa, Festival de la Ciudad de Mexico and the Festival del Centro Historico, and Festival International Alfonso Reyes (Monterrey).  A scholarship student at the esteemed Escuela Superior de Musica of the National Institute of Fine Arts, Gorra studied under the direction of Antonio Gonzalez and James Demster. In addition, she has studied at the Manhattan School of Music in New York.

FROM THE BRITISH ISLES
Tuesday, July 29 at 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, July 31 at 6:30 p.m.
*Harris Theater for Music and Dance
Grant Park Chorus; Joseph Cullen, Guest Chorus Director

HOVHANESS	Lost in Winter Snow
CORIGLIANO	L’invitation au Voyage
LAURIDSEN	Nocturnes
COPLAND	Motets
GOLIJOV	Coral del Arrecife from Oceana
BARBER	Sure on this Shining Night
SAMETZ	I Have Had Singing

The Grant Park Orchestra does not appear at these concerts.

A THROW OF DICE
Wednesday, July 30 at 8:00 p.m. * Note start time
Grant Park Orchestra; Stephen Hussey, Guest Conductor; Nitin Sawhney, Keyboards

Grant Park Music Festival will present the hottest performance of the summer with the U.S. Premiere of A Throw of Dice, a 1920’s Indian silent film presented with a new symphonic score composed by award-winning Asian DJ/multi-instrumentalist Nitin Sawhney and conducted by Stephen Hussey. Based on the pivotal gambling episode from the Mahabharata – one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India - Prapancha Pash (A Throw of Dice) is German filmmaker Franz Osten's most accomplished Indian silent film.  Produced in 1929, A Throw of Dice tells the thrilling love story of Ranjit and the nefarious Sohan, two kings with a passion for gambling and the same woman, Sunita.   This dramatic black & white silent film comes to life with a stunning original western symphonic score composed by Nitin Sawhney which combines 12 Indian musicians (flutes, singers and sitar) with elements of jazz and electronica.  The World Premiere of the revived silent film classic was presented in 2006 at London’s Trafalgar Square which Sawhney wrote for the London Symphony Orchestra and in Manchester and Birmingham with the Northern Sinfonia.

Nitin Sawhney has released seven studio albums, each one garnering critical acclaim. He has also scored over forty films, as well as TV commercials for the likes of Nike and Sephora. His music for Channel Four’s Second Generation saw him nominated for the prestigious Ivor Novello Award for Film and TV Composition. Recent works include orchestral scores for Mira Nair’s The Namesake ad Sony Playstation 3’s Heavenly Sword.  In 2008, amidst touring with his band and orchestras around the world, Sawhney has scored works for various movies including: Jean Charles, on the life of Jean-Charles de Menezes, The Fifth Beatle, on the life of Beatles manager, Brian Epstein, and Dark Blue Rising.  In 2002 he worked with Akram Khan and Anish Kapoor, scoring the music to Khan’s critically acclaimed choreographed work Kaash, and also wrote the music for Khan’s Zero Degrees (nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award, and designed by Anthony Gormley).  Much of Sawhney’s attention remains focused on the areas of education and community building, accepting the role of Artist in Residence for no less than 5 separate performing arts organizations around the world. 

Born in London of Zimbabwean and English parents, Stephen Hussey studied violin and piano at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and film composition with Amit Sen. He began his career with the Reggae Philharmonic Orchestra, leading the RPO string section in concert tours, recording sessions, and arranging and co-arranging the strings for influential artists in the pop world, as well as the RPO’s own three albums. As a violinist, Hussey has worked with many of London’s busiest studio orchestras. He gained experienced conducting his own and other composers’ orchestrations in concerts and recording sessions with many of the UK’s top session orchestras – The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Session Orchestra, among many others. During his ongoing six-year working relationship with Nitin Sawhney, Hussey has orchestrated, edited, conducted and/or recorded a number of Sawhney’s projects including Neural Circuits with Joanna McGregor and the Britten Sinfonia; the album and music for Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai; and three of Sawhney’s albums.

Membership Information and Ticket Prices
All Grant Park Music Festival performances are free to the public. Open lawn and pavilion seating are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Reserved group seating is also available for most concerts. Membership and group sales information is available by calling 312-742-7638 or by visiting the Festival’s website at www.grantparkmusicfestival.com.

About Grant Park Music Festival
Acclaimed by critics and beloved by audiences, the Grant Park Music Festival is the nation’s only remaining free, municipally-supported, outdoor summer classical music series of its kind. The Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, located between Michigan and Columbus Avenues, at Washington Street, is the official home of the Grant Park Music Festival.

Founded by the Chicago Park District in 1935 and co-presented by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and the Grant Park Orchestral Association since 2001, the Grant Park Music Festival will present 32 concerts between June 11 and August 16, 2008, typically on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday nights.

Convenient parking is located in the Millennium Park Garage (entrance on Columbus at Monroe or Randolph) and at the Grant Park North and East Monroe Garages, all located within walking distance to Millennium Park.

American Airlines is the Official Airline of the Festival’s 2008 season and The Fairmont Chicago is the Festival’s Official Hotel.  JPMorgan Chase, ComEd, and The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation are Supporting Sponsors, and Benefactors include the National Endowment for the Arts, Illinois Arts Council, and NIB Foundation.

About Millennium Park
Millennium Park is an award-winning center for art, music, architecture and landscape design. The result of a unique partnership between the City of Chicago and philanthropic community, the 24.5 acre park features the work of world-renowned architects, planners, artists and designers. In addition to the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the most sophisticated outdoor concert venue of its kind in the United States, the park’s prominent features include the interactive Crown Fountain by Jaume Plensa; the contemporary Lurie Garden designed by the team of Gustafson Guthrie Nichol, Piet Oudolf and Robert Israel; and Anish Kapoor’s hugely popular Cloud Gate sculpture. Since its opening in June 2004, Millennium Park has welcomed more than 12 million people, making it one of the most popular destinations in Chicago.

For more information, please call the Grant Park Music Festival at 312-742-7638 or visit the Festival’s website at www.grantparkmusicfestival.com. Concert information is subject to change.

Press Contact:	Farrah Malik/Beth Silverman	Jill Hurwitz
	The Silverman Group, Inc.	Millennium Park
	312.932.9950	312.742.1149
	farrah@silvermangroupchicago.com	jhurwitz@cityofchicago.org