| 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 |
For Immediate Release
GRANT PARK MUSIC FESTIVAL OPENS 74th SEASON WITH PERFORMANCE BY 2008 GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING VIOLINIST JAMES EHNES, JUNE 11
Other June highlights include an appearance by vocalists soprano Erin
Wall, mezzo
soprano Anita Krause, tenor James Taylor and bass Nathan
Berg in Missa Solemnis (June 13 & 14);
Take a Friend to the Orchestra program (June 18 & 21); an appearance by Mediterranean
vocal superstar, Maria del Mar Bonet (June 20); soprano Karina Gauvin and baritone Richard
Zeller in Brahms A German Requiem (June 25); and a program of 20th Century Masters also featuring
soprano Karina Gauvin (June 27 & 28)
CHICAGO, April 23, 2008 Chicagos acclaimed Grant Park Music Festival, led by Principal Conductor Carlos Kalmar and Chorus Director Christopher Bell, opens its 74th annual season on Wednesday, June 11, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. at the state-of-the-art Frank Gehry-designed Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. The opening night concert features Kalmar leading the GRAMMY-nominated Grant Park Orchestra and internationally-renowned, 2008 GRAMMY Award-winning violinist James Ehnes in a concert of Barbers Violin Concerto and Brahms Symphony No. 2.
The Grant Park Music Festival opens with two of classical musics most moving compositions. Set against our fantastic skyline and in combination with the Jay Pritzker Pavilions state of the art acoustics and sound system, Chicago audiences will be reminded on opening night why the Grant Park Music Festival is the hottest ticket in town and such an irreplaceable part of our lives each summer, says Artistic and General Director James W. Palermo, who has led the Grant Park Music Festival since 1995.
On Friday, June 13 and Saturday, June 14, Kalmar will lead the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus, joined by guest vocalists soprano Erin Wall, mezzo soprano Anita Krause, tenor James Taylor, and bass Nathan Berg, in one of Beethoven's finest works, Missa Solemnis in D Major, Op. 123.
In collaboration with the national website, adaptistration.com, the Take a Friend to the Orchestra (TAFTO) initiative comes alive at the Grant Park Music Festival when patrons are invited to bring a friend or two who have never experienced a classical music concert to enjoy an evening of classic musics greatest hits on Wednesday, June 18 and Saturday, June 21.
Singer and songwriter Maria del Mar Bonet is one of the most exciting practitioners of Mediterranean popular song. The warmth of her voice and her passionate elegance will be on display when she joins Kalmar and the Grant Park Orchestra on Friday, June 20.
On Wednesday, June 25 Kalmar and the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus share the Harris Theater stage with soprano Karina Gauvin and baritone Richard Zeller in Johannes Brahms uplifting and inspiring A German Requiem.
The Festivals first two weeks of concerts come to a close on Friday, June 27 and Saturday, June 28, when Kalmar and the Grant Park Orchestra return to the Harris Theater with soprano Karina Gauvin, for a program highlighting 20th Century Masters Vaughan Williams, Britten and Bartk. The new series of post-concert mini performances, PlayBack, debuts at these concerts with The Apprentice Chorale.
Weeks One and Two: June 11 30, 2008
* All concerts take place at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion unless otherwise noted *
BARBER AND BRAHMS: Wednesday, June 11 at 6:30 p.m.
Grant Park Orchestra; Carlos Kalmar, Conductor; James Ehnes, Violin
BARBER |
Violin Concerto |
BRAHMS |
Symphony No. 2 |
Carlos Kalmar celebrates his ninth season as Principal Conductor of the Grant Park Music Festival
in 2008. Since 2003, Kalmar has also been Music Director of the acclaimed Oregon Symphony Orchestra.
Mr. Kalmar was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, to Austrian parents. He studied conducting with Karl
sterreicher at the College for Music in Vienna, and won First Prize at the Hans Swarowsky Conducting
Competition in Vienna in June 1984. From 1987 to 1991 he was chief conductor of the Hamburg Symphony
Orchestra, and general music director and chief conductor of the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra
between 1991 and 1995. From 1996 through 2000, Carlos Kalmar was the general music director of the
Opera House and Philharmonic Orchestra in Dessau, Germany. Between 2000 and 2003, he was principal
conductor and artistic director of the Tonknstler Orchestra in Vienna. Equally in demand as
a guest conductor, Kalmar travels the world appearing with all the worlds most important orchestras.
Cedille Records will soon release its fifth and sixth recordings with Carlos Kalmar and the Grant
Park Orchestra: Royal Mezzo: Jennifer Larmore Recital featuring works by Barber, Berlioz, Ravel,
and Britten; and Symphony in Waves: Music of Aaron Jay Kernis. His recordings for other labels
include CDs with the Jeunesse Musicales World Orchestra (Alban Gerhardt, cello soloist) and Viennas
Tonknstler Orchestra for Austrian National Radio.
Kalmar fondly remembers his first appearance at the Grant Park Music Festival in 1998. I was asked to conduct Samuel Barbers Piano Concerto with John Browning, the man for whom the work was written. I was a little awestruck working with this famous artist whose signature work is a modern masterpiece, but the Orchestra so impressed me with its incredible work ethic and flexibility. I was taken aback at the speed and commitment with which they worked.
Ten years after Carlos Kalmars first appearances at the Grant Park Music Festival, he is still breaking ground with his world class Orchestra and Chorus. Ever curious about newer and American works, Kalmar seems to balance that passion with a real commitment to timeless interpretations of the core standard repertory. Grant Park is the most special place I know of. We have traveled artistically very far together and I can recall so many amazing musical experiences with these fantastic musicians.
Joining Kalmar and the Orchestra performing the Barber Violin Concerto is internationally-renowned, 2008 GRAMMY Award-winning violinist James Ehnes. The Canadian-born Ehnes has rapidly established a paramount reputation among concert violinists and has performed around the world at well-established concert venues with internationally-renowned conductors and orchestras. As a prolific and multi-award-winning recording artist, Ehnes most recent recorded works include Sir Edward Elgar's Violin Concerto with the Philharmonia Orchestra under the direction of Sir Andrew Davis (Onyx) and a CD of works by Paul Scoenfield with pianist Andrew Russo (Black Box). Ehnes was nominated for and won a 2008 GRAMMY Award for his CD featuring the violin concertos of Korngold, Walton and Barber with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. He first gained national recognition in 1987 as winner of the Grand Prize in Strings at the Canadian Music Competition. The next year he won the First Prize in Strings at the Canadian Music Competition, the youngest musician to ever do so.
BEETHOVENS MISSA SOLEMNIS: Friday, June 13 at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, June 14 7:30 p.m.
Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus; Carlos Kalmar, Conductor; Christopher Bell, Chorus Director;
Erin Wall, Soprano; Anita Krause, Mezzo Soprano; James Taylor, Tenor; Nathan Berg, Bass
The critically-acclaimed Grant Park Chorus, recipient of the prestigious Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence for 2006 from Chorus America, was formed in 1962 by Thomas Peck, who led the group until his death in 1994. His protg, Michael Cullen, then led the chorus until his untimely passing three years later. Christopher Bell was named the Chorus Director in 2002, rounding out the Festivals current artistic leadership roster. Bell also serves as Chorusmaster of the prestigious Edinburgh International Festival, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) Junior Chorus and the Belfast Philharmonic Choir. He was largely responsible for the formation of the National Youth Choir of Scotland (NYCoS) in 1996 and is its Artistic Director.
The Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus, under the direction of Carlos Kalmar, are joined on stage by soprano Erin Wall, mezzo soprano Anita Krause, tenor James Taylor, and bass Nathan Berg for Beethovens Missa Solemnis. This rarely performed work, often thought to be one of Beethovens finest, is a five-movement score that presents itself more like a symphony with choral accompaniment than the traditional choral Mass.
Fast-establishing herself as one of todays most sought-after Mozart and Strauss sopranos, Canadian-American soprano Erin Wall first performed at the Grant Park Music Festival as a member of the Ryan Opera Center of the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Her professional debut occurred several years later as a last minute stand in for an ailing colleague when she sang performances of Benjamin Brittens War Requiem in 2004, the debut season of the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. Wall has appeared throughout North America and Europe in the 2007-2008 opera season including a performance of one of her signature roles, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at the Washington Opera, followed by two new roles: Love Simpson in Carlisle Floyds Cold Sassy Tree with the Atlanta Opera and Violetta in La Traviata with the Arizona Opera.
Also returning to the Grant Park Music Festival is celebrated mezzo-soprano Anita Krause who made her Festival debut in 2006 in Mozarts Requiem. She is well-regarded in the concert hall and on the opera stage, having performed with many of North Americas leading orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, lorchestre symphonique de Montreal, the Baltimore Symphony, and the Toronto Symphony. Krause has also appeared with the National Arts Centre Orchestra and les Violins du Roy, as well as with the Orchestras of Vancouver, Toledo, Calgary, Quebec, Edmonton, Kitchener-Waterloo, and the Canadian Opera Company. She has collaborated with such leading conductors as Cristoph Eschenbach, Charles Dutoit, Bernard Labadie, Hans Graf, Eliahu Inbal, Andrew Parrott, Patrick Summers, Mario Bernardi, Gerard Schwarz, and Yoav Talmi.
Tenor James Taylor joins colleagues in Beethovens Missa Solemnis as an
expert in Renaissance to 21st century repertoire, devoting much of his career to the oratorio and
concert literature. One of the most sought after Evangelists in the works of Johann Sebastian Bach,
he has performed in South America, Japan, Israel, the United States and in the great concert halls
of Europe including Amsterdams Concertgebouw, Viennas Musikverein, and the Royal Albert Hall in
London. Taylor can be heard on over 30 recordings including Dvorak's Stabat Mater, Bach's
Christmas Oratorio, Magnificat in D major and St. John Passion, and Handels Messiah with Helmuth
Rilling (Hnssler); Bachs Easter Oratorio, and Beethoven's Missa Solemnis (Harmonia Mundi). New
releases include Mozarts Requiem Mass in D minor with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra led by Andreas
Delfs (Limestone Records), Beethovens Missa Solemnis with the Nashville Symphony (Naxos), and the
rarely heard Baroque opera Ariadne by Johan Georg Conradi with the Boston Early Music Festival led
by Paul ODette (ArkivMusik).
Also appearing in Missa Solemnis is Bass Nathan Berg. With repertoire ranging from Bach and Handel
to Mahler and Verdi, Berg is a prolific vocalist. He has travelled extensively to perform with
numerous orchestras around the world including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra,
Montreal Symphony, The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the National Symphony, the Rias Kammerchor,
the Academy of Ancient Music, Les Arts Florissants, Saint Louis Symphony and the San Francisco Symphony
Orchestra. Operatic roles have included the role of Argante in Rinaldo at the Bayerische
Staatsoper in Munich, the title role in Le Nozze di Figaro for New York City Opera and the Netherlands Opera,
to name a few. Berg's discography includes Handel's Messiah and Purcell's Dido
and Aeneas (Harmonia
Mundi), Mozarts Requiem Mass in D minor (Erato), Dvorak's Stabat Mater with Robert Shaw and the
Atlanta Symphony; Bach's Mass in B Minor with Boston Baroque, songs by Othmar Schoeck with both the
English Chamber Orchestra (Novalis) and with Julius Drake (Jecklin), Mendelssohn songs and duets
with Sophie Daneman and Eugene Asti (Hyperion) and recordings of Rameau's Zoroastre and Handel's
Theodora with Les Arts Florissants (Erato).
TAKE A FRIEND TO THE ORCHESTRA: Wednesday, June 18 at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, June 21 at 7:30
p.m.
Grant Park Orchestra; Carlos Kalmar, Conductor
WAGNER |
The Ride of the Valkyries |
MOZART |
Overture to The Magic Flute |
DEBUSSY/Leyden |
Claire de Lune |
ROSSINI |
Overture to William Tell |
BARBER |
Adagio for Strings |
RESPIGHI |
The Pines of Rome |
The Take a Friend to the Orchestra programs encourage seasoned Grant Park Music Festival concertgoers to invite a friend -or two-who has never been to an orchestra concert to experience popular favorites by Wagner, Mozart, Debussy, Rossini, Barber, and Respighi in the relaxed, laid-back setting of Millennium Park. TAKE A FRIEND... is inspired by a national internet phenomenon of the same name created by musician and consultant Drew McManus on his popular Adaptristration.com website. Now in its fourth year, the TAFTO internet initiative features a collection of critics, bloggers, musicians, classical music enthusiasts, and administrators writing about ways to encourage concert attendance by those who don't regularly attend, as a means of ensuring the future of this art form. The Grant Park Music Festival is the first in the country to take the program from the web page to the stage!
MARIA DEL MAR BONET: Friday, June 20 at 6:30 p.m.
Grant Park Orchestra; Carlos Kalmar, Conductor; Maria del Mar Bonet, Vocalist
| ALBENIZ | Sevilla from Suite espaola |
| VINCENT ESTELLES/MARIA DEL MAR BONET | Les illes |
| MARIA DEL MAR BONET/ GREGORIO PANIAGUA |
Dansa de la primavera |
| WORK SONG | Canons de treball |
| OVIDI MONTLLOR | Dos annims |
| MOSSN ALCOVER/ JOAN BIBILONI | Epitalami |
| MARIA DEL MAR BONET | La Dama d'Arag |
| NIKOS KADSANTSAKI/ MANOS HADJIDAKIS |
Den itan nissi |
| GRANADOS | Intermezzo from the opera Goyescas |
| WORK SONG | Canon de treball |
| IORGOS SEFERIS/ MIKIS THEODORAKIS | A la platja |
| TRADUCCI MANENT/ TOTI SOLER | Dansa damor |
| JOAN VALENT | Sarr |
| ALBERT GARCIA | Des de Mallorca a lAlguer |
| AMADEAU VIVES/ JOAN ALCOVER | La Balanguera |
| FOLK SONG | Jota marinera |
Maria del Mar Bonet will grace the Pritzker Pavilion stage with her trademark warm
voice and passionate elegance in a concert that will epitomize Mediterranean popular song. Patrons will
discover an international singer who magically links together all the countries embraced by the Mediterranean
- from Mallorca to North Africa, Sardinia, Sicily, Italy, and Greece. Bonet began recording
albums of folk music in Catalan, in spite of the prohibitions during Francisco Franco's dictatorship.
In 1981, Bonet recorded Jard Tancat in Paris, with accompaniment by Jacques Denjean and noted Breton
harpist Alan Stivell. In 1984 the French Government awarded her the Charles Cross Academy
Award for the Best Foreign Record released in France. That same year del Mar Bonet was awarded the
Cross of Saint George, the highest distinction of the Generalitat de Catalunya (the Catalan Government).
In 1985, as a result of her interest and research into North African music, she recorded Anells daigua
(Rings of Water) with the Ensemble de Musique Traditionelle of Tunisia, and then toured with this
group throughout France and Spain. In 1998 she traveled around the world performing at concerts
and collaborating with other well-known artists as Amancio Prada, Loquillo, Jordi Sabats and
Rosa Vergs. Bonet revealed the artistic excellence she has achieved over time in the Jackson
Browne tribute album Sing My Songs, which won the 2002 Spanish World Music Awards.
A GERMAN REQUIEM: Wednesday, June 25 at 6:30 p.m.
*Harris Theater for Music and Dance
Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus; Carlos Kalmar, Conductor; Christopher Bell, Chorus Director;
Karina Gauvin, Soprano; Richard Zeller, Baritone
Soprano Karina Gauvin takes the Harris Theater stage with the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus in
A German Requiem. One of Canadas most sought after artists, her exceptional musical talent wins
this young soprano glowing praise and a growing reputation on the international circuit. Gauvin has
received bursaries from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Quebec Arts Council and the Royal Scottish
Academy of Music and Drama (Glasgow). She was a recipient of First Prize from the Montreal Conservatory
in 1992 and many other prestigious awards. Gauvin has given recitals at the Royal Opera House,
St. Martin's in the Fields, Wigmore Hall, the Bishopsgate Hall in the U.K., as well as in France,
Switzerland, Belgium, the United States and in major Canadian cities. Gauvin has performed in opera
productions in Oxford, the Aldeburgh Festival and the Glimmerglass Opera Festival in New York. Her
repertoire covers music from Johann Sebastian Bach to Benjamin Britten, with a particular affinity
for the works of Mozart.
Richard Zeller, one of America's leading baritones, is also an internationally acclaimed concert
and opera vocalist. He is known for his beautiful dramatic voice and presence as well as his outstanding
musicianship. Zellers opera engagements include Morales in Carmen at Portland Opera, the title
role in Rigoletto with New Jersey Opera, Valentin in Portland Operas production of Gounods
Faust,
and Enrico in Donizettis Lucia di Lammermoor with New Orleans Opera. Orchestral engagements
include the Virginia Symphony and Evansville Philharmonic and concert engagements include an opera
gala concert with Johnstown Symphony in Pennsylvania, Handels Messiah with Seattle Symphony, the
Shostakovitch Symphony No. 14 with Richmond Symphony, Weills Seven Deadly Sins with Oregon Symphony,
a return to the Richmond Symphony for Brahms A German Requiem, Mendelssohns Elijah with Memphis
Symphony and Orffs Carmina Burana with Buffalo Philharmonic. Zeller's recordings include
Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 (Centaur Records), Virgil Thompson's Lord Byron and Aaron Copland's The
Tender Land (Koch International).
20th CENTURY MASTERS: Friday, June 27 at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, June 28 at 7:30 p.m.
*Harris Theater for Music and Dance
Grant Park Orchestra; Carlos Kalmar, Conductor; Karina Gauvin, Soprano
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS |
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis |
BRITTEN |
Les Illuminations |
BARTÓK |
Concerto for Orchestra |
Play Back, post-concert a cappella: The Apprentice Chorale
Soprano Karina Gauvin joins the Grant Park Orchestra for the second time this season in 20th Century Masters, a program of works by international composers Ralph Vaughan Williams, Benjamin Britten, and Bela Bartk in the acoustically superior Harris Theater for Music and Dance. One of Canadas most sought after artists, her exceptional musical talent wins this young soprano glowing praise and a growing reputation on the international circuit.
These performances will conclude with the newest addition in the Grant Park Music Festivals programming, PlayBack. In this new initiative, specially chosen guest artists return to the stage immediately following concerts to present bonus, intimate solo or chamber performances of works of their choosing, making the music last a little longer for classical enthusiasts. The Apprentice Chorale is a collaborative program developed with the Grant Park Music Festival, DePaul University School of Music and the Roosevelt University Chicago College of Performing Arts. After an intensive audition process, a select group of highly qualified collegiate voice students are chosen for this professional level training experience as volunteer members of the award-winning Grant Park Chorus. Participants are immersed in the daily life of the Chorus, working with Chorus Director Christopher Bell on repertory preparation, vocal production, ensemble, and blend. In addition to participating alongside the 2008 Grant Park Chorus performing Beethoven, Szymanowski and Rachmaninoff, the Apprentice Chorale will be featured at the these debut PlayBack post-concert performances.
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. Season memberships to the Festival are available,
which include reserved seating or access to reserved sections for all concerts as well as invitations
to special events. The new Wednesday, Friday and Saturday Select Series memberships feature access
to the reserved seating section for eight Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday concerts this season.
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 Festivals website at www.grantparkmusicfestival.com.
About Grant Park Music Festival
Acclaimed by critics and beloved by audiences, the Grant Park Music Festival is the nations
only 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 Festivals 2008 season and The Fairmont Chicago is the Festivals 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 parks 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 Kapoors 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 Festivals website at www.grantparkmusicfestival.com. Concert information is subject to change.
# # #