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June 11 - August 16, 2025

Welcome

The Grant Park Music Festival is a ten-week classical music concert series held annually in Chicago, Illinois’ Millennium Park.

It features the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus, along with guest performers and conductors, and is one of the only free outdoor classical-music concert series in the US.

3 Emma Mueller (left) and Friends

Advocate for the Arts Awards Benefit - October 15

Advocate for the Arts Awards Benefit - October 15
Yvonne Smith

Yvonne Smith

Viola

Based in Houston, TX, Yvonne Smith is an accomplished performer of modern and historical violas. In 2016, Yvonne founded La Speranza, a Houston-based ensemble that presents historically informed performances of chamber music from the 18th and 19th centuries. In addition to her performances with La Speranza, Yvonne appears regularly with American Bach (San Francisco), Lyra Baroque Orchestra (St. Paul, MN),   La Follia Austin Baroque, and Ars Lyrica Houston. She is also a contracted substitute violist with the Houston Symphony and has a thriving private studio.  Yvonne’s baroque viola was made by Timothy Johnson in 2017 after Andrea Guarneri, 1676. Born in Ames, Iowa, Yvonne earned her Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees in Viola Performance from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University under the tutelage of Joan DerHovsepian and James Dunham. To learn more about Yvone, please visit yvonnesmithviola.com.