CHICAGO S GRANT PARK MUSIC FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES ITS 79 TH SEASON JUNE 12 AUGUST 17, 2013 IN MILLENNIUM PARK

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For Immediate Release Contact: Jill Hurwitz,312.744.9179 Jill.hurwitz@gpmf.

1 For Immediate Release Contact: Jill Hurwitz, CHICAGO S GRANT PARK MUSIC FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES ITS 79 TH SEASON JUNE 12 AUGUST 17, 2013 IN MILLENNIUM PARK Highlights include the Chicago premiere of Qigang Chen s Iris dévoilée, Miguel Harth-Bedoya s multi-media tribute to the Incan civilization, Caminos del Inka, Roberto Sierra s Concerto for Saxophones with jazz great James Carter, John Adams landmark work, Harmonium, and Benjamin Britten s War Requiem Festival brings a renewed focus to the neighborhoods with Grant Park Chorus performances At the South Shore Cultural Center and Columbus Park Refectory, And the return of Classical Campers, introducing young people to the Festival CHICAGO (February 13, 2013) Grant Park Music Festival Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Carlos Kalmar and Chorus Director Christopher Bell announce programming for the Festival s 79 th Season, taking place June 12 August 17, 2013 at the in Chicago s Millennium Park. All concerts are free and most will take place on Wednesday and Friday evenings at 6:30 p.m., and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m. (a complete schedule is attached.) This summer, Carlos Kalmar will lead the Grammy Award-nominated Grant Park Orchestra and Christopher Bell will direct the award-winning Grant Park Chorus in a season of 21 distinct programs. One of the highlights will be the Chicago premiere of Qigang Chen s evocative Iris dévoilée, a work that blends Eastern and Western musical traditions, showcasing Chinese singers Xiaoduo Chen and Meng Meng, and featuring the Chinese instruments erhu, pipa and zheng along with the Grant Park Orchestra. Audiences will also see Miguel Harth-Bedoya s stirring, multi-media tribute to the Incan civilization, Caminos del Inka; Roberto Sierra s Concerto for Saxophones with jazz virtuoso James Carter playing multiple saxophones; and John Adams rarely performed landmark work for orchestra and chorus, Harmonium, based on the poems of John Donne and Emily Dickinson. The Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus will commemorate the centenary of the birth of Benjamin Britten with two performances of his powerful masterwork, War Requiem and the Festival will celebrate the 100 th anniversary of the premiere of Igor Stravinsky s seminal piece, The Rite of Spring with two performances on closing weekend. Throughout the ten week season, the Festival will be joined by a roster of nationally and internationally acclaimed guest artists including conductors Hannu Lintu, Thierry Fischer, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Eugene Tzigane, Jeff Tyzik, pianists Valentina Lisitsa, Kirill Gerstein, and Alessio Bax, violinists Karen Gomyo and Stefan Jackiw, clarinetist Martin Frost, saxophonist James Carter, and the global sounds of Pink Martini. -more-

2 Audiences will discover a diverse season that has something for everyone, announced Artistic Director Carlos Kalmar. We re playing some of the most beloved music of all time, along with choral masterpieces, contemporary works, Latin American music and a tribute to Rodgers and Hammerstein. There will be nothing better this summer than to join us at the Pritzker Pavilion and hear the sounds of the glorious Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus. Christopher Bell and the Grant Park Chorus will reach new audiences by bringing Songs of Praise and Passion, a program of a cappella music, to two Chicago Park District facilities: the South Shore Cultural Center on July 30 and the Columbus Park Refectory on August 1. We re thrilled to be able to return to the tradition of showcasing the Grant Park Chorus in the neighborhoods and providing exposure to audiences who might never come to Millennium Park, added Chorus Director Christopher Bell. New this year, the Festival will partner with the Chicago Sinfonietta on Project Inclusion, a professional development program that guides young minority musicians in their career, with a goal of increasing diversity among orchestral ensembles. After a rigorous audition process, four string musicians Amyr Joyner (violin), Sarah Martin (violin), Yvonne Smith (viola) and Jocelyn Butler (cello) have been selected to spend their summer rehearsing and performing with Carlos Kalmar and the Grant Park Orchestra. The Festival will again collaborate with DePaul and Roosevelt Universities to offer advanced training and performance opportunities for pre-professional vocal students as part of its Apprentice Chorale. Led by Christopher Bell, the students will perform alongside the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus. Again this summer, the Festival will host Classical Campers, its popular half-day music and arts immersion program for children ages 6-12, in collaboration with the Chicago Park District. Throughout the season, 1,600 students from more than 30 different Chicago neighborhoods will tour Millennium Park and the Lurie Garden, learn about the instruments and sections of the orchestra with Project Inclusion fellows, take part in an art project that focuses on the connections between music, architecture and nature, and conclude their day with a visit to a Grant Park Music Festival rehearsal. Now in its fourth summer, Classical Campers often provides children with their first exposure to a live classical music performance. These collaborations with the Chicago Park District, Chicago Sinfonietta and the universities allow us to realize our mission of making classical music accessible to all, said Paul Winberg, President and CEO of the Grant Park Orchestral Association. The Festival is committed to lifelong learning opportunities and helping to build the next generation of music lovers. The Festival will continue to provide educational experiences for people of all ages that encourage the audience to learn more about the music. Returning for a second year is Club 615, a free pre-concert lecture series that takes place every Saturday night throughout the season at 6:15 p.m. in the Choral Hall, located on the east side of the. Hosted by Derek Matson and other guest lecturers, Club 615 provides an engaging way to learn about the evening s program, with insights shared by the Festival s conductors, composers, and musicians. Club 615 begins on June 15; lectures are minutes long. Open lunchtime rehearsals of the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus return June 11 through August 16 and typically take place Tuesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Audiences are welcome to sit in the Pavilion Seating Bowl during rehearsals and Festival docents will be on site to talk about the week s concerts during rehearsal breaks. -2-

3 Membership and Ticket Information All Grant Park Music Festival concerts are free and open to the public. Seating in the Seating Bowl and on the Great Lawn is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Memberships to the Grant Park Music Festival 79 th season are also available, which allow access to premium seats in a reserved area for all Festival concerts. Memberships with seating benefits begin at $150 and include parking and restaurant discounts. For those who prefer to sit in the free seating areas of the Seating Bowl and the Great Lawn, the Friends of the Festival membership level is another option that allows patrons to support the Festival and receive membership benefits such as discounts on parking and at nearby restaurants. Friends of the Festival memberships are only $75. Priority access to reserved seats in the Pavilion is available for groups of ten or more. Exclusive seating on the stage of the in the Choral Balcony is available for groups of 50 or more. Group tickets begin at $15. For more information about the Grant Park Music Festival including membership and group seating, visit gpmf.org or call For additional information, visit the Grant Park Music Festival Facebook page or follow the Festival on Grant Park Music Festival Acclaimed by critics and beloved by audiences, the Grant Park Music Festival is the nation s only free, summer-long outdoor classical music series of its kind. The in Millennium Park, located between Michigan and Columbus Avenues at Washington Street, is the official home of the Grant Park Music Festival. The Grant Park Music Festival is proudly presented by the Grant Park Orchestral Association with key support from the Chicago Park District and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. The Grant Park Music Festival is led by Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Carlos Kalmar, along with Grant Park Chorus Director Christopher Bell, Grant Park Orchestral Association President and CEO Paul Winberg, and Board Chair Chuck Kierscht. The Grant Park Music Festival gratefully acknowledges the generous support from its 2013 sponsors: BMO Harris Bank, Season Sponsor; American Airlines, Official Airline; Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park, Official Hotel; Fifth Third Bank, Concert Sponsor; Mariano s Fresh Market, Official Picnic Sponsor; and Millennium Park Garages, Parking Sponsor. The Grant Park Music Festival is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. ### -3-

4 GRANT PARK MUSIC FESTIVAL SELECT 2013 CONCERT HIGHLIGHTS Eastern and Western musical traditions entwine in the Chicago premiere of Qigang Chen s sensuous Iris dévoilée featuring sopranos Xiaoduo Chen and Meng Meng with Wei-Yang Andy Lin on erhu, Yang Wei on pipa, Yang Yi on zheng, along with the Grant Park Orchestra. Carlos Kalmar conducts. (June 21 and 22). The Festival honors the 100 th anniversary of Benjamin Britten s birth with his powerful masterwork War Requiem. The timeless work for orchestra and chorus juxtaposes the anti-war poems of Wilfred Owen, the English writer killed in combat just seven days before the end of World War I, with the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass for the Dead. Featuring Erin Wall, soprano; Jeremy Ovenden, tenor; Alan Held, bass; Chicago Children s Choir, Josephine Lee, artistic director. Carlos Kalmar conducts; Christopher Bell, chorus director. (June 28 and 29). Miguel Harth-Bedoya conducts his program Caminos del Inka, a musical journey through South America with a spectacular multi-media tribute to the vast empire of the Incas and the ancient melodies of the Inca Trail, featuring works by Daniel Alomía Robles, Gabriela Lena Frank, Osvaldo Golijov, Ary Barroso and more. Grant Park Orchestra members Mary Stolper, flute and Walter Haman, cello are soloists. (July 12 and 13). Following their Golden Anniversary last summer, Christopher Bell and the Grant Park Chorus travel to the magnificent South Shore Cultural Center on July 30 with Songs of Praise and Passion, a concert of moving a cappella music. They reprise the program on August 1 at the Columbus Park Refectory overlooking the beautiful grounds designed by landscape architect Jens Jensen. (July 30 at the South Shore Cultural Center, 7059 S. South Shore Drive; August 1, Columbus Park Refectory, 5701 W Jackson Boulevard). Jazz virtuoso James Carter performs a work commissioned for him by the Detroit Symphony, Roberto Sierra s Concerto for Saxophones. Works exploring Brazilian folklore, the tango, and the prairies of Argentina round out a program of Latin American music. Carlos Kalmar conducts. (August 7). Closing weekend pairs John Adams visionary, rarely performed landmark work for orchestra and chorus, Harmonium, with Igor Stravinsky s The Rite of Spring a work as powerful and relevant today as when it premiered one hundred years ago. Carlos Kalmar conducts. (August 16 and 17). -4-

5 2013 SEASON LINE-UP OPENING NIGHT Wednesday, June 12 at 6:30PM Grant Park Orchestra; Carlos Kalmar, conductor; Stefan Jackiw, violin Norman Drip Mozart Violin Concerto No. 5, Turkish Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 ALEXANDER NEVSKY Friday, June 14 at 6:30PM Saturday, June 15 at 7:30PM Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus; Carlos Kalmar, conductor; Christopher Bell, chorus director Barber Medea s Meditation and Dance of Vengeance Copland Suite: Billy the Kid Prokofiev Alexander Nevsky PINK MARTINI Wednesday, June 19 at 6:30PM Grant Park Orchestra; Carlos Kalmar, conductor; Pink Martini Works TBD -5-

6 IRIS DÉVOILÉE Friday, June 21 at 6:30PM Saturday, June 22 at 7:30PM Grant Park Orchestra; Carlos Kalmar, conductor; Xiaoduo Chen, soprano; Meng Meng, soprano; Wei-Yang Andy Lin, erhu; Yang Wei, pipa; Yang Yi, zheng Chen Iris dévoilée Fauré Pelléas and Mélisande: Suite Ravel La Valse NIELSEN CLARINET CONCERTO Wednesday, June 26 at 6:30PM Grant Park Orchestra; Carlos Kalmar, Conductor; Martin Frost, clarinet Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 5 Nielsen Clarinet Concerto Martinu Thunderbolt P47 BRITTEN WAR REQUIEM Friday, June 28 at 6:30PM Saturday, June 29 at 7:30PM Grant Park Chorus; Carlos Kalmar, conductor; Christopher Bell, chorus director; Erin Wall, soprano; Jeremy Ovenden, tenor; Alan Held, bass; Chicago Children s Choir, Josephine Lee, artistic director Britten War Requiem INDEPENDENCE EVE CELEBRATION Wednesday July 3 at 6:30PM Grant Park Orchestra; Christopher Bell, conductor, Janai Brugger, soprano Works TBD -6-

7 DVOŘÁK S NEW WORLD SYMPHONY Friday July 5 at 6:30PM Saturday July 6 at 7:30PM Grant Park Orchestra; Eugene Tzigane, guest conductor; Alessio Bax, piano Bolcom Ragomania, A Classic Festival Overture Barber Piano Concerto Dvořák Symphony No. 9, From the New World GRANT PARK POPS LET S DANCE Wednesday, July 10 at 8:00PM Grant Park Orchestra; Jeff Tyzik, guest conductor NOTE START TIME Works TBD CAMINOS DEL INKA NOTE START TIME Friday, July 12 at 8:00PM Saturday, July 13 at 8:00PM Grant Park Orchestra; Miguel Harth-Bedoya, guest conductor; Mary Stolper, flute; Walter Haman, cello Featuring works by Daniel Alomía Robles, Gabriela Lena Frank, Osvaldo Golijov, Ary Barroso and more. A RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN CELEBRATION Wednesday, July 17 at 6:30PM Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus; Christopher Bell, conductor; Rebecca Luker, soprano; Doug LaBrecque, tenor; William Michals, baritone Featuring works from Oklahoma, South Pacific, The King and I, Carousel and The Sound of Music by Rodgers and Hammerstein, along with favorites from Kern and Hammerstein and Rodgers and Hart. -7-

8 SAINT-SAËNS ORGAN SYMPHONY Friday, July 19 at 6:30PM Saturday, July 20 at 7:30PM Grant Park Orchestra; Thierry Fischer, guest conductor Berlioz Overture: King Lear Martin Concerto for Seven Winds Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3, Organ Symphony SHOSTAKOVICH 5 th SYMPHONY Wednesday, July 24 at 6:30PM Grant Park Orchestra; Hannu Lintu, guest conductor; Kirill Gerstein, piano Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1 Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 SIBELIUS VIOLIN CONCERTO Friday, July 26 at 6:30PM Saturday, July 27 at 7:30PM Grant Park Orchestra; Hannu Lintu, guest conductor; Karen Gomyo, violin Sibelius Pohjola s Daughter Glazunov Symphony No. 4 Sibelius Violin Concerto GRANT PARK CHORUS: SONGS OF PRAISE AND PASSION NOTE LOCATION, DATE AND START TIME Tuesday, July 30 at 7:00PM Location: South Shore Cultural Center, 7059 S. South Shore Dr. Grant Park Chorus; Christopher Bell, chorus director Works TBD -8-

9 KALMAR CONDUCTS BRUCKNER Wednesday, July 31 at 6:30PM Grant Park Orchestra; Carlos Kalmar, conductor Bruckner Symphony No. 2 GRANT PARK CHORUS: SONGS OF PRAISE AND PASSION NOTE LOCATION, DATE AND START TIME Thursday, August 1 at 7:00PM Location: Columbus Park Refectory, 5701 W. Jackson Blvd. Grant Park Chorus; Christopher Bell, chorus director Works TBD THE FIDDLER S CHILD NOTE LOCATION Friday, August 2 at 6:30PM Saturday, August 3 at 7:30PM Location: Harris Theater for Music and Dance Grant Park Orchestra; Carlos Kalmar, conductor Elgar Nursery Suite Janáček The Fiddler s Child Carpenter Adventures in a Perambulator CONCERTO FOR SAXOPHONES Wednesday, August 7 at 6:30PM Grant Park Orchestra; Carlos Kalmar, conductor; James Carter, saxophones Piazzolla (arr. Castagna) Milongón Festivo Ginastera Pampeana No. 3 Sierra Concerto for Saxophones Villa-Lobos Bachianas Brasileiras No. 7-9-

10 SCHUBERT MASS IN E FLAT Friday, August 9 at 6:30PM Saturday, August 10 at 7:30PM Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus; Carlos Kalmar, conductor; Christopher Bell, chorus director; Guest artists from the Lyric Opera s Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center Messiaen Les offrandis oubliées MacMillan Confessions of Isobel Gowdie Schubert Mass in E Flat Major RACHMANINOV SECOND PIANO CONCERTO Wednesday, August 14 at 6:30PM Grant Park Orchestra; Carlos Kalmar, conductor; Valentina Lisitsa, piano Shchedrin The Naughty Limericks Borodin Symphony No. 2 Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 THE RITE OF SPRING Friday, August 16 at 6:30PM Saturday, August 17 at 7:30PM Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus; Carlos Kalmar, conductor; Donald Nally, guest chorus director Adams Black Gondola Adams Harmonium Stravinsky The Rite of Spring -10-

THE SOUND OF SUMMER GRANT PARK MUSIC FESTIVAL 2013 FALL IN LOVE WITH THE MUSIC BECOME A MEMBER: RESERVE YOUR SEAT TODAY!

THE SOUND OF SUMMER GRANT PARK MUSIC FESTIVAL 2013 FALL IN LOVE WITH THE MUSIC BECOME A MEMBER: RESERVE YOUR SEAT TODAY! GRANT PARK MUSIC FESTIVAL Artistic Director and Principal Conductor CARLOS KALMAR