Patti LuPone Wins the Tony!

We're so proud of the festival's good friend Patti LuPone who won Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical this past Sunday at the 2008 Tony awards. Her monumental role of Mama Rose in the Broadway revival of Gypsy has gotten rave reviews, but this wasn't the first time she ever played the role. As you may recall, it was at Ravinia in the summer of 2006 where LuPone first took hold of Mama Rose and made the New York Times exclaim, "Ms. LuPone sang with exciting power and warmth." We're all so proud of you Patti and thank you for mentioning Ravinia and our president Welz Kauffman in your acceptance speech. This is the character you were born to play!



Amy Schrage
Associate Director of Communications

Picnic Tips from Ravinia Patrons

If you are a Ravinia Festival regular (and even if you’re not), you have probably seen some fantastic picnics while taking a stroll around the grounds. However, only once in a while can you actually remember any of them after the performance. Jon and Sharon Bayer of Lake Bluff know how to put together a memorable picnic with a gorgeous bouquet of flowers, flickering ice cube lights, and a premier spot on the lawn.

The Bayers have been loyal Ravinia patrons since 1993 and attend about 40 concerts every summer. Although they enjoy the variety of music offered here, Jon and Sharon are especially excited about Buddy Guy, Lang Lang, Sheryl Crow, the Mozart Operas, the Joffrey Ballet, Itzhak Perlman, and Lyle Lovett. They have been apart of the Annual Fund for four years and love being able to arrive early to claim their usual spot on the lawn. I had the opportunity to get some tips from Jon before the Robert Plant and Alison Krauss concert to find out how they put together an amazing spread with such little effort.

•Keep folding chairs and a small table in the car for easy access and store coolers by the door in the garage
•Buy a luggage cart and stack the heaviest things at the bottom to balance the weight
•Bring reusable plastic plates and glasses so nothing will break (plus they are heavy enough to prevents things from blowing away)
•Make your own Ravinia Festival tablecloths with fabric from the store and sew strips of elastic to the bottom of the four corners so it can be attached to the table in order to secure it against the wind
•Freeze margarita mix ahead of time in doubled plastic bags because it will keep your food cold and be a refreshing drink during the show
•Don’t forget an iPod for pre-show musical entertainment

Although Jon and Sharon’s flower arrangements look professionally done, they are actually from their home garden. Jon insists that an unbreakable vase is must and it has to be heavy when filled with water so it won’t spill or fall over. He typically fills a large silver vase with peonies, lilies, common foxgloves, and lovely belladonnas.

Sometimes he prints out menus for guests when they dine on the lawn. Below are some recipes of the Bayer’s favorite foods to bring to Ravinia Festival. Jon remarked that, “The best thing about coming to Ravinia is just getting outside, enjoying the weather and music, eating alfresco, and visiting with friends and family.”

Germaine Maschoff
Communications Intern



Menu & Recipes from the Bayers

Menu:
*Chips with guacamole
*Fresh veggies with roasted garlic hummus
*Salad of: fresh green spinach, sliced strawberries, blueberries, blue cheese pistachios. Dress with Ken’s Raspberry walnut Lite Vinaigrette
*Grilled Chicken Breasts basted with Bronco Bob’s Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce
*Wild rice with nuts
*Grilled asparagus
*Key Lime Pie


Key Lime Pie

9 inch ginger-graham cracker pie shell (see recipe below)
1 – 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
3 egg yokes (whites not used)
½ cup Nellie & Joe’s Key West Lime Juice

Combine milk, egg yolks and lime juice. Blend until smooth. Pour filling into pie shell and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Allow to stand 10 minutes before refrigerating. Before serving; top with a dollop of freshly whipped cream (or Cool Whip) and garnish with thin slice of lime.

Key Lime Pie ginger-graham cracker pie shell

1 cup flaked coconut
½ cup gingersnap crumbs
½ cup graham cracker crumbs
½ stick butter or margarine, melted
2 tablespoons flour.

At least 3 ½ hours before serving, make crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine all ingredients, mixing well. Firmly press mixture evenly over bottom and ¾ inch up sides of eight individual tart pans or one 9-inch springform pan or pie plate. Bake 5 minutes; chill.


Wild Rice with nuts

½ cup (1/4 pound) raw wild rice
½ cup brown rice (you can use all wild rice but I like combining it with other rice’s for interest)
5 ½ cups defatted chicken stock or water or bullion
1 cup shelled pecan halves (or your favorite nuts)
1 cup yellow raisins (I always soak the raisins in warm water to plump them before using)
Grated rind of 1 large orange
¼ cup chopped fresh mint
4 scallions (green onions), thinly sliced
¼ cup olive oil ( I often don’t use the oil, start with none, taste it and add 1 tablespoonful at a time)
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
1 ½ teaspoons salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Put rice in a strainer and run under cold water, rinse thoroughly. Place rice in medium-size heavy saucepan. Add stock or water and bring to a rapid boil. Adjust heat to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 45 minutes. After 30 minutes check for doneness; rice should not be too soft. Place a thin towel inside a colander and turn rice into the colander and drain. Transfer drained rice to a bowl.

Add remaining ingredients to rice and toss gently. Adjust seasoning to taste. Let mixture stand for 2 hours to allow flavor to develop. Serve at room temperature. Six portions.

James Taylor's Music "Heals" for One Fan

Fans of James Taylor say that his music warms their hearts and souls. For Paula Hootman his melodious lyrics speak directly to her. Diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997 at age 41, Paula found the strength to survive and live to see another day while listening to Taylor’s music and singing along while undergoing radiation. As a survivor, Paula believes, “Getting a handshake from James Taylor is as good as a clean mammogram.” The words in his songs inspire and revitalize her like nothing else.

“Everyone loves JT because his music makes everyone click, everyone feels what you’re feeling at the same time,” Paula says.

The first time Paula saw James Taylor was when she was just 14 years old. She has traveled all over the U.S. and Canada to see him perform with her husband Kayne. The Ravinia concerts on June 6th and 7th marked her 48th and 49th concert to see her favorite performer. The concerts were particularly special to the high school sweethearts because he sang “Your Smiling Face,” which was their wedding march.

She recently won tickets to see Taylor in Massachusetts where she hopes to get her picture taken with him. It seems very likely since Taylor has become familiar with Paula and knows her by name. The Grammy-winning artist thanked her for bringing him flowers from the Ravinia stage and said he would see her in Massachusetts.

Germaine Maschoff
Communications Intern

Ravinia Opportunities: Building A Better Future

It was a note struck more than a decade ago that is still ringing loud today. Building on the Women’s Board’s Opportunity Lawn Pass program, Artistic Director of Jazz at Ravinia, Ramsey Lewis, suggested that Ravinia could help fill the void left by the demise of music education in budget-strapped schools, and since then Education and Community Partnerships have been a primary mission of the festival.

It’s fitting that it all began with jazz, a music known for its riffing, improvising and evolving because our efforts in the schools and community have done just that. Even as we’ve grown into different grade levels, opened a free public conservatory of our own, and created learning opportunities in our park, performance of live music remains at the forefront of Ravinia’s ECP efforts.

The Jazz Scholars who work with Ravinia’s music-professional mentors, enjoy rare opportunities to perform in school and out and have even opened for Ramsey Lewis himself, and younger kids even get the chance to perform works they created in our Martin Theatre.

Of course, not everyone we reach and teach is destined to play. Enjoyment of live music is a big part of the program. Ravinia makes a variety of resources available to learners of all ages to experience musical performance at Ravinia and even in the neighborhoods, such as Lawndale, where we present free community concerts.

We give free passes to college students to hear Chicago Symphony Orchestra concerts and other classical programs. We allow children 5 and under to attend CSO shows for free.

We afford special pricing to select concerts for young people who play or sing in a school ensemble. We present children’s concerts where our youngest listeners learn what concert-going is all about.

We present concerts by groups like Midwest Young Artists, the Chicago Youth Symphony and Chicago Children’s Choir, so those emerging talents not only have an outlet for their performances, but so that their contemporaries can relate to seeing people their age on stage.

In short, we do what can to develop both the artists and audiences of tomorrow.

Welz Kauffman
President/CEO

Plant Your Own Ravinia Garden

I’m not one to know the Latin names of flowers or how often to water a cactus as opposed to an orchid or a daisy. In my world, the best tulip bulbs are merely expensive rabbit food, and one summer I spent over $700 to grow two ears of corn. But I do know enough to steal a good idea when I see one.

Ravinia’s award-winning gardens are filled with good ideas. But unless your Johnny Knoxville, you won’t want to repeat some of these stunts at home. It all started for me with a bed of Brown-eyed Susans just inside the west gate. They were tall with beyond-yellow petals surrounding smiley-face heads, looking the way God and Crayola-armed kindergarteners intend flowers to look. I spoke with the guy who planted them. Copied down the plant’s name and headed to the best garden center near my home. They had about eight different species of the plant. Not wanting to make any mistakes, I got a couple of each. As I got onto my knees in the soil—and believe me I’d rather spend the weekend watching Facts of Life reruns—then getting down on my knees in the soil—I imagined myself winning gardening awards, perhaps even for cross-pollenating these eight kinds of daisies into a new Super-Susan who could water herself and help me tend to the single corn stalk that survived the crows. Instead when the flowers finally did emerge—in the very last seconds of summer—they were small, pale and quite accusatory. Despite being perennials, they didn’t bother to come back.

When you fail, steal another idea. Something from Ravinia’s gardens were bound to take root. So by trial and error, I’ll tell you about a couple of the plants that look great at Ravinia and equally good at my house. That means they’re damned easy to take care of:

·Plantation Lilies—for my money, the best looking hostas out there. This hardy shade-loving plant has elephant-ear leaves and tall stalks of white to purplish flowers.

·False Spirea—I don’t know what true spirea is, but it can’t be any better than this great flowering border plant, which shoots up a beautiful plume of small-bud flowers (in a variety of colors from purple to red to white), but looks equally beautiful when not in bloom at all.

·Coral bells—Out of the shade and into the sun, these plants work best in mounds. The leaves are big and they have slender stalks with handing flowers. Put them in the ground and stand back.

Remember, just add water. I’m not a big water drinker myself—I had a glass in the ‘70s—preferring Diet Coke for breakfast, lunch and dinner, so it’s sometimes hard for me to remember that even these easy-living plants need H20. So get a hose and live it up with your Ravinia-at-home garden.

Nick Pullia
Director of Communications

Be there for Los Tigres at Ravinia!

Latin Dance Night on Saturday was the perfect kick off to the 2008 season at Ravinia Festival. The weather was gorgeous and the music was hot! Groupo Yuba welcomed everyone at the main gate with traditional Puerto Rican drumming, singing and dancing.

The Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra started the night off in great form. Tiempo Libre got everyone up and on their feet dancing to the infections Tropical rhythms. And speaking of dancing, check out the moves by Luna Negra!



It got me really excited about our next Latin night on June 14 when Los Tigres del Norte take stage for the first time at Ravinia. Los Tigres is a hugely popular Mexican band which follows in the tradition of storytelling through music. The songs are written around real life issues, including working class problems, immigration, love and relationship struggles.

Los Tigres del Norte was the first concert I saw when I was just a little kid. I still remember sitting on my dad’s shoulders and watching the crowd cheering and dancing. For the people who know Los Tigres, this is going to be a fantastic night of memories and tradition. For those who don’t know about them, come out and see for yourself why this group has won multiple Grammy awards and sold more than 32 million albums world wide. You don’t want to miss it!

Adriana McClintock
Marketing Manager

RAVINIA IS GOING AS GREEN AS ITS FAMOUS LAWN

You’ll see Ravinia staff wearing the buttons this summer. “GO GREEN – RAVINIA RECYCLES.” It’s our way of answering in advance one of the most commonly asked questions by our audiences. Some people assume that Ravinia doesn’t recycle because we don’t put the burden on our guests, who can intermingle the items they throw away in our conveniently located garbage cans. All of the trash collected on our lawn is taken to the Groot waste removal company where it is sorted by hand. Recyclables, such as wine bottles and pop cans, are sifted out and sent on their way to their new incarnations.

Our recycling program is just one of our efforts to become an even greener environment. Here are some steps:

·Take-away cups, containers and cutlery at our food-service outlets are compostable.

·The cleaning supplies we use are organic.

·We are replacing our incandescent lighting with compact fluorescent bulbs, which are highly regarded for their energy saving.

·Most of our parking is unpaved, allowing for natural drainage for the surrounding neighborhood.

·Our new dining pavilion is largely constructed of a rapidly renewable type of wood provided by nurseries with sustainable harvesting. Many of the materials in this building, such as the carpeting, were created from recycled matter.

We are also looking at other opportunities to “green” things up. If you have any suggestions, email me at nick@ravina.org

Nick Pullia
Director of communications

A Wonderful Experience

I had a quite wonderful experience yesterday at the Poe Elementary
School, one which I wish every Trustee could have shared. I went to a
performance by the Amelia Piano trio who we had engaged to come in and
play for a group of roughly 300 K through 3rd grade kids. Poe is an all
Black School (3 white faces out of 300, and I saw no Hispanics). This
performance was to follow the four or five weeks of music education we
had provided for these kids. It was, I promise you, a transcendental
experience to be there.

The leader of the Amelia Trio is a marvelous teacher. He stood up in
front of the kids and drew large pictures with a magic marker on a large
piece of paper encouraging the kids to guess who each was. The first, a
smiley faced be-wigged character with 23 children (which the kids loved!)
was Bach. It is hard to describe how totally enthralled the kids were
as they then listed to a short Bach piece (the three instruments, piano,
cello and violin having be previously demonstrated by the performers).
Next came a man with an angry face, so bad with money that he lost it
all in his life and when he died at 35 was buried in a pauper's grave
with many others and his grave is still undiscovered. This was, of
course, Mozart. After a Mozart piece was played, a picture of a third
man was shown, a few lines from Beethoven's 5th were played on the
piano, and three hundred kids cried out in unison "Beethoven!" The last
was Mendelssohn whose sister, we learned, was the better composer of the
two. The kids really and truly enjoyed themselves. But, more
importantly, they have learned to love classical music, and had
obviously learned a lot in the previous weeks with the Ravinia-provided
teacher.

We are really and truly doing wonderful things! And, I must say, as a
Trustee, I am very, very proud. These little kids, in the middle of a
very poor, very disadvantaged neighborhood, have had a chance to reach
for the stars. I suspect we have begun them on a lifetime of music
appreciation. I believe deeply in the concept that these young children
will soon go underground as they get old enough to be "cool", but like
the 17 year cicadas, will emerge in their 30's and 40's and find their
way to Ravinia or downtown to the CSO. I make quite a number of small
contributions to various civic and community organizations, but none
that makes me as proud as that to the Education and Community
Partnerships work. Bravissimo to all those who work so hard to make
this happen. And a particular kudos to Luciano who did a wonderful job
of liaison with school and performers and made the entire thing come off
seamlessly without a hitch.


Loring W. Knoblauch

Pavarotti Remembered

A Ravinia patron sent the following e-mail today:

Does anyone remember when Luciano performed at Ravina? we were talking
about him today at work and I was telling someone I remembered taking my Mom
on a beautiful night to Ravina to see him, and they told me they were there
as well, it was he and his wife's first date. Such a wonderful evening
all of us had, but we can't remember when it was! I just know it was a
long time ago : )


Pavarotti’s Ravinia credits are as follows:

Edward Gordon (Ravinia's executive director) and Ardis Krainik (Lyric Opera's general director) welcoming him here at O'Hare in 1983

His benefit performance in 1983 with conductor Bruno Bartoletti and the Lyric Opera Orchestra

Sept. 3, 1983-- post-season benefit concert

June 14, 1988-- pre-season benefit recital

Ravinia Gala in 1991 with Kathleen Battle and the CSO led by Ravinia Music Director James Levine

June 21, 1991-- Gala Benefit concert performance of Donizetti's L'Elisir d'amore

He was also scheduled to do a Gala Benefit concert performance of Puccini’s Tosca in 1995, but cancelled at the last minute.

John Schauer
Associate Director of Communications, Publications

Ravinia Experience 2007 Contest

Got a favorite memory of attending Ravinia this summer you'd like to share? Send it to webmaster@ravinia.org for a chance to win a prize. Whether it's meeting that someone special, enjoying a great night of music or picnicking under the stars, we'd like to hear from you. Entry must be received by 5:00 p.m. CDT on Wednesday, September 5.

Gipsy Kings, Friday, August 17

Friday night’s Gipsy Kings show at Ravinia proved to be one of the peaks of the season. The Gipsy Kings, hailing from the South of France, brought out Chicagoland and beyond as they churned out two hours of world music hits. The lawn came alive as always but this time with patrons demonstrating their best flamenco and salsa moves. Every concrete surface in the park was at once converted into a vibrant dance floor. The party extended to the Pavilion, where Gipsy Kings front man, Nicolas Reyes, brought hands together and crowds to their feet-- ¡Levantemonos! There was no lack of crowd interaction—I even found myself answering, “¡Bien!” to Nicolas Reyes’ frequent question “¿Cómo están ustedes?” Having never seen the Gipsy Kings live before their Aug. 17 performance, it was such an amazing sight to see them here at Ravinia—and the crowds they drew were no less entertaining.

Farah Ansari
Communications Intern

Gala Benefit Evening

Caroline Huebner, Audrey Rubinstein, and Jane Casper

Caroline Huebner, Jane Casper, James Conlon, Ana Maria Martinez, Plácido Domingo, and Audrey Rubinstein

Inside the tent

Zarin Mehta, Carmen Mehta, and Welz Kauffman

Welz Kauffman, Mamie Case, and Greg Case

Judy Lavin and Michael Lavin

On August 4 the Ravinia Festival held its annual Gala Benefit Evening hosted by the Women’s Board of Ravinia Festival. Having never been to an event like this, I was excited and anxious about what to expect. I didn’t realize how many people and how much work it took to pull off such a large event. My task that evening was to work with one of the photographers and document all the people in his pictures. From this perspective, I was able to see the event from every angle. The Gala was a great success, with magnificent performances by Plácido Domingo, Ana María Martínez and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ravinia Music Director James Conlon.

Crystal Globe Award Goes To Conlon!

Left to right: Jennifer Ringo, James Conlon, Audrey and Michael Rubinstein

After a wonderful performance of Alexander Zemlinsky's "The Mermaid" by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra led by our music director James Conlon, the Anti-Defamation League honored Conlon at a post concert dinner for his efforts championing the works of composers silenced by The Third Reich, giving him the Crystal Globe Award. The State of Illinois also issued a proclamation to congratulate Conlon on being honored by the ADL and he received personal congratulatory letters from Illinois Senators Barack Obama and Richard Durbin, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. General Chairs for the dinner were Audrey and Michael Rubinstein. Congratulations, James!

Amy Schrage
Associate Director of Communications

Sculpture Highlights from Ravinia

Sculpture Highlights from RaviniaA gift from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Mayer of Winnetka, IL, Sorel Etrog’s Survivors Are Not Heroes joined the Ravinia Festival’s south lawn in 1991. Like many of Etrog’s sculptures, Survivors attempts to communicate the tensions and interactions between man and machine. Though Survivors is made of bronze, Etrog has often tried to make the medium the message, as his one-time collaborator, Marshall McLuhan, would say. Etrog also worked with wood, bolts and screws, hinges, and steel constructions.

Farah Ansari
Communications Intern

Romance at Ravinia

In August of 1995, my fiancé George and I went to Ravinia to see George
Benson perform. It was a beautiful summer night although a bit chilly
in the evening. After dinner, George asked for his jacket and I'm
thinking "he's never cold". He proceeded to take a box out of the
jacket pocket and there it was: A beautiful diamond ring! On his knee
he went and proposed that evening to me! We had a fabulous night and
people sitting around us applauded and took pictures. We bought that
year's poster to commemorate the event and it is still hanging in our
home. On the bus ride to our car, I went around showing everyone and
again applause and good wishes were bestowed upon us. We had a
wonderful evening and every year when we go to Ravinia, we take a walk
around the park and visit "our spot" and reminisce about that evening.
Ravinia has always been our most favorite place to go each season and
now it's even more special to us.

Linda Van Geem
Ravinia Patron

Do you have a story to share about your favorite Ravinia memory? E-mail it to webmaster@ravinia.org.

Albin Polasek's "Elizabeth"

The sculptures located throughout the Ravinia Festival have complex histories and stunning features. My personal favorite among these works of art is a subtle yet remarkable sculpture. “Elizabeth” is a beautifully sculpted bronze statue located on the northeast section of the Ravinia Festival lawn. Created by Czech artist Albin Polasek, “Elizabeth” reveals the free spirited air that children possess. It expresses fluidity and motion with its smooth lines and curves and polished surface. What is most fascinating is that Polasek created this work in 1956, after he had suffered from a stroke that paralyzed the left side of his body. Sculpting such an exquisite work of art with one hand is an achievement that evokes amazement among spectators. The Ravinia Festival is honored to have such a talented artist’s creation amplifying its collection.

Juliane Chalabi
Communications Intern

Patricia Locke Jewelry

This season the Ravinia Festival has had the joy of working with Chicago native Patricia Locke, a self-taught jewelry designer who has been hand-crafting fine jewelry since the 1970s. This year she has created a line of jewelry specifically for Ravinia that features architectural elements of the festival. The inspiration for this jewelry comes from the stained glass of the Martin Theatre, which is the oldest building at Ravinia, dating back to 1904. The jewelry crafted for Ravinia ranges from necklaces to earrings to brooches. Last week Locke visited Ravinia for a signing of her stunning jewelry, which can be purchased at the Ravinia gift shop. Seeing the artist next to her work, one could understand where the creativity for each piece stems. Locke is an energetic and inspirational artist whose impeccable crafts are now a staple of this season at Ravinia.

Juliane Chalabi
Communications Intern

Steve Miller Band - July 13th

Photos by Russell Jenkins
Manager of Graphic Arts and Photography

Sunday in the Park with Mozart

Photos by Farah Ansari
Communications

Reproduced Ads - Vote Yes or No

As editor of Ravinia’s program books, I often find myself looking through past issues for historical references about the festival—for instance, a 1921 program announcing “Spectacular 7-reel Motion Picture Features, in conjunction with musical program by members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.” But perhaps the best—and most amusing—reflection of the times can be found in the old advertisements. A 1927 program featured “a new ‘pick-up’ drink from Switzerland” called Ovaltine; and legendary soprano Elisabeth Rethberg plugging cigarettes (!), saying, “I think all singers recognize that Lucky Strikes are not only kind to the throat but afford the greatest enjoyment—that is why I prefer them.” Those ads are priceless, and I wonder if anyone would be interested in seeing some of them reproduced in our current program magazine.

John Schauer
Associate Director of Communications, Publications



If you are interested in seeing old ads reproduced in the program books, please e-mail webmaster@ravinia.org.