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Ravinia Announce 2016 Line Up That Includes Bob Dylan, Hollywood Vampires & Duran Duran
This year marks Ravinia’s ?? return to live concert series and brings back some fan favorites as well as new acts that have never played the Highland park festival. Ravinia is the nation’s most diverse music festival presents more than 140 events from June 2 through September 11, featuring the 80th-anniversary summer residency of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Some of the highlights this year include:
Classical artists include: Jean-Yves Thibaudet; Matthias Goerne; Gil Shaham; Joshua Bell and Chris Botti; Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma; Itzhak Perlman; Alisa Weilerstein; Lynn Harrell; Daniil Trifonov; Jeffrey Kahane; Zukerman Trio; Danielle de Niese; Midori; Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra; the Juilliard, Emerson, and Takács String Quartets; and RSMI alumni in the Chiara, Avalon, and Ariel String Quartets
Non-classical artists include :Seal; Train and Andy Grammer; Bonnie Raitt;
Hollywood Vampires with Alice Cooper, Joe Perry, and Johnny Depp; Billy Bob Thornton & The Boxmasters and Marty Stuart; Don Henley; Bryan Ferry; Barenaked Ladies; Seth MacFarlane; Duran Duran; Buddy Guy and Jeff Beck; Tony Bennett; Patti LaBelle; Phillip Phillips and Matt Nathanson; and Chris Cornell
Legendary artists Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons (June 12), Paul Simon (June 18), and Diana Ross (July 27) make their Ravinia debuts this summer. Bob Dylan (June 24) returns for the first time since 1964, when he was billed as “Robert Dylan,” with Chicago’s own Mavis Staples.
“There remain a handful of artists whose style and careers seem so custom-built for Ravinia’s environment that some people are amazed to discover they are making their festival debuts. This was certainly the case when I first booked Crosby, Stills & Nash in 2010, and I predict it will be that way this summer for legends like Paul Simon and Frankie Valli,” Kauffman said. “You can just picture them on our stage. They belong here.”
Also among the nonclassical artists making their Ravinia debuts this summer are Duran Duran and CHIC featuring Nile Rodgers (July 8/9); as seen on the recent Grammy Awards, the Hollywood Vampires, comprising Alice Cooper, Joe Perry, and Johnny Depp (July 17); Billy Bob Thornton & The Boxmasters and Marty Stuart (Sept. 2); Barenaked Ladies and OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) with Howard Jones in his second visit (June 9); The Commodores (June 23); Shawn Mullins (July 1); Neil Finn of Crowded House with Guster, similarly making its second appearance (July 7); Chris Cornell of Soundgarden, Audioslave, and Temple of the Dog (July 3); guitarist Jeff Beck on a double bill with festival favorite Buddy Guy (July 31); Bryan Ferry (Aug. 6); Mariachi Flor de Toloache (Sept. 5); and Katharine McPhee, star of TV’s Smash and Scorpion, opening for the return of Family Guy’s Seth MacFarlane with the Ravinia Festival Orchestra (June 22).
Ravinia is proud to welcome the following classical artists making their debuts at the festival. Ensembles: Ariel Quartet (Aug. 30), Avalon String Quartet (Aug. 31), Chiara String Quartet (Sept. 7/8), Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (Sept. 11); Conductors: Mei-Ann Chen (June 16),Cristian Măcelaru (July 12/13), Vasily Petrenko (July 20), Ben Gernon (July 26), Gustavo Gimeno (Aug. 2), Kirill Karabits (Aug. 5), George Hanson (Aug. 12), and George Daugherty (Sept. 11); Vocalists: Klea Blackhurst (Aug. 17) and Ryan VanDenBoom (Aug. 17); Sopranos:Delaram Kamareh (June 10), Ying Fang (July 23), and Danielle de Niese (Aug. 4); Mezzo-soprano: Karen Cargill (July 23); Bass-baritone:Stephen Bryant (June 10); Violinists: Shalini Vijayan (June 10) and Alejandro Loguercio (Aug. 19); Cellists: Cecilia Tsan (June 10),Christoph Richter (July 6), Adolfo Gutiérrez Arenas (Aug. 16), and the Juilliard String Quartet’s incoming member, Astrid Schween(June 27); Double bassist: Roberto Koch (Aug. 19); Pianists: Shani Diluka (June 10), Julia Hsu (July 22), George Li (July 24), Paul Lewis(Aug. 5), Christopher Park (Aug. 16), Michael Abramovich (Aug. 19), Lucas Debargue (Aug. 25), Lindsay Garritson (Aug. 30), Ran Dank(Sept. 1), Joseph Moog (Sept. 3), Dmitri Levkovich (Sept. 4), and Simon Savoy (Sept. 6); Guitarists: Reentko Dirks (Aug. 19) and Jason Vieaux (Sept. 2); Harpist: Yolanda Kondonassis (Sept. 2); Accordionist: Ksenija Sidorova (Aug. 19); Percussionists: Theresa Dimond(June 10), John Wakefield (June 10), and Itamar Doari(Aug. 19); Sound engineer: Yuanlin Chen (June 10); and Actor: Jack Gilpin (Aug. 30).
Ravinia looks forward to welcoming back Train and Andy Grammer (Aug. 26/27); Seal (Aug. 28); Bonnie Raitt (Sept. 3); Los Tigres del Norte(Sept. 5); Tony Bennett (Aug. 15); Patti LaBelle (June 23); O.A.R. (Sept. 4); Don Henley (Aug. 14/15);Indigo Girls (July 1); Steve Miller Band(July 2); Chick Corea, with his trio and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, and Lisa Fischer (July 4); Phillip Phillips and Matt Nathanson(July 10); Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Sweet Honey in the Rock (July 11); Lyle Lovett & his Large Band and Emmylou Harris (July 18); and War and Los Lonely Boys (Aug. 11).
TRIBUTE CONCERTS
Several Ravinia events will celebrate the lives and art of music’s brightest lights.
- The Gershwin Experience (June 11): Pianist Richard Glazier, whose music journey “From Broadway to Hollywood” was one of last year’s fast-selling concerts, returns with his musical storytelling style to essay the works of George Gershwin.
- Tribute to Jazz Greats (June 19): Creating the perfect Father’s Day outing, jazz giants Ramsey Lewis and John Pizzarelli salute the late, great jazz pianist and velvet-voiced singer Nat “King” Cole. On the same program, renowned pianist Monty Alexander makes his Ravinia debut with a tribute to one of the festival’s all-time favorites, Tony Bennett (who returns to Ravinia on Aug. 13). This concert also celebrates the next generation of jazz talent by welcoming the Grammy-nominated 12-year-old piano wunderkind Joey Alexander for his first performance on the Pavilion stage after making his Ravinia debut in Bennett Gordon Hall last summer.
- Jerry Garcia Symphonic Celebration (June 26): Singer-songwriter and guitarist of the Allman Brothers Band Warren Haynes evokes the style and sound of the late Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia with a symphonic dimension provided by the Ravinia Festival Orchestra.
- Over the Moon (July 19): Billed as “an orchestra of voices,” the Grammy-winning male chorus Chanticleer performs an evening of classic songs and new works in praise and awe of the Moon—everything from the Sinatra standard “Fly Me to the Moon” and Henry Mancini’s timeless “Moon River” to Nico Muhly’s Pierrot Lunaire, written just for them.
- You’re the Top: Cole Porter’s 125th Birthday Celebration (Aug. 17): Pianist Kevin Cole, fresh off his heartfelt tribute to Marvin Hamlisch at Ravinia last summer, returns with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as host and pianist to honor one of the wittiest songwriters of all time. The program also features singers Klea Blackhurst, Sylvia McNair, and Ryan VanDenBoom with David Alan Miller conducting.
- A Love Letter to Stephen Sondheim(Aug. 18): The singer who gave Stephen Sondheim his biggest chart-topping hit with “Send in the Clowns,” Judy Collins devotes an entire evening to the works of her favorite composer with the Passenger String Quartet.
- Something About Oscar (Aug. 29):Singer/dancer/actor Morris Gearring celebrates his friend and mentor, Chicago jazz great Oscar Brown Jr., in this one-man show on the $10 BGH Classics series.
- Bowie—The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust (Sept. 9): Classic Albums Live, known for its pitch-perfect, note-by-note re-creations of rock’s all-time most important records, will give a faithful performance of David Bowie’s fifth studio album, which tells the story of the fictitious rock star Ziggy Stardust. The group will end the show with a sample of other Bowie hits.
From Ravinia, Longtime, former music director James Levine returns for the first time in over two decades to conduct Mahler’s Second Symphony, as he did at his Ravinia debut 45 years ago.
Eight conductors make their Ravinia debuts, and four of those make their CSO debuts, including Kirill Karabits, Gustavo Gimeno, George Hanson, and Ben Gernon.
Legends Paul Simon, Diana Ross, and Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons among 74 Ravinia debuts; Bob Dylan returns for the first time since 1964.
Ten premieres include the first violin concerto by Wynton Marsalis, co-commissioned by Ravinia, and Tan Dun’s Water Passion.
Stravinsky’s The Firebird named “One Score, One Chicago” selection as Ravinia co-commissions dramatic new staging from the puppeteers behind Broadway’s War Horse.
Orchestras perform scores live as Ravinia shows the complete films Titanic, The Planets: An HD Odyssey, The Wizard of Oz, and Bugs Bunny at the Symphony II.
A series of vocal programs, including Rachmaninoff’s “Vespers,” celebrates the centennial of master choral director Robert Shaw.
Tributes to David Bowie, Oscar Brown Jr., Nat “King” Cole, Jerry Garcia, and Stephen Sondheim are featured.
Fourteen chamber programs explore “complete” works by Haydn, Bach, and Bartók and launch a three-year cycle of Beethoven’s piano sonatas by Jonathan Biss.
The first event kicks off Thursday, June 2nd 2016. It will be the Ruth Page Festival of Dance feature Concert Dance Inc. The first concert will be Thursday, June 9th 2016 and will be The Bare Naked Ladies featuring OMD and Howard Jones.
The season lasts concert will be Sept 7th, 2016. The final live performance will be Complete Bartok String Quartets and will perform 2 show back to back.
For more on the 2016 concert season including tickets and show times, click here
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