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CELEBRATE 35 YEARS OF CREATIVE ACHIEVEMENT WITH ALL-STAR LINEUP OF SPECIAL GUESTS
The Festival celebrates 35 years of creative achievement through the iconic John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation program, welcoming several MacArthur Fellows to the Festival. Renowned conductor Marin Alsop will be conducting this week's programs—Frans Lanting's LIFE: A Journey Through Time on July 20 and The New World Symphony on July 22 and 23.
Then join Christopher Bell and the Grant Park Chorus on July 24 at the Columbus Park Refectory and July 26 at South Shore Cultural Center as they perform a cappella choral songs as part of Shakespeare 400 Chicago.
One Night Membership Passes for reserved seats in the member section are available for all performances in the Jay Pritzker Pavilion. Select your own seats online or call 312.742.7647 to order your passes. One Night Membership Passes are a part of the Festival's membership program and help keep our concerts free for more than 300,000 Chicagoans and visitors from around the world each summer.
FRANS LANTING'S LIFE: A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME
Wednesday, July 20, 6:30PM
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Marin Alsop conducts a multimedia work featuring music by Philip Glass with projected images by famed National Geographic photographer Frans Lanting. Golijov’s “21st-century Baroque adagio” Azul opens the program.
Featuring: Marin Alsop, Guest Conductor; Alisa Weilerstein, Cello; Michael Ward-Bergeman, Hyper-accordion; Jamey Haddad, Percussion; Cyro Baptista, Percussion; Frans Lanting, Concepts and Images
Golijov: Azul
Lanting/Glass: Life: A Journey through Time
Pre-Concert Lecture: Wednesday, July 20, 5:30-6PM in Family Fun Tent; Host Dennis Moore with special guests Marin Alsop and Frans Lanting
This concert is sponsored by ComEd. Additional support is provided by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
REGINA CARTER AND THE NEW WORLD SYMPHONY
Friday, July 22, 6:30PM and Saturday, July 23, 7:30PM
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Marin Alsop’s week-long residency continues with an exploration of immigration and assimilation, in a program that includes Dvořák’s New World Symphony and jazz violinist Regina Carter playing orchestral works by Duke Ellington.
Featuring: Marin Alsop, Guest Conductor; Regina Carter, Violin; Xavier Davis, Piano; Chris Lightcap, Bass; Alvester Garnett, Drums; Jonita Lattimore, Soprano; Anisha McFarland, Soprano; Elizabeth Norman-Sojourner, Soprano; Fred Nelson III, Piano
Johnson: Harlem Symphony
Ellington: Slave Song/Come Sunday
Ellington: Imagine My Frustration
Arr. Lattimore, McFarland, Norman, Nelson III: A Whole World Medley
Dvořák: Symphony No. 9, From The New World
Johnson: Victory Stride
Plus additional performances by guest artists
Pre-Concert Lecture: Friday, July 22, 5:30-6PM with special guests Marin Alsop and Regina Carter; Saturday, July 23, 6:30-7PM with special guest Marin Alsop; Hosted by Dennis Moore in the Family Fun Tent
This concert is supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Additional support is provided by Colleen and Lloyd Fry and the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation. Friday's concert is being broadcast live on 98.7 WFMT and streamed live at wfmt.com.
GRANT PARK CHORUS: SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK
Sunday, July 24, 3PM at Columbus Park Refectory
Tuesday, July 26, 7PM at South Shore Cultural Center
Christopher Bell and the Grant Park Chorus go on the road with a concert of a cappella choral songs and settings of the Bard's verse, as part of Shakespeare 400 Chicago.
Morley: It was a lover and his lass
Arne: Blow, blow, thou winter wind
Vaughan-Williams: Three Shakespeare Songs
Harris: Shakespeare Songs Book VI
Harris: Who is Sylvia
Tavener: Fear No More
Wertsch: A Shakespeare Suite
Olson: A Summer Sonnet
Hughes: If we shadows have offended
Admission to this program is free.
RYAN OPERA CENTER: OF MICE AND MEN
Wednesday, July 27, 6:30PM
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Conductor Edwin Outwater makes his Festival debut with artists from the Ryan Opera Center performing Floyd’s dustbowl opera Of Mice and Men, based on John Steinbeck’s novella.
Featuring: Edwin Outwater, Guest Conductor; Artists from the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center
Muhly: Mixed Messages
Muhly: Two Songs for Soprano and Orchestra
Floyd: Of Mice and Men, Act I
Pre-Concert Lecture: Wednesday, July 27, 5:30-6PM in Family Fun Tent; Special guests TBD
This concert is supported by the Walter E. Heller Foundation, in memory of Alyce DeCosta.
Thomas Wilkins,
Guest Conductor
MENDELSSOHN'S ITALIAN SYMPHONY
Friday, July 29, 6:30PM at the South Shore Cultural Center
Saturday, July 30, 7:30PM at the Harris Theater
Guest conductor Thomas Wilkins leads the Grant Park Orchestra in an international program that transports listeners from Vienna to the Middle East, culminating with Mendelssohn’s cheerful Italian Symphony.
Featuring: Thomas Wilkins, Guest Conductor
Berlioz: Roman Carnival Overture
Marquez: Danzon No. 2
Lehar: Gold and Silver Waltzes
Daugherty: Desi
Saint-Saens: Bacchanale from Samson et Dalila
Offenbach: La Vie Parisienne
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4, Italian
Pre-Concert Lecture: Friday, July 29, 5:30-6PM at the South Shore Cultural Center and Saturday, July 30, 6:30-7PM at Harris Theater; Host Laura Sauer with special guest Thomas Wilkins (July 30 only)
Friday's concert is being broadcast live on 98.7 WFMT and streamed live on wfmt.com.
FESTIVAL CONNECT EVENTS
A community engagement and education initiative of the Grant Park Music Festival
2016 Project Inclusion String Quartet
NIGHT OUT IN THE PARKS
Don't miss the final week of the Festival's free concerts in neighborhood parks throughout Chicago, featured in Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s Night Out in the Parks program.
Thursday, July 21, 7PM
Mozart Park, 2036 N Avers Ave
Featuring the Project Inclusion String Quartet and Mozart Park African Drummers
Monday, July 25, 12PM
Hamilton Park, 513 W 72nd St
Featuring the Project Inclusion String Quartet and Robert Fisher's String Students
Thursday, July 28, 7PM
Indian Boundary Park, 2500 W Lunt Ave
Featuring the Project Inclusion String Quartet
Image © Frans Lanting
BROWN BAG LUNCH: FRANS LANTING
Famed National Geographic photographer Frans Lanting will be our guest speaker at a special Brown Bag Lunch during the rehearsal break on Wednesday, July 20. Lanting, together with Chris Eckstrom, created LIFE: A Journey Through Time, a multimedia exhibit featuring music by Philip Glass and performed by the Grant Park Orchestra that evening.
Rehearsal breaks typically begin at noon, but actual times vary.
Marin Alsop, 2006 MacArthur Fellow
CELEBRATING 35 YEARS OF THE MACARTHUR FELLOWSHIP
In 2016, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation celebrates 35 years of its iconic MacArthur Fellows Program. Dubbed "genius grants" by the media, the MacArthur Fellowship recognizes exceptionally creative individuals with a track record of achievement and the potential for significant contributions in the future. The Foundation also supports more than 300 Chicago-area arts and culture organizations annually, including our Festival.
Read about the Festival's MacArthur Week Celebration.
REGISTER FOR OUR ANNUAL PICNIC CONTEST: A PICNIC IN THE COSMOS
The Grant Park Music Festival's annual picnic contest is less than three weeks away! Join us on the Great Lawn on Saturday, August 6 at 6 PM before the world premiere of American composer Michael Gandolfi's The Cosmic Garden in Bloom and Mozart's Great Mass in C Minor.
All you need to do is pack a festive picnic and show off your clever, elaborate and imaginative feasts on the Great Lawn before the concert, but you must register in advance!
Learn more at gpmf.org/dining.
The Grand Prize: a $100 gift card to Macy's, dinner for four at Columbus Tap at Fairmont Chicago, a custom gift basket from Macy's Stonewall Kitchen, plus a two-gallon tin of caramel, cheese and butter popcorn.
BRING A GROUP
Dazzle your group with an unforgettable evening. Get priority access to reserved seating in the Seating Bowl or Choral Balcony for a Grant Park Music Festival concert.
Call 312.742.7640 or email to reserve your special event today.
PODCAST: WORDS AND MUSIC
Principal Conductor and Artistic Director Carlos Kalmar and Grant Park Chorus Director Christopher Bell share the microphone with Gary Zabinski of the Booth One podcast in this behind-the-scenes conversation. Listen now.
SUPPORT THE FESTIVAL
There are several ways for you to support performances of the highest artistic caliber presented free to the city of Chicago and its visitors.
Help keep classical music free in Chicago by becoming a member, purchasing a One Night Pass, or making a donation.
