| MAY NEWS FROM THE GRANT PARK MUSIC FESTIVAL |
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The unofficial start to summer in Chicago will be here in just over a month with Opening Night of the Grant Park Music Festival on June 12!
If you haven't done so already, it's not too late to become a 2013 Festival member. With access to reserved seating, discounts at preferred restaurants, and parking in the Millennium Garage for only $14 per concert, supporting the Festival with a membership is the best way to experience the 2013 Season.
Become a member by May 31, and you'll be entered to win a $50 gift card to Mariano's, the Official Picnic Sponsor of the Grant Park Music Festival. Visit Mariano’s in the Lakeshore East Village Market, on the north side of upper Randolph. It’s less than a 5 minute walk from the Park.
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CHRISTOPHER BELL WINS MICHAEL KORN FOUNDERS AWARD FOR DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROFESSIONAL CHORAL ART
The Grant Park Music Festival is proud to announce that Chorus Director Christopher Bell will receive the 2013 Michael Korn Founders Award given by Chorus America. Named after one of the founders of Chorus America, this honorary citation was established in 1978 to honor an individual with a lifetime of significant contributions to the professional choral art.
Christopher Bell has served as Chorus Director of the Grant Park Music Festival since 2001. He oversees a chorus of more than 100 singers, along with the Apprentice Chorale made up of young singers from DePaul and Roosevelt Universities. During his tenure, he and the chorus have also been recipients of the coveted Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence from Chorus America.
In addition to working with the Grant Park Music Festival, Bell is the Chorus Master of the Edinburgh Festival Chorus, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra Junior Chorus, and the Belfast Philharmonic Choir. Largely responsible for the formation of the National Youth Symphony Choir of Scotland in 1996, he has been its Artistic Director ever since. In 2012, Bell was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow for his contribitutions to music in Scotland.
A huge congratulations to Christopher from everyone at the Grant Park Music Festival!
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ANNOUNCING THE NEW PATRON SERVICE CENTER
NEW home of the Grant Park Music Festival Box Office
Patron services in Millennium Park will improve this summer with the addition of the new Patron Service Center. Located on the upper walkway on the west side of the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the Patron Service Center will house the Grant Park Music Festival Box Office, and is the new location on concert nights to pick up or purchase Guest Passes, Experience Passes, and Festival Memberships. The Patron Service Center will open one hour before the concert begins.
The new Patron Service Center replaces the membership table formerly located at the west side membership entrance. Members who have their membership cards do not need to stop by the Box Office, unless they need to pick up Guest Passes, and can head directly to the reserved seating area using the west or east side Seating Bowl entrances.
If you have questions about the new Patron Service Center and Festival Box Office, please call our membership line at 312.742.7647.
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REMEMBERING JANOS STARKER
Janos Starker, one of the most renowned cellists of the 20th century and frequent Grant Park Music Festival guest artist, passed away on Sunday, April 28 at the age of 88. Starker, born in Budapest, emigrated to the United States in 1948, and became principal cellist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1952. He was previously principal cellist of the Budapest Opera, Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and Metropolitan Opera.
Starker moved to Bloomington, Indiana in 1958, where he lived until his death. In addition to performing around the world, he was a professor at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, drawing many cello players to the university. Among his former students are Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, Gary Hoffman, and Maria Kliegel.
Janos Starker's influence can be heard among the cello section of the Grant Park Orchestra. Principal cellist Walter Haman remembers first discovering Janos Starker when he had just started playing the cello and visited the library in search of cellist recordings to study. Haman recalls, "There were two records there - Janos Starker playing the Dvorák Cello Concerto and Mstislav Rostropovich playing the Britten Suites. A kid couldn't ask for two more contrasting introductions to great cello playing and music making!" Haman was struck by Starker's performance. "I had no idea a cello could sound like that! There was a nobility, a dignity, an exquisite poise in Starker's sound. If the music was grandiose then so was his sound, if the music was hushed so was his sound, if the music was joyful so was his sound. He was a supreme master craftsman at work."
Eric Kutz, section cellist, was also influnced by Starker's playing. "I recall vividly a performance I heard of his during the summer of 1992 at the Norfolk Music Festival in Connecticut. I was 20, and it was the first time I had heard Gaspar Cassado's Cello Sonata, a work with which Mr. Starker was particularly associated. I was so moved, I knew that I had to play this piece. Although it took until 2007, my performance of this piece is inseparably linked to the one I heard so many years ago."
Starker performed at the Grant Park Music Festival several times. His most recent appearance was in 1998 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his first Festival appearance. He performed Dvorák's Cello Concerto.
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MEET THE ARTISTS
The Grant Park Orchestra has added two new musicians this season: Miran Kim joins the first violin section, and Melissa Chung Hamlen joins the second violin section. Learn more about our new musicians, and why they are so excited about spending the summer in Chicago.
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 MIRAN KIM
First Violin, Fourth Chair
Miran Kim has studied the violin since she was four years old. At age ten, she moved to New York City to study at the Julliard School of Music's Pre-College Division, and served as concertmaster of all three orchestras there. In addition to joining the Grant Park Orchestra this summer, she will be starting a new position at the Houston Symphony in the fall.
Where are you from?
I was born in the Kansas City area, but grew up mostly in New York City.
Where did you study?
I received my BM from the Cleveland Institute of Music. I recently finished my first year of my master’s degree at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music.
What other organizations do you currently play with?
I will be starting with the Houston Symphony in August.
What would you be if you were not a musician?
I would go probably go into visual arts - maybe photography or graphic design. I’ve been known to doodle on just about any surface.
What are some of your hobbies?
When I have the time, I like to bake sweets and desserts. Photography has always been fun, though I’m not very experienced at it.
Have you spent much time in Chicago?
I have family in Chicago, so I visited a couple times when I was a kid and loved it!
What are you looking forward to about summer in Chicago, besides the Grant Park Music Festival of course?
Having grown up in NYC, I’m so excited to be in a big city again!
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 MELISSA CHUNG HAMLEN
Section Second Violin
After joining the Grant Park Orchestra as a seasonal substitute during the 2012 Season, Melissa Hamlen returns this year as a section second violinist. She has performed with numerous orchestras around the country, including the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and the New World Symphony.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Buffalo Grove but currently live in Grand Rapids, MI where I play with the Grand Rapids Symphony.
Where did you study?
Eastman School of Music and Cleveland Institute of Music
What are some of your career highlights?
In 2006, sitting Assistant Concertmaster of the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, conducted by James Levine for a concert performance of "Elektra." And in 2008, while on tour with the New World Symphony, performing in the historical amphitheater of the Alhambra of Granada, Spain for a late-night concert performance of "Porgy and Bess." It was such a beautiful setting.
Who are some of your musical heroes?
My violin teachers: William Preucil, and the late Zvi Zeitlin
What would you be if you were not a musician?
I would love to own a bakery/coffee shop.
What do you do when you're not performing?
Baking, reading food and fashion blogs, and learning to use my DSLR camera.
What are you most looking forward to about summer in Chicago, besides the Grant Park Music Festival, of course?
I'm looking forward to eating my way through Chicago!
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VOLUNTEER FOR THE FESTIVAL
Interested in becoming a Grant Park Music Festival volunteer? Prospective volunteers are invited to attend the 2013 Volunteer Orientation on Wednesday, May 22 at 6:00PM. At this orientation you will be introduced to all the volunteer opportunities at the Grant Park Music Festival. Volunteers welcome and assist patrons at information areas throughout the park during concerts and open rehearsals by distributing program books, answering patrons’ questions, and helping with front of house set-up and clean-up. Festival volunteers are also invited to assist with certain projects in the administrative office and at other special events.
The orientation takes place Wednesday, May 22 from 6:00PM-8:00PM in Choral Hall at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. Choral Hall is located on the upper east side of the Pavilion, just behind the bandshell.
No RSVP is required to attend. If you have questions about becoming a volunteer, please contact Joseph Fernicola.
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Stay connected all season long on your mobile phone.
Text SEASON to 22122* to get concert updates, alerts, and special offers from the Festival straight to your phone.
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