TCHAIKOVSKY ROMEO AND JULIET

Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Wednesday, August 1 at 6:30PM

Carlos Kalmar returns to lead the orchestra in a Shakespearean-inspired program, which includes the tales of Othello, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet Fantasy-Overture, as well as the classic Tristan und Isolde. 

HAYDN AND DEBUSSY  

Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph Street
Friday August 3 at 6:30PM
Saturday, August 4 at 7:30PM

The Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus and guest soloists head indoors to the Harris Theater for Haydn’s celebrated Theresa Mass and Debussy’s ground-breaking masterwork, Nocturnes.

FAREWELL TO OUR 2018
PROJECT INCLUSION FELLOWS

Join us on Thursday evening at 7PM for our Project Inclusion String Quartet's final concert at Lake Shore Park, 808 N. Lake Shore Drive.

During their eight week program, the Project Inclusion Fellows have rehearsed and performed with the Grant Park Orchestra, been mentored by Festival Principal Conductor Carlos Kalmar, and had coaching sessions with orchestra members and visiting guest artists.

Project Inclusion fellow Fahad Awan shared that being coached by composer William Bolcom was the musical highlight of his career. Violist Seth Pae values the lifelong friends he has made in the professional world this summer, giving him the tools to advance his career as a musician.

Help us send off these four talented musicians—Fahad Awan and Yalyen Savignon, violin; Seth Pae, viola and Dara Hankins, cello—in style as they perform one last time as a quartet, and join the ranks of the Festival's Project Inclusion alumni fellows.

ENRICHING LIVES WITH
THE POWER OF MUSIC

At the Festival, we believe that music is essential to the life of our communities. From lunchtime rehearsals to our pre-concert lectures, the Festival supplements its performances with opportunities to bring both new and longtime audiences even closer to the music.

Bertha Goodman Rabin Pre-Concert Lectures
Chase Promenade North tent
One hour before the concert

Wednesday, July 25
Kirill Gerstein and Gemma New talk with Laura Sauer

Friday, July 27 and Saturday, July 28   
Colin Currie talks with Seth Boustead

Open Rehearsals
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Tuesdays–Fridays, 11AM–1PM
Get a behind-the-scenes look at how our orchestra and chorus prepare for our evening concerts.  Docent-led discussions take place during the rehearsal breaks.

A PASTORAL PICNIC IN WHITE

This Saturday, July 28, people from all over Chicago will be dressed in white, enjoying dinner on the Great Lawn in Millennium Park, listening to Mendelssohn's Scottish Symphony played by the Grant Park Orchestra.

They’ll be taking part in the Festival’s Pastoral Picnic in White, inspired by the French phenomenon that began in Paris in 1988, when friends gathered at the Bois de Boulogne for a dinner party and dressed in white so they could see each other in the dark. Now, every year, thousands of people gather in Paris, as well as other cities, for these elegant pop-up dinner parties.

Here at the Festival, everyone is invited, there is no registration fee. Just dress in white from head to toe, bring a white tablecloth and your finest foodie spread, and get ready to enjoy a night of beautiful music, set against the backdrop of the stunning Frank Gehry-designed Jay Pritzker Pavilion.

GEMMA NEW RETURNS

Chicago audiences will remember New Zealand conductor Gemma New when she stepped in at the last minute last year to lead the Grant Park Orchestra in Richard Strauss’ rarely performed Symphonia Domistica. The previously announced veteran conductor Simone Young needed to fly back to her native Australia due to a family emergency. After Young's departure, the Festival engaged New, who bravely took over Young's program and the two remaining rehearsals.

Chicago Classical Review raved: “New proved to be an outstanding presence… confident and fully in command, leading the musicians with an incisive yet flexible beat, and attentive to details as well as the broader sweep.”

She returns to the Festival tomorrow to conduct Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2 featuring piano virtuoso Kirill Gerstein, plus Sibelius' Second Symphony and Lilburn's Aotearoa Overture. Join us as welcome her back to the Festival.