Ravinia Festival, one of the Chicago area's favorite summer concert series has officially released its full lineup for 2023, with performances ranging from Jethro Tull, to John Legend, to a six week residency from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
The highly anticipated summer concert series was announced Thursday.
“Ravinia’s 2023 season has something for everyone,” said Jeffrey P. Haydon, Ravinia’s President and CEO said in a press release.
“From shining a spotlight on women composers across multiple genres to bringing the best in pop, rock, jazz, and classical to our varied stages," Haydon's statement continued. "Ravinia’s summer offerings reflect the wide-ranging musical tastes of Chicago and beyond. Whether you’re attending for the first or fiftieth time, a concert here is a special experience and one we hope our audiences will treasure.”
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The Chicago Symphony Orchestra will also once again return this year for a six-week summer residency, beginning in July. According to organizers, "most CSO programs this summer include at least one piece by a woman composer."
The season runs from June 6 to Sept. 10, and tickets go on sale May 1.
Below is the full lineup, broken down by genre. Performances may take place at the main-stage Pavilion, the indoor Martin Theatre and Bennett Gordon Hall, or the outdoor Carousel stage.
Pop, Rock R&B, Indie, Hip Hop County and DJs
- Ms. Lauryn Hill, June 17
- Chicago, June 18
- Counting Crows and Dashboard Confessional, June 23
- Charlie Puth, June 24
- Santana, June 30 and July 1
- Straight No Chaser and Ambrosia, July 2
- Ne-Yo, July 7
- John Fogerty and Hearty Har, July 9
- Miko Marks, July 13, Carousel
- Jason Mraz and His SuperBand, Aug. 2
- Blues Traveler and Big Head Todd & The Monsters, Aug.12
- John Legend, Aug. 13 and 14
- Jethro Tull, Aug.18
- Kenny Loggins and Yacht Rock Revue, Aug. 19
- Classic Albums Live Dark Side of the Moon, Aug. 25
- Boyz II Men and The Isley Brothers, Aug. 26
- Train and Parmalee, Aug. 30
- Brandi Carlile, Aug. 31
- Carrie Underwood, Sept.1 and 2
- Queen! featuring resident DJs Derrick Carter, Michael Serafini, and Garrett David, with Hosts Lucy Stoole, Nico, and special guests, Sept. 9
Jazz, Blues, Folk, Gospel, American Songbook, Global and Latin
- Michael Feinstein & Jean-Yves Thibaudet, June 14
- Jacob Collier and Lawrence, with a pre-concert performance at the Carousel by Tiny Habits, June 16
- Pat Metheny, June 20
- Melody Gardot, June 22
- Adrian Dunn Singers, July 14 (before that evening’s CSO concert)
- Maria Schneider Orchestra, July 23
- Rebirth Brass Band, July 26
- Elvin Bishop & Charlie Musselwhite, Aug. 3
- Boz Scaggs and Keb’ Mo’, Aug. 6
- The Special Consensus, Aug. 8,
- Buddy Guy and George Benson, Aug. 23
- Steans Music Institute Jazz Directors Billy Childs, Rufus Reid, and Steve Wilson, plus Sara Caswell and Christian Euman, with Kurt Elling, Sept. 8
Family and Film
- Ralph’s World, June 24
- National Seminario Ravinia Orchestra side-by-side with Chicago Philharmonic, July 8
- Laurie Berkner, July 30
- Opera for the Young: Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, Aug.12
- Okee Dokee Brothers, Aug. 26
- Encanto In Concert, complete film with live score performed by Chicago Philharmonic with conductor Thiago Tiberio, Aug. 27
- Jurassic Park 3oth Anniversary In Concert, complete film with live score performed by Chicago Philharmonic with conductor Scott Terrell, Aug. 29
Recitals and Chamber Music
- Arnaud Sussman, violin, and Michael Stephen Brown, piano; June 18
- Karim Sulayman, tenor, and Sean Shibe, guitar, June 21
- Jorge Federico Osorio, piano, in a program of Brahms and Beethoven, June 20
- Calidore Quartet, all-Beethoven program; June 29
- Steans Music Institute faculty Miriam Fried and Mark Steinberg, violin, Paul Biss and Kim Kashkashian, viola, Marcy Rosen, cello, and Alessio Bax, piano, in a program of Haydn, Busoni, and Brahms; July 1
- Apollo’s Fire, program of Irish folk music, July 8
- Ariel Quartet, Ayano Ninomiya, violin, Matthew Lipman, viola, Karen Ouzounian, cello, Henry Kramer, piano, July 20
- Danish String Quartet, program ranges from Haydn and Bach to Shostakovich and Nordic folk music, July 27
- Ailyn Pérez, soprano, and Kevin Murphy, piano, Aug. 15
- Lara Downes, piano, and Nicole Cabell, soprano, with a program of music by women composers ranging from Clarice Assad to Florence Price and Billie Holiday to Missy Mazzoli; Aug. 22
- Misha Dichter, piano, program of Brahms, Beethoven Debussy, and Liszt; Aug. 27
- Jory Vinikour, harpsichord, Sept. 2
- Tessa Lark, violin, in a program of Ysaÿe’s Sonatas interspersed with Lark’s own compositions; Sept. 3
- Music of the Baroque, Jane Glover, conductor, and James Ehnes, violin; Sept. 5
- Black Oak Ensemble will play instruments from Violins of Hope, a project of concerts featuring a private collection of violins, violas, and cellos that belonged to Jewish musicians before and during the Holocaust, with music by composers that lost their lives then, as well; Sept. 9
Dance
- Ruth Page Civic Ballet & Friends, June 15
- Ruth Page Civic Ballet & Friends, June 17
- Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project: Metamorphosis, Sept. 7
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
- July 14: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, with new text for the “Ode to Joy” and jazz and drumming interludes between movements
- July 15: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, with new text for the “Ode to Joy”—commissioned from former U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith by Carnegie Hall—and jazz and drumming interludes between movements
- July 16: Tony and Grammy Award-winning vocalist Heather Headley and the Ravinia Lawndale Chorus
- July 19: Mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke joins for an all-Mahler program that opens with songs by Alma Mahler, who was a composer in her own right, and concludes with Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5.
- July 21: Chicago Symphony Chorus performing works by Roxanna Panufnik on a program also featuring music from Gabriela Montero, playing her own piano concerto
- July 28: Mei-Ann Chen, a former TACF fellow who Chicago audiences know from her role leading the Chicago Sinfonietta, guest conducts the CSO in music by Price, Copland and Beethoven, with piano soloist Jeremy Denk
- July 29: Guest conductor Ted Sperling salutes three iconic women singer/songwriters in a program of pop music by Joni Mitchell, Carole King, and Carly Simon
- Aug. 4, 6: Full-length semi-staged Mozart operas in the Martin Theatre
- Aug 5: Van Cliburn Piano Competition gold medalist Yunchan Lim conducts Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, as well as works by former CSO composer-in-residence Augusta Read Thomas and Beethoven
- Aug. 9: Guest conductor Jonathon Heyward — the newly appointed music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra — makes his CSO debut leading works by Pulitzer Prize winner Tania León; Bruch, with violinist Benjamin Beilman; and Rachmaninoff.
- Aug. 10: Teddy Abrams leads the CSO in a program with pianist Jeffrey Kahane, featuring music by TJ Cole, Gabriel Kahane, and Prokofiev
- Aug. 11: Wainwright joins the CSO for an evening of new orchestral arrangements of songs from his critically acclaimed albums "Want One" and "Want Two"
- Aug. 17: Guest conductor Joshua Weilerstein makes his CSO debut conducting a program of music by Still, Shostakovich, and Elgar, featuring renowned cellist Alisa Weilerstein as soloist
- Aug. 20: Guest conductor George Stelluto conducts the CSO’s annual Tchaikovsky Spectacular
According to organizers, tickets go on sale to the public May 1. Ravinia guests are permitted to bring their own picnics, including food and liquor.
