Ravinia Festival, one of the Chicago area’s favorite summer concert series, has officially released its full lineup for 2023, featuring acts ranging from Jethro Tull to John Legend to a six-week residency from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
The long-awaited summer concert series was announced Thursday.
“Ravinia’s 2023 season has something for everyone,” said Jeffrey P. Haydon, Ravinia’s president and CEO, in a press release.
“From spotlighting female composers across multiple genres to bringing the best in pop, rock, jazz and classical to our diverse 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 time or the fiftieth, a concert here is a special experience, and one that we hope our audience will appreciate.”
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra returns again 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 female composer.”
The season runs from June 6 to September 10, and tickets go on sale May 1.
Below is the full lineup, broken down by genre. Performances can take place on the main Pavilion stage, the indoor Martin Theater and Bennett Gordon Hall, or the outdoor Carousel stage.
Pop, Rock R&B, Indie, Hip Hop County and DJs
- Mrs. Lauryn Hill, June 17th
- Chicago, June 18
- Counting crows and Dashboard Confessional23 June
- Charlie Puth, June 24
- Santana, 30 June and 1 July
- Just No Chaser and ambrosia, July 2nd
- Ne-Yo, July 7
- John Fogerty and Hearty garden, July 9
- Miko MarksJuly 13, Carousel
- Jason Mraz and his superb band, 2nd of August
- Blues Traveler and Big Head Todd & The Monsters12 August
- John Legend, 13 and 14 August
- Jethro Tull, August 18
- Kenny Loggins and Yacht Rock Revue, August 19
- Classic albums live The dark side of the moon, August 25
- Boyz II men and Isley BrothersAugust 26
- Took and Parmalee, August 30
- Brandi Carlile, 31 August
- Carrie Underwood, 1 and 2 September
- Queen! with resident DJs Derrick Carter, Michael Seraphimand Garrett Davidwith hosts Lucy Stool, Nicoand special guests, 9 Sept
Jazz, Blues, Folk, Gospel, American Songbook, Global and Latin
- Michael Feinstein & Jean-Yves Thibaudet, 14th June
- Jacob Collier and Lawrence, with a pre-concert performance in Karrusellen city Small habits, June 16
- Pat Metheny, 20th of June
- Melody Gardot, 22nd of June
- Adrian Dunn Singers, July 14 (before tonight’s CSO concert)
- Maria Schneider Orchestra23 July
- Rebirth Brass Band, July 26
- Elvin Bishop & Charlie Musselwhite, August 3
- Boz Scaggs and Keb’Mo’August 6
- The special consensusAugust 8
- Buddy Guy and George Benson23 August
- Steans Music Institute Jazz Directors Billy Childs, Rufus Reidand Steve Wilsonplus Sara Caswell and Christian Euman, with Kurt Elling, 8 September
Family and movies
- Ralph’s World, June 24
- National Seminario Ravinia Orchestra alongside the Chicago Philharmonic, 8th of July
- Laurie Berkner, July 30
- Opera for the young: Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, 12 August
- Okay Dokee Brothers, August 26
- Charm At a concert, complete film with live score performed by the Chicago Philharmonic with conductor Thiago Tiberio, August 27
- Jurassic Park 3rd Anniversary in Concert, complete film with live score performed by the Chicago Philharmonic with conductor Scott Terrell, August 29
Recitals and chamber music
- Arnaud Sussman, violin, and Michael Stephen Brown, piano; June 18
- Karim Sulayman, tenor, and Sean Shibe, guitarJune 21
- Jorge Federico Osorio, piano, in a program of Brahms and Beethoven, 20th of June
- Heat Quartet, complete 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 1st
- Fire of Apolloprogram of Irish folk music, 8 July
- Ariel Quartet, Ayano Ninomiya, violin, Matthew Lipman, viola, Karen Ouzounian, cello, Henry Kramer, pianoJuly 20
- Danish String Quartetthe program ranges from Haydn and Bach to Shostakovich and Nordic folk music, 27 July
- Ailyn Perez, soprano, and Kevin Murphy, piano15 August
- 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; August 22
- Misha Dichter, piano, program of Brahms, Beethoven Debussy and Liszt; August 27
- Jory Vinikour, harpsichord, Sept. 2
- Tessa Lark, violin, in a program of Ysaÿe’s Sonatas mixed with Lærke’s own compositions; Sept. 3
- Music from 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 who also lost their lives at the time; September 9
Dance
- Ruth Page Civic Ballet & Friends, June 15
- Ruth Page Civic Ballet & FriendsJune 17th
- Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project: Metamorphosis, 7 September
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
- July 14: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, with new text for “Ode to Joy” and jazz and drumming between movements
- 15th of July: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, with new text for “Ode to Joy”—commissioned by former American Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith of Carnegie Hall—and jazz and drumming between movements
- July 16: Tony and Grammy Award-winning vocalist Heather Headley and the Ravinia Lawndale Chorus
- July 19: Mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke takes part in an all-Mahler program that opens with songs by Alma Mahler, who was a composer in his own right, and ends with Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5.
- July 21: The Chicago Symphony Chorus performs works by Roxanna Panufnik on a program that also features music from Gabriela Montero, who plays her own Piano Concerto
- July 28: Mei-Ann Chen, a former TACF fellow known to Chicago audiences from her role as director of 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 pays tribute to three iconic female singer/songwriters in a program of pop music by Joni Mitchell, Carole King and Carly Simon
- August 4th, 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 Augusta Read Thomas and Beethoven
- August 9: Guest conductor Jonathon Heyward—the newly appointed music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra—makes his CSO debut with 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
- August 11: Wainwright joins the CSO for an evening of new orchestral arrangements of songs from his critically acclaimed albums “Want One” and “Want Two”
- 17 August: Guest conductor Joshua Weilerstein makes his CSO debut conducting a program of music by Still, Shostakovich and Elgar, with renowned cellist Alisa Weilerstein as soloist
- August 20: Guest conductor George Stelluto conducts the CSO’s annual Tchaikovsky Spectacular
According to the organizers, tickets will be sold to the public on May 1. Ravinia guests are permitted to bring their own picnics, including food and beverages.