Ravinia Announces Lineup Of October-May Concerts In Bennett Gordon Hall

Ravinia's fall-spring Bennett Gordon Hall concert series returns in 2022-23 for the first time since 2019 and will include 22 festival premieres. The concerts run from Oct. 15 through May 5 in Ravinia's most intimate space, the 450-seat Bennett Gordon Hall. It mirrors the celebrated festival season by showcasing a variety of talented artists across several genres, including classical and jazz, as well as a popular children's musical theatre.

"BGH concerts are back starting this fall, and we are excited to present an engaging lineup that has something for everyone," President and CEO Jeff Haydon said. "We are happy to bring the series back and can't wait to continue to attract music lovers to Ravinia even after the summer comes to an end here in Highland Park."

Reserved-seat tickets range from $15 and $25. Tickets go on sale today, Aug. 29, only at Ravinia.org.

The Performer's School, Oct. 15, 16: Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical Jr. is adapted from the full-length musical, which was based on the novel by Roald Dahl, and features a book by Dennis Kelly and music and lyrics by Tim Minchin. Staged by The Performer's School, Matilda is a five-time Tony-winning tale of a girl who changes her destiny with her vivid imagination, adapted as a one-act musical packed with high-energy dance numbers and catchy songs.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra Brass Quintet, Oct. 28: The Chicago Symphony Orchestra brass section has long been known for its matchless brilliance and spectacular power, contributing to the ensemble's legendary and distinctive "Chicago Sound." With its rich brass sonorities complemented by virtuosic wind and string playing, the music-making of the CSO continues to elicit worldwide admiration. Concertgoers will hear brass quintet arrangements of music by Bach, Mendelssohn, Shostakovich, Telemann, and more this fall.

Ben Rosenblum Sextet, Nov. 5: Award-winning New York City jazz pianist and accordionist Ben Rosenblum has been described as "mature beyond his years," (Sea of Tranquility) and an "impressive talent" (All About Jazz) who "caresses [the music] with the reverence it merits" (DownBeat). Since the release of his debut trio album, Instead (four stars, DownBeat), Rosenblum has toured extensively with his trio and his new sextet, Nebula Project, throughout the United States, as well as internationally in Canada, Europe, and Japan. The composer and multi-instrumentalist returns to Ravinia in November with Nebula Project and his latest neo-classic jazz stoked by Latin and klezmer infusions, including music from his forthcoming fourth album as a bandleader.

Geoffrey Duce, Nov. 11: Geoffrey Duce has performed in Carnegie Hall, Berlin's Philharmonie and Konzerthaus, London's Wigmore Hall, Manchester's Bridgewater Hall, and Edinburgh's Queen's Hall, as well as across Europe, and in Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan. This fall, the Scottish pianist will add Ravinia's Bennett Gordon Hall to that list and will play an evening of Classical fantasy and Hungarian rhapsody.

Aizuri Quartet, Dec. 10: Formed in 2012 and combining four distinctive musical personalities into a powerful collective, the Aizuri Quartet draws its name from "aizuri-e," a style of predominantly blue Japanese woodblock printing noted for its vibrancy and incredible detail. Prizewinning community builders in concert, the Aizuris earned a Grammy nomination with their first album and this winter bring to Ravinia a series of song-filled works that give voice to their identity, from the Romantic Lieder leanings of Schumann to the "Aizuri Songbook," a soulful collection celebrating the most direct human expression in music, including new works as well as familiar Lieder and traditional songs in new arrangements created for the quartet.

Strings from Steans, March 24: World-renowned violinist and pedagogue Miriam Fried, who celebrates her 30th year as director of the Ravinia Steans Music Institute Program for Piano & Strings in 2023, assembles a quintet of outstanding recent alumni to join her in a performance of the broad, virtuosic repertoire that the young professional musicians focus on at Ravinia and carry forward to their frequently acclaimed and prizewinning careers, including music from this summer's resident composer, Jessie Montgomery.

Gateways Brass Collective, April 22: Through dynamic performances and outstanding educational outreach, the Gateways Brass Collective, an all-African American quintet, was founded in 2018 to inspire artists from all backgrounds. Each member has performed with soloists, big bands, orchestras, and indie bands, as well as on Broadway, film soundtracks, and Grammy-nominated recordings, including with the likes of David Byrne, Aretha Franklin, and Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings.

Cellist Zuill Bailey, April 28: Performing together as if "animated by a single mind, one that had fully plumbed the depth of what [composers] thought and felt" (Spokesman-Review), Grammy-winning cellist Zuill Bailey and pianist Victor Santiago Asunción bring a wide-ranging program-including the awe-inspiring "Boccherini" sonata adapted by the great Gregor Piatigorsky and Stephen Kates-plus radiant, lyrical works by Brahms, Coleridge-Taylor, and Schubert.

Rhythm Future Quartet, May 5: Stoking the fires of sultry and adventurous Hot Club jazz, the all-acoustic, all-string Rhythm Future Quartet revitalizes the spirit of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli with original music that's "consistently dynamic, full of virtuosity and swing" (JazzTimes). Led by violinist Jason Anick, the quartet reaches Paganini levels of dazzling fingerwork while also digging into profound improvisations and steely ballads.

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