2019 Annual Report
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2019 ANNUAL REPORT PAULO SZOT REPRISES HIS ROLE IN BERNSTEIN’S MASS Ravinia is an internationally renowned, not-for-profit music festival that presents outstanding performances by the world’s greatest artists. Ravinia’s principal objectives are: • to present performances of a full range of classical music in its open-air Pavilion and enclosed recital halls by the world’s greatest composers and musicians, along with a variety of other kinds of RAVINIA light classical, jazz and popular music; • to maintain a beautiful park that is welcoming to all and attractive MISSION to families in which the music experience is enhanced by a beautiful STATEMENT environment and excellent dining opportunities; • to enable gifted young performers to study under great teachers and perform in concert settings; and • to develop broader and more diverse audiences for classical music through education and outreach programs and by maintaining affordable ticket prices. A MESSAGE FROM CHAIRMAN JENNIFER W. STEANS AND PRESIDENT AND CEO WELZ KAUFFMAN Those of us lucky enough to spend a great deal of time here might our co-commission (alongside Tanglewood, the Aspen Music Festival think of Ravinia as the 37 gently wooded acres behind our iconic and School, and the Kennedy Center) of Penelope from Tom Stoppard arch. However, more and more, Ravinia’s unique brand of musical and André Previn, performed by Renée Fleming, for whom it was presentation paired with access and education is recognized as a mark of written; pianist Simone Dinnerstein; Tony-winning Stoppard favorite excellence throughout Chicagoland and beyond. Jennifer Ehle; and the Emerson String Quartet. In addition to Mass, our Bernstein celebration boasted the Ravinia premieres of the music According to our monitoring service, Ravinia made the news more than theater works Candide and Trouble in Tahiti; the films West Side Story 5,000 times in its 2019 fiscal year, reaching more than 11.8 million and On the Waterfront, with the CSO performing those scores live; Alsop people. Our Facebook posts reached 5.5 million users, with 131,487 and Jamie Bernstein leading a songs-and-stories multimedia portrait; interactions. This summer, a major network television series shot and singers from Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute (RSMI) singing his US an upcoming episode on location at Ravinia; our searing encore of Bicentennial commission, Songfest. Considering Matthew Shepard, featuring a chorus of 500 high-school singers, was taped for broadcast on WFMT; and we hosted 13 live radio In all, 37 RSMI alumni returned for concerts this summer even as this broadcasts from the park with a variety of radio partners. The power of year’s participants in Ravinia’s professional-level summer conservatory our triumphant production of Leonard Bernstein’s rarely heard Mass gave concerts and master classes of their own. The second annual last year not only had critics and audiences calling for its reprise with Bridges competition for composers fusing classical chamber and jazz the awe-inspiring Marin Alsop leading the Chicago Symphony Orchestra idioms attracted such high-quality entries that we’ve already put out the among 200 artists onstage, but it also turned the heads of producers call for entries for the third annual competition, whose winner will be who taped what’s been called the definitive version of the work for performed next season. national broadcast on Great Performances, expected to air this spring. We have continued to fine-tune our recently rejuvenated Dining Before our 2019 season started, we celebrated the unveiling of the Pavilion, concentrating on easier customer flow and more options for Sistema Ravinia Auditorium in recognition of our commitment to our guests, resulting in 13 percent revenue growth over last year. We Chicago’s Austin neighborhood, where we pioneered our El Sistema– gave a soft open to our latest culinary adventure, the BMO Club, which based method of music education with our first student orchestras at provides incredible views of the park and the Lawn Screen when it is up. Catalyst Circle Rock Elementary School. Sistema Ravinia—through We offer BMO great thanks for its continuing support of Ravinia. which we provide teachers, curriculum, and musical instruments—is just one of the Reach Teach Play programs that serve 85,000 people The BMO Club was one of two attractions in the highly anticipated in Cook and Lake Counties each year. Our work is a model for other RaviniaMusicBox Experience Center building to open this season. organizations, and our education director serves as the national The Ravinia Associates Board Gallery also bowed with the Grammy chairman of El Sistema USA. The Ravinia Family must offer our most Museum’s exhibit of Bernstein treasures, ranging from his childhood sincere gratitude to Allstate for continuing its lead sponsorship of these piano to the desk at which he wrote West Side Story, and even the funky education programs. This school year, we expanded Sistema Ravinia contraption his father invented for perming hair. The full experience into North Lawndale, giving students from four schools there the center will receive its grand opening at the start of next season. opportunity to join an orchestra. We can never emphasize enough that Ravinia’s artistic or fiscal strength Ravinia wasn’t the only thing grabbing headlines this summer; the would be impossible without the 7,000 donors and three all-volunteer cold, wet weather grabbed quite a lot of attention. Every organization groups—the Ravinia Trustees and august Life Trustees, Women’s Board, tries to maintain a rainy-day fund—it’s a literal need in Ravinia’s case. and Associates Board—who keep the not-for-profit vibrant and exciting. Cold and wet weather surrounded our initial ticket sales dates, and the We also thank the many corporations who, in part, underwrite Ravinia’s bad weather persisted once the season began, with 73 percent of all programming and the media partners who bring generous June days experiencing rain, thunderstorms, and/or unseasonably cold promotional support. temperatures. We had only six Pavilion concerts in June on dates that were free of precipitation. We relied on the Fund to Assure Ravinia’s Our greatest thank-you goes out to the music lovers who have so many Future and the Artistic Initiative Fund to cover this year’s options for their entertainment dollar (and even more importantly their operating deficit. time), but who choose to spend it with us. We appreciate the support and accept your challenge to keep Ravinia intriguing to new audiences There were plenty of great days, of course, and more than a half-million well beyond our 37 gently wooded acres. people came for our season, which was packed with 140 events that ranged from the Ravinia debuts of 80 artists—from Lionel Richie and Queen Latifah to the soprano sensation Angel Blue and even the man whose parodies are as big as the hits he skewers, “Weird Al” Yankovic— to the return of favorites like Sting, Chicago, Itzhak Perlman, and Josh Groban. Our chamber offerings included the Midwest premiere of REMEMBERING RAVINIA TITANS In fiscal year 2019, Ravinia lost two pillars of our musical family, longtime Life Trustees Harrison Steans and Stan Freehling. Their generosity and spirit will live on forever at the festival they loved so well and cared for so long. Harrison Irwin Steans (1935 -- 2019) Harrison I. Steans was born on July 3, 1935, in Chicago and passed away Harrison believed strongly in giving back. He served on too many non- peacefully with his family around him on February 26, 2019. Harrison spent profit boards to mention, including the Civic Committee of the Commercial his childhood in Lake Bluff and Springfield, Illinois. His early years were Club, the Chicago Humanities Festival, the Chicago Botanic Garden, and The marked by the energy, intellect and achievement that would characterize his Ounce of Prevention Fund. Harrison also served as Life Trustee of DePaul entire life. In high school he was state Latin champion, and he partnered University, Highland Park Hospital, and Ravinia Festival. Having enjoyed with his father in bridge tournaments around the region, often winning, being a part of the Ravinia family for many decades, Harrison took particular despite being the youngest to compete. pride in being named the only male member of the Ravinia Women’s Board. Harrison graduated cum laude from Princeton University in 1957 with a B.A. In 1988, Harrison started the Steans Family Foundation with his wife in economics. Having attended on an NROTC scholarship, Harrison married Lois and three daughters, Jennifer, Heather and Robin. For nearly thirty Lois M. Morrison and joined the navy within weeks of graduating. He was years, the foundation has worked hand in hand with the North Lawndale stationed in Pearl Harbor and resigned his commission as a Lieutenant. community to promote stronger education, employment, health and safety for residents. Harrison went to work as an assistant to the legendary Tom Watson at IBM. After several invigorating years, he left IBM in 1967 to form Illinois’ Harrison was awarded an honorary doctorate by DePaul University and the first single-bank holding company to purchase the Hyde Park Bank & Trust. Order of Lincoln, and too many business and civic awards to list. He will be During his tenure as Chairman, the organization grew from a single $40 remembered by all who knew him for his entrepreneurial spirit, business million bank to a six-bank holding company with assets exceeding $1.8 acumen, booming laugh, unfailing sense of humor, keen intellect, and his billion. In 1987, the bank holding company was sold to NBD Corporation, caring interest in all around him. His family will remember his love of tennis, now part of the J.P.