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Ravina Festival’s 2009-2010 Rising Stars Series Opens With Ian Howell
& More

Friday, October 2, 2009; Posted: 05:10 PM – by BWW News Desk

Ravinia’s 2009-2010 Rising Stars series opens with countertenor Ian
Howell, first-prize-winner of the American Bach Soloists’s
International Solo Competition, at 8 p.m. on Oct. 9 in Bennett ¢
Gordon Hall in the John D. Harza building on the Ravinia grounds. His
program entitled "With a Beginner’s Ear" will include works by
Purcell, Falla, Handel, Strauss and others and will feature pianist
Douglas Dickson and guitarist Karl Wohlwend. As a member of the
all-male chamber choir Chanticleer, Howell has recorded seven CDs,
including the Grammy-Award winning Lamentations and Praises and has
recently sung the alto solos in Handel’s Messiah at Carnegie Hall, the
title role of Handel’s Solomon, Endimion in Cavalli’s La Calisto and
Lichas in Handel’s Hercules.

First-prize-winner of the 2008 Young Concert Artists International
Auditions, 20-year-old Armenian cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan performs at
8 p.m. on Oct. 23 in a program featuring works by Schumann, Beethoven,
Shostakovich, Scriabin/Piatigorsky, Tchaikovsky and
Rostropovich. Hakhnazaryan has appeared as soloist with the
Westmoreland Symphony and in recitals at Saint Vincent College,
Lincoln County Concert Association, Patrons for Young Artists, the
Paramount Theatre and the Colonial Theatre. He is joined by pianist
Noreen Polera.

Described as "prodigiously gifted" by Arte.tv, pianist Sodi Braide
performs at Ravinia Oct. 30. His program includes Mozart’s Fantasy in
D minor, K. 397; Schubert’s Sonata in C minor, D. 958; and Liszt’s
Années de Pélerinage II: L’Italie, No. 5, Venezia e
Napoli, Der Müller und der Bach and Erlkönig. A
cosmopolitan artist influenced by numerous cultures, Braide explores a
large repertoire of different styles and periods. A prize-winner in
the 2003 Leeds Competition and recipient of the Jury Discretional
Prize at the 2005 Van Cliburn Competition, he performs recitals and
chamber con
ughout Europe and the United States. In 1994 Braide was invited to
perform in South Africa, becoming one of the first black African
pianists to perform there after the end of apartheid.

Designed to provide gifted young musicians with the opportunity to
refine their performing skills, the Rising Stars series encourages
audiences to experience and support new talent while presenting
musicians with the chance to perform before discerning audiences in an
intimate setting. Back by popular demand, seven concert/dining
packages will be offered at a speciAl Price of $45 on Oct. 30, Nov. 6,
March 5, March 26, April 9, April 30 and May 7. Dinners will begin at
6 p.m. in Ravinia’s Park View ® restaurant in the festival’s dining
pavilion. Patrons will also receive a $10 gift certificate redeemable
at Ravinia Gifts if they purchase all seven concert/dining packages.

The festival is dedicated to developing the full potential of emerging
artists, beginning with their performances on the Rising Stars series
and, ultimately, their Chicago Symphony Orchestra debut on the
pavilion stage during the festival’s summer season. Rising Stars
concerts have introduced Ravinia patrons to such major artists as
pianists Jonathan Biss and Lang Lang and violinist Pamela Frank. Held
in Ravinia’s acoustically splendid Bennett ¢ Gordon Hall, Ravinia’s
Rising Stars series gives audiences an intimate introduction to the
superstars of tomorrow.

In addition to their Rising Stars performances, each artist will also
perform in free concerts for students through Ravinia’s Education and
Community Partnerships Programs throughout Chicagoland. These
performing opportunities give students a chance to make an intimate
connection not only to the young artist, but also to classical
music. Ravinia’s

education programs make music accessible to thousands of children,
K-12 in Chicago and the north suburbs teaming working musicians with
teachers to put music back into the public schools.

Following the October concerts are bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni, who
has
ally at the Metropolitian Opera in New York, Teatro Real in Madrid,
Carnegie Hall in New York and Théâtre des
Champs-Elysées in Paris, on Nov. 6; and violinist Elena
Urioste, featured in the Emmy Award-winning documentary Breaking the
Sound Barrier, on Nov. 13.

The spring series continues with pianist Tanya Bannister, winner of
awards at the Concert Artists Guild International Competition, New
Orleans International Piano Competition and one of Symphony magazine’s
2007 "Artists to Watch," on

March 5; pianist Ilya Yakushev, student of Vladimir Feltsman and
gold-medal-winner of the 2005 World Piano Competition, on March 12;
Curtis on Tour, a touring group of artists who have studied at the
Curtis Institute of Music alongside celebrated alumni and faculty, on
March 26; Artists from Ravinia’s Steans Institute, a touring group of
musicians who have attended the festival’s prestigious institute with
the finest teachers, on April 9; Evgeni Bozhanov, finalist at the 2009
Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, on April 16; violinist
Dan Zhu, praised by Strad magazine for being "an artist of affecting
humility and beautiful tone production," on April 23; the Lincoln
Trio, the ensemble-in-residence at the Music Institute of Chicago that
toured Illinois as part of Ravinia’s celebration of the Abraham
Lincoln Bicentennial this past spring, on April 30; and cabaret artist
Claudia Hommel, known for her concerts celebrating Paris through
French and
American song, on May 7.

Ravinia Festival gratefully acknowledges the support of The Albert
Pick, Jr. Fund and The Bruning Foundation for their generous
participation as sponsors of the Rising Stars series.

All but one of the Rising Stars concerts are held on Fridays and begin
at 8 p.m. in Bennett ¢ Gordon Hall, Ravinia’s acoustically perfect
indoor 450-seat recitAl Hall. The May 7 concert will take place in the
National City Bank Private Dining located on the second floor of
Ravinia’s dining pavilion at 8 p.m.

Bennett ¢ Gordon Hall is located in the John D. Harza building on
the Ravinia Festival grounds at 201 St. Johns Ave. in Highland
Park. Tickets for Rising Stars concerts are $20, with a 20 percent
discount on orders for tickets to four or more concerts. For
information or to order tickets with a major credit card, please call
the Ravinia box office at (847) 266-5100 or visit
Ravinia welcomes all festival fans to follow, connect
and interact online at backstage.ravinia.org,
twitter.com/raviniafestival , myspace.com/raviniafestival and
facebook.com (search Ravinia Festival). Ravinia Gifts will also be
open on select Rising Stars concert nights. Ravinia Festival is a
not-for-profit organization.

Friday, October 9, 8 p.m. – Bennett ¢ Gordon Hall

"With a Beginner’s Ear"

Ian Howell, Countertenor

Douglas Dickson, Piano

Karl Wohlwend, Guitar

Purcell: An Evening Hymn

Kodály: Tantum ergo sacramentum V & I

Dowland: Flow My Tears

Cavalli: "Lucisissima Face" from La Calisto

Traditional: Soon One Morning

Honegger: Mimaamaquim

De Falla: Nana

Barnson: Snow

Conte: Levit exurgit zephirus

Handel: Sü�e stille, sanfte Quelle

Parry: Crossing the Bar

Handel: "Fammi combattere" from Orlando

Matamoros: Juramento

Strauss: Lob des Leidens

Johnson: Have You Seen the Bright Lilly Grow?

Tickets: $20

Friday, October 23, 8 p.m. – Bennett ¢ Gordon Hall

Narek Hakhnazaryan, Cello

Noreen Polera, Piano

Schumann: Phantasiestücke, Op. 73

Beethoven: Cello Sonata No. 3 in A Major, Op. 69

S
40

Scriabin/Piatigorsky: Romance

Tchaikovsky: Nocturne in C-sharp Minor, Op. 19, No. 4

Rostropovich: Humoresque Op. 5

Tickets: $20

The Joseph M. Fabbioli Rising Stars Concert

Friday, October 30, 8 p.m. – Bennett ¢ Gordon Hall

Sodi Braide, Piano

Mozart: Fantasy in D minor, K. 397

Schubert: Sonata in C minor, D. 958

Liszt: Années de Pélerinage II: L’Italie, No. 5: Sonetto
104 del Petrarca
Venezia e Napoli
Der Müller und der Bach

Erlkönig
Tickets: $20

Special dining package: $45 for reserved seat and dinner at the Park
View® restaurant