Ravinia

A few days ago we made our annual summer visit to Ravinia, the outdoor concert venue in Highland Park, Illinois. In the past my husband and I have seen James Taylor, Elvis Costello, and Bruce Hornsby there. This year we decided it was time to take our two teenaged children with us (we got a babysitter for the six-year-old). And this time instead of going to see a pop/rock concert, we saw the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, performing Rachmaninoff's First Symphony in D-minor and his Second Piano Concerto in C-minor with special guest, pianist Denis Matsuev. This concert was chosen not only because we love Rachmaninoff but also because my oldest son learned the third movement of the Second Piano Concerto this past year, and we thought it would be particularly enjoyable to hear it played live by a world class pianist.

You just can't beat the Ravinia experience. Lawn tickets for this concert were only $12/person, considerably less than we would have had to pay for a concert at Symphony Center in downtown Chicago. And you can't beat the natural setting. No need to dress up! We packed up a picnic basket of summer sausage, Italian hard salami, cheese, crackers, hummus, pita chips, carrots, grapes, apples, and brownies, plus a bottle of wine for Mom & Dad, loaded up our lawn chairs, and arrived at the park before 7:00, in plenty of time to enjoy some food and relaxation before the 8:00 performance. We were thankful that the rain that had been forecast for the evening came and went before we left home and did not at all hinder our plans, in fact cooling things off quite nicely.

It is possible to purchase reserved seating in the open air auditorium. But those tickets are much more costly. And why pay almost four times more per ticket for this . . .



. . . when you can have this?

Here are Phillip, Caitlin and Trevor, engaging in what is no doubt some highly erudite and profound conversation before the show.

And what would Ravinia be without a little pre-concert silliness?

I just love those two.

The really nice thing about a symphony concert at Ravinia is that when it is time to listen, people listen. The only distractions were the insects and the occasional train going by. (Not so the pop concerts. There's a lot of crowd noise at those. Of course, the music is much louder, so I guess it doesn't matter much.)

Once the music started, the silliness stopped, as did the conversation. But the neat thing about Ravinia is the freedom to listen in the way that suits you best. Some find it most helpful to close their eyes and let the music envelop them. Others find it enjoyable to engage in some sketching or writing while soaking in the sounds. It's possible to continue consuming your snacks or beverage of choice while you listen, or to stretch out on your blanket and look at the sky. Some (ahem) find the whole experience so relaxing that they may even doze off from time to time. (Okay, okay, I missed a little of the Symphony. I was so tired.)

If you live in the Chicago area and have never enjoyed a concert at the summer Ravinia festival, I highly recommend it. Maybe we'll see you there!

Weekend Update

First, I'm sure you're wondering about the air conditioner. It's fixed! And the Cantor survived his day of watching children so several friends and I could attend the homeschool convention. In fact, he didn't merely survive--he excelled! (Which doesn't surprise me . . . he has a way with kids . . . nevertheless, as the afternoon wore on he was happy to welcome an extra pair of hands with the arrival of one of the other dads, who got off work early and thought Phil could use some company. Mike organized a backyard game, Phil enjoyed the shower that had so far eluded him, and by the time my friends and I returned home the children were fed and our own supper was waiting. Phil did tell me later that days like this one always give him a deeper appreciation of what moms do every day.)

It was a treat to go to the homeschool convention with some friends, having a ladies' lunch, attending several workshops (and walking out of only one), and shopping the vendor hall ("What do you think of this? Or should I get that one?") Elephant's Child and Sparkle Kitty stayed overnight, so we had some extended homeschool mommy debriefing complete with an unseasonably hot, sticky walk on Friday morning (still wondering what happened to spring around here, since we seem to have jumped right from winter to summer). Friday night my older two children and I took part in a Brothers of John the Steadfast packing party, cutting and taping and preparing materials that will soon be mailed out to the charter members of this new Lutheran lay organization. Saturday I sneaked back over to the convention for one final vendor hall browse (I was blessed to have this statewide event taking place about 10 minutes from my house) before attending a graduation party with my family. Then Saturday night my husband and I went here:




It's an outdoor concert venue in Highland Park, Illinois, called Ravinia. There is a small amphitheatre, but most of the seating is on the lawn. Concertgoers customarily bring lawn chairs, blankets and picnic baskets and listen to the music under the stars. The headliner this night was James Taylor, whom my husband and I must have seen at least six times since we have been a couple. When we found out he was going to be at Ravinia, we immediately called for tickets, only to discover they were already all sold out. So how did we end up going? It turns out there were a limited number of tickets available on the terrace at one of the Ravinia restaurants. We had only to agree to purchase a meal in the restaurant to reserve a table for the evening. It turned out to be one of the best concert experiences we have ever had. We had gourmet food and wine while listening to one of our favorite singers in an exquisite setting rather than being squeezed into stadium seats with people crawling over us all night. We couldn't see JT, but even when we have been able to do so he's been a mere speck on the stage (or maybe a giant video version projected on a screen), and what do we really go to a concert for anyway? To see or to hear? So we quickly rationalized the expense (hmmm, both of our birthdays plus Father's Day and Mother's Day in a 3-month span--sounds like reason enough!) and laid down our money. I think Phil's glad we did.




I know I am.