News & Stories
Festival 2022—the (Un)Official Tally
What looks like lazy summer evenings under the stars belies the efforts of an enormous staff—stagehands, musicians, sound engineers, ushers, music librarians, music educators, and more—to pull off 300 live events in ten weeks.
More than a Concert Series, the Grant Park Music Festival Supports Lifelong Learning
Each year, hundreds of thousands of people file into Millennium Park for state-of-the-art sound, breathtaking vistas, and world-class concerts. Yet many would be surprised to learn of the depth and breadth of the Grant Park Music Festival's education programs.
Flute Fighters: Piccinini and Haefliger Bring 3 Premieres, 35 Years of Marriage and a Kung Fu Background to Grant Park Concerts
August 2, 2022 | Hannah Edgar [Reprinted from the Chicago Tribune]
Reflections on Dona nobis pacem
How an interwar plea for peace became a defining work for a member of the Grant Park Chorus.
Jeremy Black's Concert Picks
We asked Grant Park Orchestra Concertmaster Jeremy Black if he's looking forward to any concerts in particular, and he offered up these four.
Billy Childs Keeps on Keeping on
We live in the age of the unexpected. For the multi-Grammy-winning composer Billy Childs, a canceled premiere led to something new and wonderful: a string quartet
Festival Auditions Draw Hundreds for a Chance at Joining the Orchestra
They came from as far as Philadelphia, Florida, New York, and Houston—all for the chance to spend their summers on stage at Chicago's Jay Pritzker Pavilion.
Could You Do an Orchestra Librarian's Job?
Every spring, the Grant Park Music Festival "staffs up" for the summer concert series. Ushers, audio engineers, musicians—they all pass through the employment process. This year, the Festival hired a new orchestra librarian, a person who arguably has the greatest capacity to grease the skids on stage.
Festival Young Artist Program Brings New Talent
Maybe you've seen them on the Pritzker stage, in a neighborhood park, or at the Rush Hour Concerts; the Project Inclusion fellows are integral to the Festival's summertime offerings—and they're picking up valuable professional experience in the process.
The Grant Park Chorus—60 Years Young and Soaring to New Heights
In 1962, Thomas Peck, a young singer and choral conductor founded a vocal ensemble to perform at Chicago's summertime concert series along the lakefront. Sixty years on, the Grant Park Chorus is among the best in the world.