Ravinia Festival Orchestra Tickets

Held every year in Highland Park, Illinois, Ravinia Festival is the oldest outdoor music festival that has a history going back more than a hundred years now. Every year, Ravinia Festival attracts thousands of patrons from the surrounding regions to the festival grounds at the Ravinia Park. During the summer season, Ravinia Park becomes the musical hub of the region with numerous artists coming out to perform live. Since 1936, Chicago Symphony Orchestra has been calling Ravinia Festival its home during the summer season. This season, Chicago Symphony Orchestra has yet another exciting schedule of events lined up that you can catch with Ravinia Festival Orchestra tickets.

Each year the event usually takes place between the months of June and September. This season, Ravinia Festival will kick off on June 5, 2014 with a performance of Concert Dance, Inc. at the Bennett Gordon Hall. Ravinia Festival Orchestra performance will start off at the Ravinia Festival with the performance of Sir James & Lady Jeanne Galway on July 8, 2014. This season, Ravinia Festival Orchestra performances will have Oscar-winning films like West Side Story screened while Chicago Symphony Orchestra will play all the scores live. Apart from this, CSO will also be staging All Beethoven Evening and Vienna Waltzes & Dances. So for those who patronize classical music have a lot coming their way, thanks to CSO's live performances at the Ravinia Festival.

Ravinia Festival takes place at a few outdoor and indoor facilities that are located on the grounds of Ravinia Park. Of its three major performance venues, The Pavilion is the major music and concert venue that can seat up to 3,200 attendees. Apart from hosting performances of Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Pavilion also plays host to a variety of other major musical acts during the course of the festival. This open-air theatre comes with state-of-the-art lighting, video and sound systems, which offers a great experience to even those who choose to sit on the lawn.

With the seating capacity of 450 people, Bennett Gordon Hall showcases smaller concerts and events during the festival. It usually stages the preview performances as well as live concerts of rising or upcoming stars. It is also home of Steans Institute for Young Artists' Rising Stars Series. With a bit more intimate setting, the Martin Theatre hosts semi-stages performances, cabarets and chamber music concerts.

History of the Ravinia Festival goes all the way back to 1904 when Ravinia Park opened with attractions like Ravinia Theatre, a Ballpark, and Casino etc. However, later in 1911 the park was purchased by local residents after it was expected to be demolished. After the ownership changed hands, live music was promised to be a regular activity at the park and since then Ravinia Festival has been attracting musicians and concert-goers from around the nation.

Every year, Ravinia Festival stages more than 120 events roughly at the Ravinia Park which approximately entertains more than 600,000 attendees. Being the oldest music festival in North America, Ravinia Festival is renowned for presenting music from varying genres like classical music to jazz and so forth. Through its course of history, Ravinia Festival has played host to the likes of Joe Cocker, Judy Collins, Roberta Flack, Chicago, Luciano Berio, Louis Armstrong, Deep Purple, Bob Dylan, Diana Krall, Chaka Khan, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Maroon 5, Frank Zappa, James Taylor, Luciano Pavarotti and several more. Chicago Symphony Orchestra also occasionally features guest conductors and soloists during the course of the festival.

The upcoming edition of Ravinia Festival is expected to be as exciting as its preceding editions. The 2014 Ravinia Festival will feature acts like OneRepublic, John Legend, Sarah McLachlan and several other renowned names. In addition, Chicago Symphony Orchestra will also be bringing its unique lineup of events like always. So be a part of this summer-long celebration of classical music, jazz and everything in between with Ravinia Festival Orchestra tickets.