Grant Park Symphony Orchestra
Encyclopedia
The Grant Park Symphony Orchestra or simply the Grant Park Orchestra is a publicly sponsored symphony orchestra that provides free performances in the Grant Park Music Festival
during the summer months in Millennium Park
in Chicago
, Illinois
. Its sister organization is the Grant Park Chorus; the orchestra and chorus
hold both joint appearances and separate performances. The orchestra was founded in 1944 and the chorus in 1962. In 1944, the orchestra was formed under the direction of Walter L. Larsen and Chicago Symphony Orchestra
manager George Kuyper. Rudolph Ganz
conducted the first concerts. In 1978, when the Petrillo Music Shell
was relocated, the Orchestra became part of a tradition of Independence Day
Eve concerts accompanied by fireworks
and attended by well over 100,000 spectators. Their rendition of Pyotr Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture
marked the culmination of the event and was choreographed to be synchronous with howitzer
blasts and a crescendo
of fireworks. Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne
wanted to put an end to the large Independence Day Eve concert in order to reduce costs and differentiate herself from her predecessors, but was convinced not to by Grant Park Music Festival concert manager Steven Ovitzky. One year, Byrne celebrated the event with Muhammad Ali
at her side.
In 2000, the Festival reached an agreement with Cedille Records
to record the Grant Park Orchestra. It produced six CDs during the decade:
At the end of the Grant Park Music Festival season in August, the Orchestra and Carlos Kalmar
presented Pulitzer Prize
-winning composer John Adams' On the Transmigration of Souls
, which was written at the request of the New York Philharmonic
to honor the victims of the September 11 attacks. Adams won the Pulitzer Prize in 2003 for that particular work.
Grant Park Music Festival
Grant Park Music Festival is an annual ten-week classical music concert series held in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It features the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra and Grant Park Chorus along with featured guest performers and conductors. The Festival has earned non-profit organization status...
during the summer months in Millennium Park
Millennium Park
Millennium Park is a public park located in the Loop community area of Chicago in Illinois, USA and originally intended to celebrate the millennium. It is a prominent civic center near the city's Lake Michigan shoreline that covers a section of northwestern Grant Park. The area was previously...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. Its sister organization is the Grant Park Chorus; the orchestra and chorus
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
hold both joint appearances and separate performances. The orchestra was founded in 1944 and the chorus in 1962. In 1944, the orchestra was formed under the direction of Walter L. Larsen and Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1891, the Symphony makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival...
manager George Kuyper. Rudolph Ganz
Rudolph Ganz
Rudolph Ganz was a Swiss pianist, conductor and composer. He claimed direct descent from Charlemagne.-Biography:...
conducted the first concerts. In 1978, when the Petrillo Music Shell
Petrillo Music Shell
James C. Petrillo Music Shell or simply Petrillo Music Shell or Petrillo Bandshell as it is more commonly known, is an outdoor amphitheater/bandstand in Grant Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States...
was relocated, the Orchestra became part of a tradition of Independence Day
Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
Eve concerts accompanied by fireworks
Fireworks
Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...
and attended by well over 100,000 spectators. Their rendition of Pyotr Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture
1812 Overture
The Year 1812, Festival Overture in E flat major, Op. 49, popularly known as the 1812 Overture or the Overture of 1812 is an overture written by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1880 to commemorate Russia's defense of Moscow against Napoleon's advancing Grande Armée at the Battle of...
marked the culmination of the event and was choreographed to be synchronous with howitzer
Howitzer
A howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...
blasts and a crescendo
Crescendo
-In music:*Crescendo, a passage of music during which the volume gradually increases, see Dynamics * Crescendo , a Liverpool-based electronic pop band* "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue", one of Duke Ellington's longer-form compositions...
of fireworks. Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne
Jane Byrne
Jane Margaret Byrne was the first and to date only female Mayor of Chicago. She served from April 16, 1979 to April 29, 1983. Chicago is the largest city in the United States to have had a female mayor as of 2011.-Early political career:...
wanted to put an end to the large Independence Day Eve concert in order to reduce costs and differentiate herself from her predecessors, but was convinced not to by Grant Park Music Festival concert manager Steven Ovitzky. One year, Byrne celebrated the event with Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
at her side.
In 2000, the Festival reached an agreement with Cedille Records
Cedille Records
#REDIRECTCedille Records is the independent record label of TheChicago Classical Recording Foundation.-Company History:In 1989, James Ginsburg founded Cedille Records, as a...
to record the Grant Park Orchestra. It produced six CDs during the decade:
- American Works for Organ and Orchestra (with organist David Schrader), released June 18, 2002
- Robert Kurka: Symphony No. 2; Julius Caesar; Music for Orchestra; Serenade for Small Orchestra (Grammy AwardGrammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
-nominated), released January 1, 2004 - Portraits (with vilinist Jennifer KohJennifer KohJennifer Koh is an American violinist, born to Korean parents in Glen Ellyn, IL.Jennifer Koh earned a B.A. in English Literature from Oberlin College, as well as a Performance Diploma from the attached Oberlin Conservatory. She is also a graduate of the Curtis Institute and was silver medalist in...
), released May 30, 2006 - American Orchestral Works, released June 27, 2006
- Royal Mezzo (with mezzo-soprano Jennifer LarmoreJennifer LarmoreJennifer Larmore is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer, noted for coloratura and bel canto.- Career :Jennifer Larmore is an American mezzo-soprano, well known for her versatility, natural beauty and stage craft...
), released June 10, 2008 - Symphony in Waves: Music Of Aaron Jay Kernis, released August 12, 2008
At the end of the Grant Park Music Festival season in August, the Orchestra and Carlos Kalmar
Carlos Kalmar
Carlos Kalmar is a Uruguayan conductor. He began violin studies at age six. At age fifteen, he enrolled at the Vienna Academy of Music where his conducting teacher was Karl Österreicher...
presented Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning composer John Adams' On the Transmigration of Souls
On the Transmigration of Souls
On the Transmigration of Souls, for orchestra, chorus, children’s choir and pre-recorded tape is a composition by composer John Adams commissioned by The New York Philharmonic and Lincoln Center’s Great Performers shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks.Adams began writing the piece in...
, which was written at the request of the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
to honor the victims of the September 11 attacks. Adams won the Pulitzer Prize in 2003 for that particular work.