Ravinia Festival CEO Jeff Haydon announced that the festival has extended Marin Alsop’s contract as chief conductor for three years, through the summer of 2025.
The summer of 2021 marked Alsop’s first actual season in the post, due to the pandemic closure in 2020; the extension will bring her tenure to five years in 2025. Alsop curates and leads three weeks of programs with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) each summer, including the festival’s annual fundraising gala concert, and will work closely with Ravinia’s Reach Teach Play education programs to inspire young Chicagoland musicians.
Alsop, who is openly lesbian, is the first female music director of a major U.S. orchestra and is a MacArthur Genius Prize recipient.
Also announced was the creation of the annual Breaking Barriers Festival, curated by Alsop, which will celebrate the diverse artists and leaders in the vanguard of classical music today and in the future. This year’s Breaking Barriers Festival will take place July 29—31, and focuses on women conductors.
The weekend highlights the important role of mentors in breaking barriers for women conductors, and honors such arts leaders as Margaret Hillis (who founded and led the Chicago Symphony Chorus) with performances of major choral works; Leonard Bernstein (Alsop’s primary mentor) through his music canonizing the female voice; and Alsop herself, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Taki Alsop Fellowship by featuring current and past winners.
Tickets to all Ravinia performances go on sale to donors starting March 30 and to the public beginning May 4. Patrons can visit http://ravinia.org for information and to sign up for updates.