Author: David Henley

Chicago-Opera-Theater-General-Director-Ashley-Magnus
Classical Music Music 

Chicago Opera Theater Launches Search to Replace General Director Ashley Magnus

David Henley

The Board of Directors of Chicago Opera Theater (COT), Chicago’s foremost producer of contemporary and re-imagined opera, announced recently that it will launch a national search to replace Ashley Magnus, Stefan Edlis and Gael Neeson General Director, who departed the company effective Friday, March 3, 2023.  Magnus leaves the Chicago area to unite her family in Southwest Michigan, where she and her husband opened the River Trade Brewing Company in Constantine, MI. She has served Chicago Opera Theater for 7 ½ years, including as General Director since January 2019.  Chicago Opera Theater Director of Development Meaghan Stainback Smallwood has been named the Interim General Director.

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Ravinia-Festival
Classical Music Music 

Ravinia Cancels 2020 Festival Season Due to COVID-19 Concerns

David Henley ,

In response to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, Ravinia, the oldest music festival in the country, has been forced to cancel its 2020 season. Ravinia has operated continually since its 1904 opening except for 1932–1935, when the park was silenced by the Great Depression. The not-for-profit festival was to have presented more than 120 events from June 12 through September 16, including the annual summer residency of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The festival’s summer conservatory, Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, will also be closed this summer.

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Empty-Cadillac-Palace-Theatre
Arts Chicago Arts Administration Chicago Arts and Culture Music 

Foundation Expedites $3M in Grants to Arts Organizations in Chicago and South Carolina

David Henley ,

Acknowledging the potentially cataclysmic financial situation which hundreds of beloved regional small arts organizations are facing, the Board of the Chicago-based Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation (the Foundation) has unanimously voted to immediately put in place a series of funding mechanisms, including expediting a total of $2 million in general operating funds to its current roster of 175 arts grantees in the Chicago region and 40 in the Lowcountry of South Carolina.

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Siegfried-at-Lyric-Opera
Classical Music Music 

Lyric Opera to Move Remainder of 2019/20 Programming to Upcoming Seasons

David Henley ,

Lyric Opera of Chicago’s General Director, President & CEO, Anthony Freud, announced today that all public performances, events, and activities remaining in the 2019/20 Season have been moved into upcoming seasons. This includes the musical 42nd Street, the new chamber opera Blue, Family Day at the Lyric Opera House, and all backstage tours, in order to heed social distancing recommendations and continue to support the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois in controlling the spread of COVID-19. This announcement signals the end of public performances and activities through June 30, 2020 – the end of Lyric’s current fiscal year.
Working to postpone rather than cancel planned artistic and engagement events, Lyric has announced that all of Lyric’s May and June performances and events have been successfully moved into upcoming seasons.

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Denver-Art-Museum-exterior
Arts Travel 

Denver Divertissement

David Henley , , ,

For an alternative to Park City this spring, you may want to look to the Mile High City, which has a bevy of cultural divertissement of its own before the summer months merge. In Denver, winter months give way to vibrant city life filled
with cultural elements its particularly difficult to ignore. Snow-capped mountains are replaced with rustic terrain terrific for hiking. And adventure activities are likely to keep you stimulated for the duration of your stay. Yet arts and culture reigns supreme in Denver, CO each spring, and the level of cultural offerings to enjoy is nothing to shake a stick at. Take a look at the cultural experiences that await travelers this spring.

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Main-Street-Park-City-Utah
Arts Travel 

Park City’s Other Season

David Henley

Known for producing some of the best powder on the planet, Park City, Utah is likely atop the lists of most travelers’ premium vacation spots during winter months. With two mountain resorts within its limits, Park City is distinct for its storied Olympic legacy. Home of the last games to be held on U.S. soil (2002), the town has the largest concentration of luxury ski-in/ski-out accommodations in North America.

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