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gpmf.org2 0 1 6 G R AN T PA R K MU S I C F E S T I VA L
ORCHESTRA
& CHORUS
The
GRANT PARK ORCHESTRA
was formed in 1944 when the
Chicago Park District assembled a
single resident orchestra under the
direction of Chief Conductor Nikolai
Malko to perform at the Grant Park
Music Festival. Since then, other
prestigious conductors have included Irwin Hoffman, Leonard Slatkin, David
Zinman, Zdnek Macal, and Hugh Wolff. In 2000, Carlos Kalmar was named the
Festival’s Principal Conductor.
Today, the Grant Park Orchestra draws its musicians from different orchestras and
musical institutions throughout the United States. Each summer, the orchestra
members gather in Millennium Park for a ten-week season consisting of intensive
rehearsals and performances. Outside of the season, the musicians can be
found performing with major orchestras, teaching at numerous universities, and
appearing frequently on concert stages. Organizations represented by Grant
Park Orchestra musicians include the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Metropolitan
Opera, the Buffalo, Colorado, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Milwaukee, NewMexico,
Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Richmond, San Antonio, Seattle and Utah Symphonies. The
Grant Park Orchestra was nominated for a Grammy
®
Award in 2004 for its CD
entitled
Robert Kurka: Symphonic Works
.
The 100+ member
GRANT PARK
CHORUS
was formed in 1962
by Thomas Peck, who led the
group until his death in 1994. His
protégé Michael Cullen then led
the chorus until 1997, after which
a series of guest conductors
worked with the ensemble until
2002 when an international search
identified current chorus director,
Christopher Bell. In addition to providing artistic leadership to the Grant Park
Chorus, Bell is also founder of the Apprentice Chorale, which features some of
the most talented young vocalists from DePaul and Roosevelt Universities.
Winners of the 2006 Margaret Hillis Award for artistic excellence, the Grant
Park Chorus is a fully professional ensemble and the majority of the vocalists
reside in Illinois. In addition to frequent solo appearances and teaching careers,
members of the Grant Park Chorus perform with ensembles such as Chicago
a Cappella, the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Chicago Symphony Chorus.
In 2012, the Grant Park Chorus released
Songs of Smaller Creatures and other
American Choral Works
, a recording of
a cappella
music to commemorate its
50th anniversary.