Ravinia Music Under the Stars Around the World

Culinary Historians of Chicago

Ravinia Music Under the Stars Around the World An Archives Access Project Courtesy of the Illinois Secretary of State Presented by Steve Gianni, Project Archivist for Ravinia Park Collections Nancy Webster, Archivist of the Highland Park Archives and Local History Collections at the library This project has been a journey of discovery through the basement, closets and file cabinets of an institution established in 1904. A hidden collection laid waiting for an archives program to claim it. We hope this is the beginning of a program that will fill in gaps in the Festival’s institutional memory and documentation. Thankfully, the Highland Park Historical Society had already begun the work with the Ravinia Park Collection, an important task of collecting of programs, posters, and other historical materials for each season. And, the Ravinia Association donated records to the Newberry Library, creating an additional resource. These materials and many stored on site at the Ravinia Festival have been digitized with a grant to the Highland Park Public Library from the Illinois Secretary of State, as have other materials documenting the festival housed at Ravinia, the Newberry Library, and other locations. A presentation of key images and documents will be presented to create a historical timeline of Ravinia Festival from this collaboration. Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute is also a part of this project. Since 1988, the institute has hosted musicians from around the globe in intimate performances and Master Classes with renowned musicians from the classical and jazz world. Luckily, these performances were all video recorded, and are being digitized and uploaded to the Illinois State Library and will be available to the world. Culled from over 1,000 videotapes of various formats from 1988 through 2013, plus over 150 digital video files from 2014 through 2019. This collection will represent the entire history of Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, creating an invaluable educational and historical resource. About the Highland Park Historical Society: The mission of the Highland Park Historical Society is to preserve our community’s past, to inspire an appreciation of our history and culture, and to share with the community and scholars the rich history of Highland Park, Illinois. The Society is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and is administered by a volunteer Board of Directors. The Archives and Research Collections are housed in the Highland Park Public Library. Recorded via Zoom on April 22, 2021 www.HighlandParkHistory.com