Ravinia Festival's Lincoln Trio to play in Lincoln

[April 09, 2009]  In honor of the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth, Lincoln College is teaming up with the Ravinia Festival of Highland Park to present two free concerts by the Lincoln Trio on April 21.

The Lincoln Trio will perform twice at the Lincoln College Johnston Center for Performing Arts, with a 1 p.m. concert specifically open to area school students and another at 3 p.m. for the college students. The public is invited to attend and enjoy both free concerts. The Lincoln Trio will also perform at Lincoln Christian Church at 10 a.m. for the Jolly Seniors and at the Lincoln Christian College Chapel at 7 p.m. Again, the public is invited to attend the evening performance.

The concerts in Lincoln are part of a series including stops across the state of Illinois. The tour is the brainchild of Ravinia's president and CEO, Welz Kauffman, who has participated along with the trio of musicians. The concerts started in February and will continue through the summer.

The aptly named Lincoln Trio is an ensemble-in-residence at the Music Institute of Chicago. Playing in the group are violinist Desiree Ruhstrat, cellist David Cunliffe and pianist Marta Aznavoorian.

During the tour they are scheduled to play in nursing homes, schools, concert halls, historic sites, town squares and even at the Sherwin-Williams paint store in Lincoln, which stands on property once owned by Lincoln himself.

"From the second we made our first announcement of Lincoln programming almost two years ago, Ravinia has been eager to share diverse cultural points of view on the man many consider America's greatest leader," said Kauffman, who also sits on the Illinois Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, which is planning celebrations around the state.

"It's an exciting challenge to introduce classical music to young people today," Kauffman said. "In Abraham Lincoln, we have a subject that youngsters already connect with through their studies. Building on that interest in the beloved statesman, we can get the children to participate in these music works more deeply than they otherwise would. They get Lincoln, classical music and new music all at once."

The tour repertoire includes newly composed works for piano trio as well as works by Brahms and Mendelssohn.

In 2008 the Lincoln Trio won the best competitor award at the Masterplayers International Music Competition.

The primary tour sponsor is the McCormick Foundation, with major support provided by the Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. Ravinia Festival is a not-for-profit organization.

For more information on the tour, visit www.ravinia.org/Lincoln, or contact Ron Keller at 732-3155, ext. 295.

[Text from file received from Lincoln College]