It will be a season of milestones at this summer’s Grant Park Music Festival — including the 90th anniversary of the beloved outdoor classical music festival itself.
The 2024 schedule, announced Tuesday, will feature an eclectic array of works, world-renowned artists, composers and conductors and more, presented from June 12-Aug. 17 at Millennium Park’s Jay Pritzker Pavilion and other venues in the city.
The 10-week season marks the 25th and final one for the festival’s artistic director and principal conductor Carlos Kalmar, and the 20th anniversary of the opening of Millennium Park. Christopher Bell returns as the festival chorus director.
Highlights of the season include: the opening-night concert featuring the Dvorak Cello Concerto (June 12, Carlos Kalmar, conductor); Igor Stravinsky’s “Petrushka” (June 28-29 at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Ludovic Morlot, conductor); the Independence Day Salute (July 4, Christopher Bell, conductor); the Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 (July 10; Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor); Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade” (July 26-27, Eric Jacobsen, conductor); Mozart Jupiter Symphony (Aug. 7, Carlos Kalmar, conductor); and Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 (Aug. 16-17, Carlos Kalmar, conductor).
Four world premiere works commissioned by the festival are also among this year’s lineup. All were created by Chicago-based composers: Clarice Assad (June 26); James M. Stephenson (July 12-13); and Nathalie Joachim (July 24); plus a string quartet by Ahmed Al Abaca on a date to be announced.
The season will also feature “Broadway Rocks!” celebrating jukebox musicals (July 31); “Star Wars and More: The Music of John Williams” (July 19); and “Fascinating Rhythm: Gershwin and Friends” (Aug. 14).
All concerts offer free seating on the park’s Great Lawn (and limited free pavilion seating on a first-come, first-served basis), and most performances start at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays. Grant Park Music Festival memberships (starting at $103) include guaranteed reserved seating to every concert and discounts on parking.
The complete schedule is available at gpmf.org.
