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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are pleased to honor the Grant Park Music
4Festival on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Grant
5Park Chorus; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The Grant Park Music Festival, the nation's only
7remaining free outdoor summer classical music series, was
8conceived by Chicago Mayor Anton J. Cermak in 1931; in 1935,
9the festival was founded by James C. Petrillo, president of the
10Chicago Federation of Musicians, to lift the spirits of
11Chicagoans during the Great Depression; and
 
12    WHEREAS, In 1962, the award-winning Grant Park Chorus was
13established under the direction of Thomas Peck; the chorus has
14been led by Chorus Director Christopher Bell since 2002; and
 
15    WHEREAS, In 2012, the Grant Park Music Festival will
16celebrate the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Grant
17Park Chorus, now a professional ensemble of more than 100
18vocalists; and
 
19    WHEREAS, The Grant Park Music Festival annually offers a
2010-week season of free concerts, artistic development
21initiatives, radio broadcasts, and community education and

 

 

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1outreach programs; the festival shares the enrichment of
2symphonic music with nearly 1.8 million people each year and
3has made its home in Millennium Park and its state-of-the-art
4outdoor concert facility, the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, since
52004; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The Grant Park Music Festival has earned a
7reputation for artistic excellence by consistently presenting
8varied and adventurous repertoire - juxtaposing well-loved
9favorites with less familiar classical and contemporary
10masterworks - at the highest professional level; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The Grant Park Music Festival remains committed to
12making live symphonic and choral performances broadly
13accessible and to fostering a lifelong appreciation of
14classical music among people of all ages, backgrounds, and
15means; and
 
16    WHEREAS, The Grant Park Music Festival will celebrate the
1750th anniversary of the Grant Park Chorus with a number of
18special activities and events throughout the 2012 season,
19including a Golden Anniversary Choral Spectacular on June
2029-30, 2012; and
 
21    WHEREAS, The Grant Park Music Festival has further
22commemorated this anniversary with the commissioning of 2 new

 

 

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1works for the Grant Park Chorus by esteemed American composers
2Michael Gandolfi and Sebastian Currier; the composers will
3present their world premieres on July 15-16, 2012 and July 6-7,
42012, respectively; therefore, be it
 
5    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
6NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
7we honor the organizers and performers of the Grant Park Music
8Festival on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Grant
9Park Chorus and commend their continued efforts to enrich,
10enlighten, and uplift all of Chicago's residents and guests
11with world-class, free classical music concerts; and be it
12further
 
13    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
14presented to the Grant Park Music Festival as a symbol of our
15esteem and respect.