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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The City of Chicago's downtown, outdoor
3 classical-music program, the Grant Park Music Festival, will
4 celebrate its 75th season on July 1, 2009; and
 
5     WHEREAS, The Grant Park Music Festival was first conceived
6 by Chicago Mayor A. J. Cermak during the Great Depression in
7 1931, providing free concerts as a way to lift the spirits of
8 city residents; and the following year James Petrillo, the
9 president of the Chicago Federation of Musicians, worked to
10 turn the concerts into a permanent summer tradition; and
 
11     WHEREAS, On July 1, 1935, the Grant Park Concerts made
12 their official debut, commencing with the march from Wagner's
13 Tannhauser; shortly thereafter some of music's biggest stars
14 performed at Grant Park, including violinist Jascha Heifetz,
15 conductor Andre Kostelanetz, and soprano Lily Pons; and
 
16     WHEREAS, In 1943, the Chicago Park District assembled a
17 single resident orchestra, the Grant Park Orchestra, under the
18 direction of Principal Conductor Nicolai Malko; and in 1962,
19 the 100-member Grant Park Chorus was formed by Thomas Peck, who
20 led the group until his death in 1994; and
 
21     WHEREAS, The Festival has presented new works by

 

 

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1 contemporary composers like John Corigliano, Aaron Jay Kernis,
2 and Michael Torke; and has featured the works of artists like
3 Benny Goodman, Mitch Miller, Poi Dog Pondering, and the Joffrey
4 Ballet; and
 
5     WHEREAS, The Festival is a treasured Chicago tradition,
6 with audiences that sometimes top 10,000; its Principal
7 Conductor is Carlos Kalmar, its Chorus Director is Christopher
8 Bell, and the outgoing Artistic and General Director is James
9 W. Palermo; and
 
10     WHEREAS, The Festival will kick off its 75th season
11 celebration on June 10, 2009, with Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto
12 No. 1; and
 
13     WHEREAS, The Festival's home, Grant Park, has served as a
14 gathering place for wartime rallies and protests,
15 depression-era camps, visiting queens and popes, citywide
16 festivals, and Barack Obama's election-night celebration
17 following his 2008 election as president of the United States;
18 therefore, be it
 
19     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
20 NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
21 congratulate the City of Chicago, the Chicago Park District,
22 the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, and the Grant Park

 

 

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1 Orchestral Association on the celebration of the Grant Park
2 Music Festival's 75th season; and be it further
 
3     RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
4 presented to the City of Chicago, the Chicago Park District,
5 the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, and the Grant Park
6 Orchestral Association as a symbol of our respect and esteem.