Grant Park Music Festival announces 90th anniversary season, the final for conductor Carlos Kalmar

Summer is on its way. The Grant Park Music Festival on Tuesday announced its 90th anniversary season, coming to Millennium Park with a 10-week series commencing June 12. Carlos Kalmar returns for what the festival says is his final season as principal conductor and artistic director, roles he’s held since 2000 and 2011, respectively.

Christopher Bell returns as chorus director. In addition, the 2024 season will invite seven guest conductors (some presumably potential Kalmar successors) including French maestro Ludovic Morlot (June 26-July 5), conductor emeritus of the Seattle Symphony and music director of the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra; the Grammy-winning conductor Giancarlo Guerrero (July 10-13), music director of the Nashville Symphony; and Eric Jacobsen (July 17-27), co-founder of The Knights and member the Silkroad Ensemble, as well as Kyle Dickson, Anthony Parnther, Byron Stripling and Lucas Waldin. But notably, no women on that list.

Musical highlights include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, Rachmaninov’s “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini,” Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 and Mahler’s Symphony No. 8. On the lighter side, a concert of “Star Wars and More: The Music of John Williams,” a Broadway tribute and a program featuring the music of George Gershwin and friends.

The Grant Park Music Festival’s summer calendar promises four world premiere works commissioned by the festival from Chicago-based composers: Clarice Assad (June 26), James M. Stephenson (July 12-13), Nathalie Joachim (July 24) and Ahmed Al Abaca (date to be determined). Local premieres will include Jessie Montgomery’s “Five Freedom Songs” (June 19).

Along with all that’s listed below, a few things you can count on: Some concerts will float out from the Jay Pritzker Pavilion on picture-perfect evenings. Some will be in the rain, with the umbrella’d faithful turning out anyway. And Bell will be decked out in some outlandishly dazzling combination of red, white and blue for the Independence Day concert. All concerts take place in Millennium Park — which incidentally celebrates its own 20th anniversary this summer — unless otherwise specified.

Dvořák Cello Concerto (June 12, 6:30 p.m.) with Grant Park Orchestra and Carlos Kalmar, conductor. Program also includes Anna Clyne “Masquerade,” Benjamin Britten “The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.”

Tetzlaff Plays Elgar (June 14, 6:30 p.m. and June 15, 7:30 p.m.) with Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus and Carlos Kalmar, conductor; Christian Tetzlaff, violin; Lauren Decker, contralto. Program also includes Gustav Holst “The Cloud Messenger.”

Choral Masterworks (June 17, 6:30 p.m. at South Shore Cultural Center and June 20, 6:30 p.m. at Columbus Park Refectory) with Grant Park Chorus and Carlos Kalmar, conductor, and Christopher Bell, chorus director.

“Songs of Freedom” (June 19, 6:30 p.m.) with Grant Park Orchestra and Carlos Kalmar, conductor, and Karen Slack, soprano. Beethoven Overture to “Fidelio,” Margaret Bonds “The Montgomery Variations,” Jessie Montgomery “Five Freedom Songs,” Beethoven “Leonore” Overture No. 3.

Schumann Piano Concerto (June 21, 6:30 p.m. and June 22, 7:30 p.m.) with Grant Park Orchestra and Carlos Kalmar, conductor, and Garrick Ohlsson, piano. Program also includes Gabriela Lena Frank “Apu,” Sergei Prokofiev “Symphony No. 6.”

Dvořák Serenade for Strings (June 25, 6:30 p.m. at the South Shore Cultural Center and June 27, 6:30 p.m. in the Pritzker Pavilion) with Grant Park String and Vocal Fellowship alum Kyle Dickson, conductor. Program also includes Jessie Montgomery ”Starburst,” Béla Bartók “Romanian Folk Dances,” Augusta Read Thomas “Of Paradise and Light,” Heitor Villa-Lobos Bachianas Brasileiras No. 9, Michael Abels “Delights and Dances.”

Haydn London Symphony (June 26, 6:30 p.m.) with Grant Park Orchestra and Ludovic Morlot, conductor. Program also includes Clarice Assad premiere, Richard Strauss Suite from “Der Rosenkavalier.”

Stravinsky Petrushka (June 28, 6:30 p.m. and June 29, 7:30 p.m. in the Harris Theater in Millennium Park) with Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus and Ludovic Morlot, conductor and Martin Bakari, tenor. Program also includes Johannes Brahms “Song of Destiny,” Zoltán Kodály “Psalmus Hungaricus.”

Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 (July 3, 6:30 p.m. and July 5, 6:30 p.m.) with Grant Park Orchestra and Ludovic Morlot, conductor, and Anne Akiko Meyers, violin. Program also includes Angélica Negrón “Color Shape Transmission,” Arturo Márquez Fandango.

“Independence Day Salute” (July 4, 6:30 p.m.) with Grant Park Orchestra and Christopher Bell, conductor. Special holiday program includes works by Bernstein, John Williams and John Philip Sousa and “Armed Forces Salute.”

Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 (July 10, 6:30 p.m.) with Grant Park Orchestra and Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor. Program also includes Joan Tower “1920/2019.”

Beethoven Emperor Concerto (July 12, 6:30 p.m. and July 13, 7:30 p.m.) with Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus and Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor; Christopher Bell, chorus director; and Stewart Goodyear, piano. Program also includes James Stephenson premiere, Maurice Duruflé Requiem.

Rachmaninov “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” (July 17, 6:30 p.m.) with Grant Park Orchestra and Eric Jacobsen, conductor, and Clayton Stephenson, piano. Program also includes Maurice Ravel “Le tombeau de Couperin,” Paul Hindemith “Symphonic Metamorphosis.”

“Star Wars and More: The Music of John Williams” (July 19, 6:30 p.m.) with Grant Park Orchestra and Anthony Parnther, conductor, and Jeremy Black, violin.

Beethoven Symphony No. 5 (July 24, 6:30 p.m.) with Grant Park Orchestra and Eric Jacobsen, conductor. Program also includes Nathalie Joachim premiere, Edvard Grieg “Holberg” Suite.

Scheherazade (July 26, 6:30 p.m. and July 27, 7:30 p.m.) with Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus and Christopher Bell, chorus director; Eric Jacobsen, conductor; and Lindsey Reynolds, soprano. Program also includes Lili Boulanger “Of a Spring Morning,” Francis Poulenc Stabat Mater.

“Broadway Rocks!” (July 31, 6:30 p.m.) with Grant Park Orchestra and Lucas Waldin, conductor; and LaKisha Jones, Chloe Lowery and Dan Domenech, vocalists. This tribute to Broadway will celebrate jukebox musicals, with songs by ABBA, Dolly Parton, Queen and Michael Jackson.

Bruckner Symphony No. 4 (Aug. 2, 6:30 p.m. and Aug. 3, 7:30 p.m.) with the Grant Park Orchestra in the Harris Theater in Millennium Park and Carlos Kalmar, conductor. Program also includes Jean Sibelius “The Swan of Tuonela,” Leoš Janáček Suite from “The Cunning Little Vixen.”

Mozart Jupiter Symphony (Aug. 7, 6:30 p.m.) with Grant Park Orchestra and Carlos Kalmar, conductor. Program also includes Luciano Berio/Luigi Boccherini “Withdrawal by Night in Madrid,” Aaron Copland Suite from “Appalachian Spring.”

Brahms Double Concerto (Aug. 9, 6:30 p.m. and Aug. 10, 7:30 p.m.) with Grant Park Orchestra and Carlos Kalmar, conductor; Vadim Gluzman, violin; and Johannes Moser, cello. Program also includes Elena Kats-Chernin “Mythic,” Claude Debussy “Ibéria,” Maurice Ravel “Rapsodie espagnole.”

“Fascinating Rhythm: Gershwin and Friends” (Aug. 14, 6:30 p.m.) with Grant Park Orchestra and Byron Stripling, conductor and trumpet, and Sydney McSweeney, vocals. The songs of George Gershwin, Irving Berlin and more.

Mahler Symphony No. 8 (Aug. 16, 6:30 p.m. and Aug. 17, 7:30 p.m.) with Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus and Carlos Kalmar, conductor; Jane Archibald, soprano; Maeve Höglund, soprano; Siena Licht Miller, mezzo-soprano; Susan Platts, mezzo-soprano; John Matthew Myers, tenor; Rod Gilfry, baritone; and Kevin Short, bass-baritone. Mahler’s “Symphony of a Thousand” in season finale honoring Kalmar.

The Grant Park Music Festival is presented by the Grant Park Orchestral Association in partnership with the Chicago Park District and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.

All concerts are free and most will take place on Wednesday and Friday evenings at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m. (Exceptions include a Thursday concert on July 4). Select concerts will be broadcast on WFMT 98.7-FM.

Orchestra and chorus rehearsals typically take place 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays from June 11 to Aug. 16, and are free and open to the public. Young Artists Showcases are on Fridays at 5:30 p.m., with students from local music schools and summer music programs.

According to the announcement, memberships for the 2024 season are now available and include reserved seats, access to concert receptions and events, and discounts on parking. Other packages are available with reserved seats for a fewer number of concerts. Memberships begin at $103. More information about memberships, as well as about the Festival Connect and Festival Next outreach programs, at 312-742-7647 and gpmf.org.

dgeorge@chicagotribune.com