The Grant Park Music Festival today announced its 2025 season, the first under the leadership of new Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Giancarlo Guerrero. The Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus will present a 10-week series from June 11 – August 16 at Millennium Park’s Jay Pritzker Pavilion and other venues throughout the city. Christopher Bell returns as Festival Chorus Director. The season will feature 20 diverse classical music programs, highlighting some of history’s most beloved works as well as exciting new compositions, and esteemed guest artists, many making their Festival debut.
“Since this one-of-a-kind festival is free and welcomes all, our programming reflects the rich and multi-faceted culture of Chicago,” said Guerrero. “Everyone from classical music fans to those new to the genre will find something to love. Well-known works by the giants of classical music will be presented on the same programs as music from spectacular contemporary composers whose pieces deserve to be heard alongside those legendary composers. Presenting newer voices together with those from the past makes those masterworks sound new again, offering listeners a sense of discovery and newness. This is what motivates me. This year’s festival will be a non-stop celebration of outstanding music performed by our world class orchestra and chorus and the greatest soloists of our time.”
All concerts are free and most will take place Wednesday and Friday evenings at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m. at the Pritzker Pavilion. (Exceptions include two concerts with the Grant Park Chorus at the South Shore Cultural Center on June 26 and 30; four concerts at the Harris Theater on June 27 and 28 and Aug. 1 and 2; and a July 3 concert at the Pritzker Pavilion, and no concert on July 5.) A complete schedule follows at the end of this document and at www.gpmf.org.
The Grant Park Orchestral Association presents the Grant Park Music Festival with key support from the Chicago Park District and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.
SELECT SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
MORE COMPOSERS – The Grant Park Music Festival continues to enrich Chicago with an ever-expanding field of musical offerings, placing the beloved classics and contemporary music side-by-side. In 2025, the Festival will present beloved works by Beethoven, Mozart, Holst, Mendelssohn, Mahler, Orff, Bernstein and Gershwin on the same programs as a diverse selection of living composers including Mark Adamo, Lera Auerbach, Valerie Coleman, Henry Dorn, Pacho Flores, Gabriela Lena Frank, Adolphus Hailstork, Jennifer Higdon, Chelsea Komschlies, Brian Nabors and Jake Runestad. Programmed composers with Chicago ties include Clarice Assad, Margaret Bonds, Anna Clyne, Stacy Garrop, Missy Mazzoli and Augusta Read Thomas.
PREMIERES – The 2025 season features a world premiere work commissioned by the Grant Park Music Festival from Stacy Garrop for the 2025 String Fellow Quartet (date TBD), which is inspired by the Jay Pritzker Pavilion and will be aired on PBS’s “Songs About Buildings and Moods.” The Festival will also present Mycelialore, by Chelsea Komschilies (Aug. 13) in its Midwest premiere (co-commissioned by the Festival). In addition, the season offers 10 Illinois premieres and two Chicago premieres.
GUEST CONDUCTORS – The Festival continues to expand the city’s famed arts scene with world-renowned guest conductors presenting various works, including Festival and Illinois premieres and choral works featuring the Grant Park Chorus. Guest conductors include: Andrew Litton, Music Director of New York City Ballet, who will also serve as the piano soloist for Rhapsody in Blue; Finnish-born Osmo Vänskä, who shares the Minnesota Orchestra in his background with Guerrero; internationally acclaimed conductor Nicole Paiement, a champion of new work; Anthony Parnther, an American conductor best known for film scores who also conducted 2024’s John Williams and Common concerts; Keri-Lynn Wilson, founder of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra; Lee Mills, five-time winner of the Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award; Lawrence Loh, who has assisted John Williams on multiple occasions and conducted past Festival Broadway concerts; and Joseph Young, Music Director of the Berkeley Symphony, Artistic Director for the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland and Resident Conductor for the National Youth Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.
GUEST ARTIST DEBUTS – In 2025, many celebrated musicians make their Festival debuts, including Troy Cook (baritone), Pacho Flores (trumpeter), Sankara Harouna (baritone), John Holiday (countertenor), the Imani Winds (woodwind quintet), Jana McIntyre (soprano) and 2025 Festival Artist-In-Residence Inbal Segev (cellist).
BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND – Many popular Festival veterans return as guest artists during the 2025 season, including J’Nai Bridges (mezzo-soprano), Janai Brugger (soprano), Augustin Hadelich (violinist), Paul Huang (violinist), Jennifer Koh (violinist), Steven Osborne (pianist), Clayton Stephenson (pianist) and Joyce Yang (pianist).
GRANT PARK CHORUS – Chorus Director Christopher Bell will lead the acclaimed Grant Park Chorus for another season of thrilling vocal performances, including three programs under his direction: Holst’s The Planets (June 13-14), Grant Park Chorus Holiday Classics (June 26 and 30) and Independence Day Salute (July 4). The chorus will also be showcased in three additional concerts: The Magic of Rodgers & Hammerstein conducted by Lawrence Loh (July 25-26), “Firebird” featuring Benjamin Britten’s The Building of The House, (Aug. 8-9) and Carmina Burana (Aug. 15-16), both conducted by Giancarlo Guerrero.
FREE AND RESERVED SEATING
Memberships to the Grant Park Music Festival 2025 season are available beginning January 7 and include reserved access for every Festival concert along with premium benefits, such as access to concert receptions and events and discounts on parking. The Festival also offers packages with fewer concerts that include reserved seats with complimentary exchange privileges, as well as “choose your own” four or six concert series packages. Memberships begin at $103. Groups of ten or more begin at $20 per person. Visit www.gpmf.org or call 312.742.7647 for memberships and groups.
In addition, every Grant Park Music Festival concert has seats that are free and open to the public. Seats in the Seating Bowl and on the Great Lawn are available on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, visit www.gpmf.org.
FESTIVAL CONNECT: THE FESTIVAL’S MUSIC EDUCATION
AND ENGAGEMENT INITIATIVE
The Grant Park Music Festival continues its commitment to Festival Connect, a comprehensive initiative to provide music education and access for audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Working with the Chicago Park District and its Night Out in the Parks program, Festival Connect engages Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods with performances by the Grant Park Orchestra, the Grant Park Chorus and its String and Vocal Fellows.
FESTIVAL STRING AND VOCAL FELLOWSHIP: This unique artist development program supports the development of outstanding early-career string players (violin, viola, cello) and vocalists from populations historically underrepresented in American symphony orchestras, including but not limited to underrepresented racial, ethnic, socioeconomic and geographic groups who are attending or have graduated from a college, university or conservatory level music program. The Fellowship encompasses:
* The Festival String Fellowship program, composed of four string players who rehearse and perform with the Grant Park Orchestra and perform as a chamber ensemble through the Chicago Park District's Night Out in the Parks program in neighborhoods across Chicago. Program participants receive mentoring from artistic leadership, guest artists and other members of the Orchestra, and serve as teaching artists for the Festival’s “Classical Campers” program.
* Four Festival Vocal Fellows rehearse and perform with the Grant Park Chorus and receive mentoring. Vocal fellows also perform with the Festival String Fellows in Night Out in the Parks programs.
ARTISTIC PRINCIPALS AND OTHER PROGRAMMING
* COMMITMENT TO CELEBRATING DIVERSITY: The season has been curated to expand the Festival’s artistic vision and continued commitment to diversity while also incorporating Giancarlo’s curatorial point-of-view. In maintaining the Festival’s tradition of celebrating traditionally underrepresented composers; this year, 85% of concerts will feature works by a female and/or composer of color and indeed 45% of all of the works performed this season will be composed by a female and/or a person of color. In addition, 80% of this year’s concerts will feature a guest artist who is female and/or a person of color.
* ARTIST IN RESIDENCE AND VISITING MASTERS: The 2025 season will also mark the return of the Festival’s artist in residence program featuring acclaimed cellist Inbal Segev, who will perform at multiple concerts. Segev is also one of the 2025 season’s Visiting Masters; the others are composer Stacy Garrop, chamber music ensemble Imani Winds, violinist Augustin Hadelich, pianist Steven Osborne and countertenor John Holiday.
* CLASSICAL CAMPERS: The Festival hosts Classical Campers, its popular half-day music immersion program for children ages 6-12, in collaboration with the Chicago Park District. Throughout the season, nearly 2,000 campers from more than 30 different Chicago neighborhoods will learn about the instruments and sections of the orchestra with Festival educators, participate in hands-on musical activities and conclude their day with a visit to a Festival rehearsal and talkback with Grant Park Orchestra members. Classical Campers often provides children with their first exposure to a live classical music performance.
* OPEN LUNCHTIME REHEARSALS: Orchestra and chorus rehearsals take place June 10 through Aug. 15, Tuesdays through Fridays (typically) between 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Rehearsals are free and open to the public. Audiences are welcome to sit in the Pavilion Seating Bowl. Festival docents will talk about the week’s concerts during rehearsal breaks.
* BROADCASTS: A minimum of ten concerts will be broadcast on 98.7 WFMT, Chicago’s classical and fine arts radio station, and online at www.wfmt.com/listen. The schedule will be announced at a future date.
FESTIVAL NEXT: ARTIST AND AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES
Festival Next reimagines the classical music experience, breaking the fourth wall to deliver deeper engagement between audience and artist. This year, Festival Next features public master classes with visiting guest artists, and Festival HD.
* VISITING MASTERS provides student and pre-professional musicians with guidance from the Festival’s international lineup of guest artists.
* FESTIVAL HD creates the up-close-and-personal experience during a Grant Park Orchestra concert, adding striking visual elements shown using the Jay Pritzker Pavilion’s giant screen. This year, the Festival rolls out the red, white and blue with the Independence Day Salute (July 4) conducted by Christopher Bell in Festival HD.
ABOUT THE GRANT PARK MUSIC FESTIVAL
For more than 90 years, the Grant Park Music Festival has been Chicago’s summer musical sensation, demonstrating that classical music performed by a world-class orchestra and chorus can have a transformative impact on the city. Showcased in the city’s most spectacular setting, the Festival continues to be the summer gathering place for all of Chicago. The Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park is the official home of the Grant Park Music Festival, with free seats available for every concert. The 2025 season will run from June 11 through Aug. 16.
In addition to Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Giancarlo Guerrero, the Grant Park Music Festival is led by Grant Park Chorus Director Christopher Bell, Grant Park Orchestral Association President and CEO Paul Winberg, and Board Chair Adam Grais.
The Grant Park Music Festival is presented by the Grant Park Orchestral Association with key support from the Chicago Park District and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. The Festival gratefully acknowledges the generosity of its major sponsors: AbelsonTaylor Group, Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc., Capital One, Epstein Becker Green, Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park, Jones Day, NASCAR's Chicago Street Race; and generous support from Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Julius N. Frankel Foundation, Sage Foundation, Smart Family Foundation, Illinois Arts Council and National Endowment for the Arts. For more information about the Grant Park Music Festival, visit www.gpmf.org.
ABOUT GIANCARLO GUERRERO
Guerrero collaborated with the Nashville Symphony to premiere over two dozen new works and released 22 commercial albums. These definitive recordings garnered 13 GRAMMY® Award nominations and six GRAMMY® wins, cementing Guerrero and the Symphony’s international reputation as standard-bearers for recordings of contemporary American music. As part of his commitment to fostering the work of contemporary composers, Guerrero, together with composer Aaron Jay Kernis, also guided the creation of Nashville Symphony’s biannual Composer Lab & Workshop for young and emerging composers.
Guerrero has collaborated throughout his career with leading ensembles in North America, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestra, among others. Internationally, he has maintained longstanding relationships with esteemed orchestras in Europe, Latin America and Australia/New Zealand.
Guerrero also recently completed a six-season tenure as music director of the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic in Poland. Guerrero previously held posts as the principal guest conductor of both the Cleveland Orchestra Miami Residency and the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon, music director of the Eugene Symphony and associate conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra. Guerrero was named the Festival’s Artistic Director and Principal Conductor in October 2024. The Festival’s 2025 Season marks his first with the organization.
ABOUT CHRISTOPHER BELL
Christopher Bell has served as the Grant Park Chorus Director since 2002. Bell oversees a chorus of more than 100 singers, along with the Project Inclusion Vocal Fellows, a unique program designed to encourage singers under-represented in the field. Bell prepares all of the Festival’s choral programs and conducts the orchestra and chorus for several concerts each year. During his tenure, he and the chorus have been recipients of the coveted Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence given by Chorus America, as well as glowing reviews from critics and audiences alike. In 2013, Bell won the Michael Korn Founders Award for Development of the Professional Choral Art.
In a career spanning thirty years thus far, Christopher has been chorusmaster of the Edinburgh Royal Choral Union (1987–1990), Chorus Master of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra Chorus (1989–2002) the Belfast Philharmonic Choir (2005–2011) the Edinburgh Festival Chorus (2007–2018) and the Washington Chorus (2017–2020). Largely responsible for the formation of the National Youth Choir of Scotland (NYCOS) in 1996, he has been its Artistic Director ever since. Bell was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Music from the Royal Conservatoire in Scotland in 2012, in recognition of his contribution to performing arts in Scotland. In 2015, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Music from the University of Aberdeen.
ABOUT MILLENNIUM PARK
Millennium Park is Chicago’s town square, the #1 attraction in the Midwest and among the top ten most-visited sites in the United States. It is also the anchor of an urban cultural campus (Millennium Park Campus) that includes the Chicago Cultural Center, Maggie Daley Park and The Art Institute of Chicago. Millennium Park is located on Michigan Avenue, bordered by Randolph St. to the north, Columbus Dr. to the east and Monroe St. to the south. The Park is open 6am–11p.m. daily. For the latest news and events, download the Millennium Park app, visit www.millenniumpark.org, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram, @Millennium_Park.
GRANT PARK MUSIC FESTIVAL
2025 SEASON REPERTOIRE
All programs subject to change
Programs take place at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion unless otherwise noted
RHAPSODY IN BLUE
- Wednesday, June 11, 6:30 p.m.
Grant Park Orchestra
Andrew Litton, conductor and piano
Gabriela Lena Frank – Three Latin American Dances
George Gershwin – Rhapsody in Blue
Manuel de Falla – Suite from The Three-Cornered Hat
HOLST THE PLANETS
- Friday, June 13, 6:30 p.m.
- Saturday, June 14, 7:30 p.m.
Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus
Christopher Bell, conductor
Lili Boulanger – Psalm 24
Jake Runestad – Earth Symphony (Illinois Premiere)
Gustav Holst – The Planets
MENDELSSOHN VIOLIN CONCERTO
- Wednesday, June 18, 6:30 p.m.
Grant Park Orchestra
Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor
Jeremy Black, violin
Adolphus Hailstork – An American Port of Call
Felix Mendelssohn – Violin Concerto
Leonard Bernstein – Symphonic Suite from On the Waterfront
MAHLER SYMPHONY NO. 1
- Friday, June 20, 6:30 p.m.
- Saturday, June 21, 7:30 p.m.
Grant Park Orchestra
Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor
Pacho Flores, trumpet
Clarice Assad – Baião N’ Blues (Illinois Premiere)
Arturo Márquez – Concierto de Otoño (Illinois Premiere)
Gustav Mahler – Symphony No. 1, Titan
MOZART PARIS SYMPHONY
Wednesday, June 25, 6:30 p.m.
Grant Park Orchestra
Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor
Imani Winds, woodwind quintet
Ralph Vaughan Williams – Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Valerie Coleman – Phenomenal Women (Illinois Premiere)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Symphony No. 31, Paris
GRANT PARK CHORUS HOLIDAY CLASSICS
Note Location: South Shore Cultural Center, 7059 S. South Shore Dr.
- Thursday, June 26, 6:30 p.m.
- Monday, June 30, 6:30 p.m.
Grant Park Chorus
Christopher Bell, conductor
SHOSTAKOVICH SYMPHONY NO. 10
Note Location: Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 Randolph
- Friday, June 27, 6:30 p.m.
- Saturday, June 28, 7:30 p.m.
Grant Park Orchestra
Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor
Augusta Read Thomas – Brio
Richard Wagner - Prelude & Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde
Dmitri Shostakovich – Symphony No. 10
BEETHOVEN SYMPHONY NO. 6
- Wednesday, July 2, 6:30 p.m.
- Thursday, July 3, 6:30 p.m.
Grant Park Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Paul Huang, violin
Henry Dorn – Transitions (Illinois Premiere)
Max Bruch – Scottish Fantasy
Ludwig van Beethoven – Symphony No. 6, Pastoral
INDEPENDENCE DAY SALUTE
- Friday, July 4, 2025, 6:30 p.m.
Grant Park Orchestra
Christopher Bell, conductor
Josh Jones, marimba
Imara Miles, mezzo-soprano
This evening of patriotic favorites and Broadway showstoppers features Josh Jones, the Festival’s principal percussionist and Imara Miles, an alumnus of the Festival’s vocal Fellowship program, performing works by Gershwin, Ellington and more.
DEBUSSY LA MER
- Wednesday, July 9, 6:30 p.m.
Grant Park Orchestra
Nicole Paiement, conductor
Inbal Segev, cello
Bedřich Smetana – The Moldau
Mark Adamo – Last Year (Illinois Premiere)
Claude Debussy – La Mer
BRAHMS SYMPHONY NO. 2
- Friday, July 11, 6:30 p.m.
- Saturday, July 12, 7:30 p.m.
Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus
Anthony Parnther, conductor
Janai Brugger, soprano
Sankara Harouna, baritone
Anton Bruckner – Psalm 150
Margaret Bonds – Credo (Illinois Premiere)
Johannes Brahms – Symphony No. 2
ELGAR ENIGMA VARIATIONS
- Wednesday, July 16, 6:30 p.m.
Grant Park Orchestra
Courtney Lewis, conductor
Inbal Segev, cello
Johann Strauss Jr. – Overture to Die Fledermaus
Anna Clyne – Dance
Edward Elgar – Enigma Variations
TCHAIKOVSKY VIOLIN CONCERTO
- Friday, July 18, 6:30 p.m.
- Saturday, July 19, 7:30 p.m.
Grant Park Orchestra
Keri-Lynn Wilson, conductor
Augustin Hadelich, violin
Mykola Lysenko - Overture to Taras Bulba
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Violin Concerto
Sergei Prokofiev – Symphony No. 5
RAVEL BOLERO
- Wednesday, July 23, 6:30 p.m.
Grant Park Orchestra
Lee Mills, conductor
Joyce Yang, piano
Gioachino Rossini – Overture to The Barber of Seville
Manuel de Falla – Nights in the Gardens of Spain
Franz Liszt/orch. Ferruccio Busoni – Rhapsody Espagnole
Maurice Ravel –Bolero
THE MAGIC OF RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN
- Friday, July 25, 6:30 p.m.
- Saturday, July 26, 7:30 p.m.
Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus
Lawrence Loh, conductor
Mamie Parris, John Riesen, and Lisa Vroman, vocalists
An evening of beloved classics featuring popular songs from the most successful musical theater composer and lyricist of all time, featuring selections from South Pacific, The Sound of Music, The King and I, Oklahoma! and more, performed by acclaimed Broadway vocalists.
BEETHOVEN PIANO CONCERTO NO. 4
- Wednesday, July 30, 6:30 p.m.
Grant Park Orchestra
Joseph Young, conductor
Steven Osborne, piano
Ludwig van Beethoven – Piano Concerto No. 4
Howard Hanson – Symphony No. 2, Romantic
SONGS OF LOVE AND LIFE
Note Location: Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph
- Friday, Aug. 1, 6:30 p.m.
- Saturday, Aug. 2, 7:30 p.m.
Grant Park Orchestra
Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor
J’Nai Bridges, mezzo-soprano
Brian Nabors – Pulse (Chicago Premiere)
Peter Lieberson – Neruda Songs (Illinois Premiere)
Missy Mazzoli – These Worlds In Us
Richard Strauss – Death and Transfiguration
STRAVINSKY FIREBIRD
- Friday, Aug. 8, 6:30 p.m.
- Saturday, Aug. 9, 7:30 p.m.
Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus
Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor
Jennifer Koh, violin
Benjamin Britten – The Building of the House
Jennifer Higdon – The Singing Rooms (Illinois Premiere)
Lera Auerbach – Icarus (Chicago Premiere)
Igor Stravinsky – Suite from The Firebird
SAINT-SAËNS ORGAN SYMPHONY
- Wednesday, Aug. 13, 6:30 p.m.
Grant Park Orchestra
Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor
Clayton Stephenson, piano
Chelsea Komschlies – Mycelialore (Illinois Premiere)
Franz Liszt – Piano Concerto No. 1
Camille Saint-Saëns – Symphony No. 3, Organ
CARMINA BURANA
- Friday, Aug.15, 6:30 p.m.
- Saturday, Aug. 16, 7:30 p.m.
Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus
Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor
Jana McIntyre, soprano
John Holiday, countertenor
Troy Cook, baritone
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov – Russian Easter Overture
Alan Hovhaness – Symphony No. 2, Mysterious Mountain
Carl Orff – Carmina Burana