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Ramsey Lewis Trio To Open Music by the Lake on June 27
6/5/2009
AURORA, Ill. — The Ramsey Lewis Trio will open Aurora University’s ninth annual Music by Lake series on Saturday, June 27, at 7:30 p.m.
Performances are held in The Ferro Pavilion at George Williams College of Aurora University, located on the shores of Geneva Lake in Williams Bay, Wis.
The summer season of seven performances includes the Main Stage Series, with four Saturday evening performances and a Sunday afternoon performance; and the Special Concerts Series, featuring a classical spotlight concert; and a Jazz Café concert.
Lewis, the Music by the Lake series opening act, has earned three Grammy awards and seven gold records. Often called legendary and “the great performer,” the soft-spoken Lewis concedes, “It’s a high honor when someone says so, but I don’t see myself that way. What keeps me enthusiastic and energizes me is the realization that the more I learn, the more I find there is to know.”
Lewis began taking piano lessons at the age of 4, studying the basics and fundamentals. “But, it wasn’t until I started studying with Dorothy Mendelsohn,” he said, “that I responded to some of the startling things she was teaching me, such as ‘Listen with your inner ear,’ and “Make the piano sing.” These concepts were revelations!” Soon after, he began learning Bach, Beethoven, Haydn, Brahms and Chopin, along with other basic repertoire for the concert pianist.
Except for the records his father played around the house — Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, Mead Lux Lewis and others — Lewis had no experience playing jazz. He was 15 when a fellow church musician, Wallace Burton, asked him to join his jazz band and took the time to coach and help the young musician learn the language of jazz.
It was a brand-new experience for Lewis. The seven-piece group called themselves The Cleffs and provided Lewis’s first real involvement with great jazz music.
The Ramsey Lewis Trio emerged when several members of The Cleffs went off to the Korean War. The trio had its roots in the rhythm section comprised of Lewis on piano, Eldee Young on bass and Redd Holt on drums. Jazz soon became a major force in his musical life, but European classical and gospel music were of nearly equal importance, he recalls. Thus, the Ramsey Lewis “sound” began to take shape.
In addition to many years of performing live and making award-winning recordings, Lewis formerly hosted WNUA-FM, Chicago’s weekday morning drive-time radio show, “The Ramsey Lewis Morning Show,” for which he was awarded R&R’s (Radio and Records) 1999 and 2000 Personality of the Year Award. He also hosts the syndicated “Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis,” a two-hour radio program which airs in more than 75 cities nationwide.
In 2003, Lewis, along with Larry Rosen (founder and former president of GRP Records) and Lee Rosenberg formed LRSmedia, an independent music entertainment company that creates and produces branded entertainment properties for wide distribution. Along with PBS television station WTTW-Chicago (April 2006), a series of 13 half-hour televisions programs called “Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis” were broadcast, making it the first time in 40 years that jazz received television coverage.
A true legend in his own time, and Chicago’s native son, Lewis continues to thrill audiences and blaze new pathways.
The Ramsey Lewis Trio performance is underwritten by Diamond Artist Underwriters Bertil E. and Ulla E. Brunk.
The Main Stage series continues with:
- Puccini’s Italian masterpiece, “Madama Butterfly,” Saturday, July 18, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, July 19 at 4 p.m. Performances are supported by Young Artist Underwriter Harold Hartshorne, Jr.
- Michael Bolton, one of America’s greatest singers and songwriters, “Swings Sinatra” Saturday, Aug. 1, at 7:30 p.m. This performance is underwritten by Don and Marilyn Hedberg and The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Foundation.
- “Sweet Baby James” is a James Taylor tribute sung by New York artist Bob Stillman, Saturday, Aug. 15 at 7:30 p.m. This performance is underwritten by The J.B. and M.K. Pritzker Family Foundation.
This year’s Special Concerts Silver Sponsor is the Judith and John Graff Charitable Fund. Concerts include:
- Thomas Hampson (Classical Spotlight Concert), America’s leading baritone known the world over for his marvelous programs of American music, Sunday, July 12, at 4 p.m.
- Johan Stengård (Jazz Café), the premier saxophone player of Sweden, Sunday, July 26 at 4 p.m. This performance is underwritten by Diamond Artist Underwriter Bertil E. and Ulla E. Brunk.
Single-ticket prices range from $12 to $75 for the Ramsey Lewis Trio performance. Season tickets are on sale in the terrace seating area only. Season-ticket packages range in price from $110 to $120. Tickets for special concerts range from $15 to $125.
Visit www.musicbythelake.com, call 866-843-5200 toll-free or 262-245-8501, or e-mail mbtl@aurora.edu.com for ticket availability.
The 2009 Music by the Lake concert series is generously supported by Platinum sponsors AT&T and Fairwyn; Gold sponsors Grand Geneva, Keefe (Honorary Presenting Sponsor) and Scherrer Construction; and Silver sponsors Aurora Health Care, Balestrieri Development and Environmental Inc., Gage Marine Lake Geneva Cruise Line, HGA Architects and Engineers, M&I Bank, Johnson Bank, Sodexo Campus Services and Walworth State Bank.
Aurora University is an inclusive community dedicated to the transformative power of learning. Approximately 4,000 degree-seeking students are enrolled each year on the university’s Illinois and Wisconsin campuses, and the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association to award degrees at the baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral levels. The George Williams College campus offers 15 academic programs, unique conference facilities, and is home to Music by the Lake and other education and enrichment programs.
Note: Media may download print-quality photos by going to the Music by the Lake press room at www.musicbythelake.com/press.
