Booth One - Celebrating Culture And Conversation

Meet the artists who lead Chicago's world-class summer music festival. Principle Conductor and Artistic Director Carlos Kalmar and Grant Park Chorus Director Christopher Bell share the microphone with Gary in this behind-the-scenes conversation at the Grant Park Music Festival. Now in its 12th Season at the stunning Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, the GPMF is the nation's only free outdoor classical music series of its kind. Read about its fascinating history here. First up, Maestro Kalmar discusses the non-stop fevered nature of putting on a 10-week program of music and entertainment, and how two of the festival's key words for the summer are "time management". Carlos talks about his programming philosophy, his desire to please a wide range of patrons' musical interests, and his unswerving commitment to presenting not only new and rarely heard pieces, but the works of American composers in particular. Gary asks Carlos about particular pieces on the season calendar, including works by Matinu, Ga