Ashley Bryan
My view of 2019 included plenty of great music from all over Chicago, especially my photographer debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. I braved the polar vortex along Lake Michigan and gazed at the night sky in far west Texas. And right in the middle of all of it, I stepped in front of the camera to ask Bridget a very important question. Wishing you joy and beauty in 2020!
January: My visit with a snowy owl on Northerly Island.
January: the polar vortex gripped the city, so I went outside.
February: the Lunar New Year parade winds through Millennium Park.
March: Punditry in all its glory at the Spertus Institute.
April: Gauthier Dance Company at the Harris Theater, mixing it up with the audience.
May: The Chicago Children’s Choir painting the town red in Millennium Park.
May: David Finckel and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at Harris Theater.
May: Marc-André Hamelin in recital against a spring sunset at Northwestern.
May: Jane Glover and Music of the Baroque opening its Musical Feast Gala.
June: My exhibit of jazz photography extends through the summer at PurePoint Financial.
July: the Bitter Jester Music Festival rocking out under Fourth of July fireworks.
July: after a 4-hour photo shoot, I ask Bridget to marry me and she says yes!
August: Kurt Elling belts it out at the Green Mill.
September: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg addresses an adoring audience at the 30th Anniversary Gala for Cedille Records.
September: Music of the Baroque opens its 49th season.
September: Third Coast Baroque opens its season at Nichols Concert Hall.
October: The Chicago Children’s Choir concludes another record-breaking Red Jacket Optional gala.
October: Scott Speck and the Chicago Philharmonic open their 30th season - my 6th as their photographer.
October: Fourth Coast Ensemble sings to a packed room at the Logan Center.
October: Vladimir Kulenovic leads the Lake Forest Symphony.
October: Victor Yampolsky leads the Northwestern Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Beethoven’s Ninth.
October: Wu Man gives a wide-ranging recital on the pipa at the University of Chicago.
November: I make my debut covering the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as Maestro Riccardo Muti honors Acting Principal Horn Daniel Gingrich.
November: Wynton Marsalis drops some wisdom in the schools during the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra’s weekend residency in Chicago,
November: the Marcus Roberts Trio joins the Chicago Philharmonic for one killer rendition of Gerswhin’s Piano Concerto in F.
November: bonus shot of Marcus Roberts.
November: the Pleiades Cluster (right) and a billion other stars, appear above Big Bend National Park.
November: a magical sky on the border above the Rio Grande and Santa Elena Canyon, Big Bend National Park.
December: Ashley Bryan (96) celebrates the release of his memoir, Infinite Hope, at the Univ of Pennsylvania.
Earlier this week, I drove up the coast to Grand Rapids, MI to watch Ashley Bryan give a presentation to a packed hall at the Festival of Faith & Writing at Calvin College. He spoke about the African American spirituals that run throughout his books for children, how the spirituals contain themes of positive self image to which all children can identify, and how a child's view of the world can be cultivated in adults. As usual, Ashley jumped from art to history to episodes of his personal story, including his time as a stevedore in the segregated army during the Normandy invasion. He closed with a particularly moving recitation of John Keats's "When I have Fears That I May Cease to Be" before a standing ovation. It's always an honor and a pleasure to be in the presence of this artist, and to see how much joy he finds in the world.
Photos © copyright 2016 by Elliot Mandel. All rights reserved.
Look at all these wonderful people!
Top, L-R: Bridget Skaggs, Juliet Petrus, Ashley Bryan. Mid, L-R: Lauren Haselberger, Robert Nordling, Alexandra Ganser. Bottom, L-R: Penelope Turgeon, Sarah Forbes Orwig, Anna Sanders Lee, Charles Thomas.
Photos © Copyright 2015 by Elliot Mandel. All rights reserved.
