THE KEYS TO THE CITY PEOPLE WHO OPENED DOORS IN CHICAGO AND THE ARTS IN '95 CHICAGOLAND FINAL Edition

• Published in: Chicago tribune (1963)
• Main Author: Alan Artner, Richard Christiansen, Blair Kamin, Larry Kart, Greg Kot, Howard Reich, Sid Smith, John von Rhein and Michael Wilmington
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago, Ill Tribune Publishing Company, LLC 31.12.1995
• ISSN: 1085-6706

Each December, in a hallowed and happy tradition, members of the Tribune's arts and entertainment staff have gathered to pick their choices for Chicagoans of the Year in the arts. This is the 11th year of our annual ritual, and the standards for selection remain the same as they were in the beginning: We look for individuals who have had a bountiful year in their own careers and who, in the process, have contributed both pleasure and advancement in the arts to their city. Having selected our special Chicagoans, we then get them together for a group portrait that, in its way, reflects the great variety and vitality of the arts in Chicago. This year, for example, the Chicagoans ranged from playwright to painter, and from museum president to jazz trumpeter. Al Booth, founder and producer of the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts Series and the annual Do-it-Yourself "Messiah" and president of the International Music Foundation, is one of the great heroes of Chicago music. This was a particularly rich year for him, because it marked the 20th anniversary of the annual sold-out, sing-along performances of Handel's "Messiah" at Orchestra Hall, a Chicago tradition so popular it has spread to many other parts of the country. It also marked the 18th year Booth has produced the free weekly noontime series of young artists' recitals in Preston Bradley Hall of the Chicago Cultural Center. These Hess concerts are attended by 390,000 people each year and reach thousands more via the live WFMT-FM radio broadcasts.