Welz Kauffman

As president and CEO of Ravinia since 2000, Welz Kauffman is responsible for both the artistic and financial health and growth of North America’s oldest and most diverse music festival. Kauffman has dedicated himself to expanding the Chicago area’s access to classical music both in the community and at Ravinia through the festival’s REACH*TEACH*PLAY education programs and through affordable ticket prices to help bring new listeners to classical concerts, including the annual summer residency of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Kauffman is the first of Ravinia’s leaders to program both the classical and non-classical concerts on the festival’s busy summer schedule, which averages more than 150 events each year.
In addition to the more than 600,000 people who annually attend music events at Ravinia, from concerts to master classes, more than 75,000 Chicago-area residents benefit from services that Ravinia brings to the community under Kauffman’s REACH*TEACH*PLAY umbrella. These programs, largely focused on K–3 students in budget-strapped schools of Cook and Lake counties, include the creation of “El Sistema”–based student orchestras.