Ravinia Reflections: Longtime President/CEO Welz Kauffman Steps Down

WDCB’s Gary Zidek catches up with Ravinia president/CEO Welz Kauffman as he prepares to step down from the leadership role he's held for the past 20 years.

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WDCB's Gary Zidek catches up with Ravinia president/CEO Welz Kauffman as he prepares to step from the leadership role he's held for the past 20 years.

“A great impresario, a great presenter, which I don’t profess to be, they’re the ones that take care of their audience. They’re looking at the audience, and they presented things that they wanted their audience to like. It doesn’t mean the audience drove everything, but they never forgot the audience.” - outgoing Ravinia president Welz Kauffman talking about his personal philosophy to always think about the audience first.

WDCB’s Gary Zidek and Ravinia president/CEO Welz Kauffman in March 2020 pre-COVD-19

In an alternative universe where COVID-19 never existed, Ravinia would have just wrapped up its 2020 season with a flurry of concerts in mid-September. Of course the season never took place, the Highland Park-based festival announced the cancellation of all its 2020 programming in early May.  The unceremonious ending of a season that never got started also deprived longtime Ravinia president & CEO Welz Kauffman a formal opportunity say good-bye.

It was almost a year ago that Kauffman announced he would be stepping away from his leadership post after 20 years upon completion of the 2020 season. Who could have predicted at that time what lay ahead in 2020?

Kuffman says he did’t have much time to think about the final that never was, because everyone has been extremely busy dealing with the current situation and making sure everything is in place for 2021. He says he hasn’t had much time to think about what’s next for himself, but will be starting that process soon.

You can find updates on what’s coming up at Ravinia by visiting ravinia.org