Two new restaurants are slated to open in the Civic Opera House on September 30. On the ground floor, a former bank will house the Sarah and Peer Pedersen Room. Spruced up with Art Deco flourishes, the 72-seat venue—named after Peer Pedersen, a member of...

At Saturday evening’s Ravinia gala, hosted by the music festival’s women’s board, some 800 guests joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in singing the “Star-Spangled Banner.” The patriotic moment kicked off a performance of another all-American composition, Aaron Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait,” and underscored the evening’s “Bicentennial...