Riccardo Muti, music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, will give the main address at the 2014 commencement ceremony.

Muti will also be one of five individuals to receive an honorary degree at the ceremony, which will be held on June 20 at Ryan Field. Stevie Wonder, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, musician and producer, will be among the other recipients of the honor this year.

University spokesman Al Cubbage said he is excited for the ceremony and looking forward to Muti’s commencement speech.

“Muti is extraordinarily well known in the music world and a truly great artist so I think the fact that Northwestern was able to get him is a great honor,” he said. “Hopefully he will think that getting an honorary degree from Northwestern is also a great honor.”

Muti currently serves as the music director for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and in 2011 was recognized as honorary director for life of the Rome Opera. Prior to this role, he has worked as the music director for Florence’s Maggio Musicale, London’s Philharmonia Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra and Milan’s La Scala.

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Twitter: @beccasavransky

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