Jaw-Dropping Gowns, Old Guard Power Players and a Music Superstar: Dallas Symphony Gala Has It All

The Dallas Symphony Orchestra Gala is one of the best-dressed events in town — the first black-tie gala of the fall social season, and one of those rare occasions where old-guard DSO patrons mix with the next generation of arts philanthropists.

The standards are high when it comes to one’s attire, as evidenced by the jaw-dropping gems worn by honorary chair Sherwood Noël Wagner. Town & Country style writer Sarah Bray, in from New York, wore a divine floral number from emerging designer Elizabeth Kennedy; blogger pals Krystal Schlegel and Amy Havins both wore custom dresses by Dallas designer Nardos Imam; and Kara Goss donned a peach cape suit by Rosie Assoulin.

But, of course, the primary reason why the Dallas Symphony Orchestra Gala is such a hot ticket is the caliber of talent brought in for the event. This year, chairs Marena and Roger Gault, along with DSO music director Jaap Van Zweden, secured internationally renowned pianist Lang Lang. His post-dinner performance inside the I.M. Pei-designed Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center brought the audience to its feet not once, but twice, prompting an encore performance.

Following the Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev, guests made their way to the Meyerson’s foyer for the after-party hosted by the DSO’s Vivaldi Patron Circle. This year, it was chaired by VPC board member Nick Boulle, heir apparent to deBoulle jewelry. Cocktails continued well into the wee hours, with tunes spun by DJ Steffi Burns, a first-timer at the Dallas Symphony Orchestra Gala after-party.

Who was there … Gala underwriting chairs Kristi and Ron Hoyl and Margaret and Barry Hancock; DSO president and CEO Jonathan Martin; New York banker and financier Sanford I. Weill; and attendees Colleen O’Connor and Joseph Hubach, Barbara and Don Averitt, Jennifer and Coley Clark, Katherine and Key Coker, Laree Hulshoff and Ben Fischer, Nancy Nasher and David Haemisegger, Carolyn and Karl Rathjen, and Margaret McDermott.