The Couple Behind Spec’s Brings the Love To Houston Symphony’s $1.2 Million-Plus Night — A Romance Of Music
This 55th Anniversary Couple Keeps Stepping Up
BY Shelby Hodge //
Houston Symphony executive director and CEO Gary Ginstling, board president Barbara Burger, gala chairs Lindy & John Rydman (Photo by Priscilla Dickson)
Love was in the air at the Houston Symphony Ball which was in the hands of chairs Lindy and John Rydman, who revealed their own romance began in music studies at the University of North Texas nearly six decades ago.
So strong was the mutual attraction that in three days after their meeting over a Coke (more on that later), John Rydman proposed. With their 55th anniversary coming in May, the couple shared their love of music and one another with the Symphony supporters gathered in the Post Oak Hotel ballroom.
There was certainly a ton of affection for the symphony at the “Musique et Vin” soirée as the evening raised more than $1.2 million. As Houston Symphony Board of Trustees president Barbara Burger notes: “The monies will benefit the orchestra’s world class artistic programming and its industry-leading education and community engagement initiatives.
The Rydmans have a long history of support for the Houston Symphony based on their early love of music confirmed by their 1972 graduation with degrees in music. Add a philanthropic nature to the couple who own Spec’s Wines, Spirits & Finer Foods. They founded the Spec’s Charitable Foundation in 1995, which has a strong emphasis on education. The foundation has worked with the Vintage Virtuoso fundraiser for the Houston Symphony for more than 25 years now.
On this evening as with those of the Symphony wine dinners, the Rydmans carefully paired the wines with each gourmet course prepared by the hotel’s executive chef Jean-Luc Royere.
The ballroom executed the romantic theme by draping the space in burgundy hued fabric and dressing the tables with profusions of colorful flowers, creating a remarkably festive ambience.
The Allen
The evening concluded with dancing to the sounds of The Q Band, their presence underwritten by ARCA Continental/Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages. That seemed fitting. Lindy Rydman quipped that without Coca-Cola, the couple would never have met.
PC Seen: Houston Symphony executive director and CEO Gary Gintsling, philanthropist Margaret Alkek Williams, Carey Kirkpatrick and Neil Hershey, Lisa Rydman Lindsey, Devorah and David Krieger, Jesse Tutor, Ann and Jonathan Ayre, Dr. Sippi and Ajay Khurana, Betsy and Fredric Weber, Vicki West and Ralph Burch, David Peavy and Stephen McCauley, Justice Brett and Erin Busby, Lil and Matthew Kades, and Rini and Edward Ziegler.
