Houston Symphony’s Magical $550,000 Opening Night Shows Off $60 Million Renovation — New York’s Gilded Age Hits H-Town
Making the Beautiful Music Sound Even Better
By Shelby Hodge //
Breathtaking! The Houston Symphony’s season opening concert featuring Dvořák’s New World Symphony and Martinû’s Czech Rhapsody with the Houston Symphony Chorus set the stage for a brilliant evening that brought in more than $550,000 for the orchestra’s education and community engagement initiatives.
As those among the black tie contingent, who would later party at Corinthian Houston, noted, the sound was glorious. Indeed, the $60 million renovation of Jones Hall completed only recently, offered state-of-the-art acoustics. It seemed that each instrument was beautifully audible.
For early arrivals, the reconfigured lobby and the expansion and redesign of the Green Room provided a rather posh welcome. Champagne flowed, air kisses were exchanged, and the Symphony season was off to a glorious launch.
The formally attired clutch of 300, as has been tradition for a number of years, boarded luxe buses for the short ride to the Corinthian where City Kitchen served its expected topnotch dinner and The Events Company created an ambiance designed to reflect New York’s Gilded Age — the time when Dvořák visited the United States and wrote his Symphony 9 aka New World.
In particular, the two lengthy head tables, one hosted by gala chair Mary Lynn Marks and the other hosted by Margaret Alkek Williams, were dressed in delicate antique glassware and beautiful vintage china.
The profusion of florals included assorted antique blue hydrangea, quicksand rose, light blue delphinium, red hanging amaranth and golden cymbidium orchids.
Another Houston Symphony tradition, wine pairings for the dinner were provided by Lindy and John Rydman and Lisa Rydman Lindsey of Spec’s Wine, Spirits, & Finer Foods.
The opening night concert continues its amazing run in part thanks to the support of ConocoPhillips, which has served as Concert Sponsor and Lead Gala Corporate Underwriter for 39 years now.
PC Seen: Houston Symphony conductor Juraj Valčuha, Mary Lynn Marks’ son Steve Marks, Symphony board president Barbara Burger, Elizabeth and Sam Condic, Barbara and Pat McCelvey, Ann and Jonathan Ayre, Marguerite Swartz, Sharon and Bill Bullock, Janet Clark, Vicki West and Ralph Burch, Lilly and Thurmon Andress, David Peavy and Stephen McCauley, Farida Abjani, and Rini and Edward Ziegler.
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