Questions surrounding the first black-tie gala of Dallas’ fall social season have been cleared up, at last.
Following a dearth of information about the Dallas Symphony Orchestra‘s annual DSO Gala in social columns and online event calendars, the mystery was solved tonight when the Gala’s Co-Chairs Kim and Greg Hext revealed the theme and other details at a preview party in the lobby of the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center.
Fashion-wise, the Hexts were dead giveaways about the gala’s theme. She was in French blue, from the gems on her lobes and fingers to her dress, and Greg sported a blue Hermes tie to match.
The gathering was attended by about 70 guests, including Mary McDermott Cook and Dan Patterson and Mary’s daughter Gracie Cook, Dallas Symphony Association Executive Board Chair Cece Smith and Ford Lacy and Andy Smith and Paul von Wupperfeld.
DSO President and CEO Kim Noltemy announced that pianist Emanuel “Manny” Ax and mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard will headline the Saturday, September 30, event, which will feature DSO Music Director Fabio Luisi and the Dallas Symphony. After the concert at the Meyerson, the building’s lobby will be transformed into the After-Party Experience with sounds by Q The Band.
The Gala’s theme will be “An Evening in Paris,” with appropriate decor by Todd Events, Kim H. said, as guests observed several tables featuring different shades of blue, from the tablecloths to the elegant place settings.
“I wanted a beautiful event,” Kim H. confided before the announcement.
As for the musical part of the Gala, she added that she wanted something “upbeat and fun, with no intermission.”
The 2023 edition of the major fundraiser, which benefits the DSO’s education and community initiatives, boasts Diane and Hal Brierley as honorary co-chairs; Underwriting Co-Chairs Keith Braley, Marena and Roger Gault, Maisie Heiken and Venise Stuart; and After-Party Co-Chairs Jane Humphrey and Samantha Wortley.
During brief remarks to the assembled, Kim N. recalled a recent conversation she had with Manny at the Tanglewood Music Festival. “Oh, I don’t know if I’ll be good enough for the Dallas crowd. They’re so sophisticated,” Kim N. said he told her. The remark showed Emanuel’s true humility, she added, despite his status as one of the world’s premier classical pianists.
Sponsorships are available here, but Kim H. encouraged guests to introduce others to the splendor of the DSO. If they don’t want the entire night of sipping, supping and symphonying, they can sign up for just the concert and the after-party.