Symphony Opening Night Channels New York’s Gilded Age with Dvorak and Glam Gala

Sippi and Ajay Khurana (photo by Thomas Campbell)

IN ITS USUALLY grand way, the Houston Symphony’s Opening Night festivities delighted music lovers and gala goers alike.

Some 300 formally attired guests gathered for champagne in the Jones Hall mezzanine before taking in the season-premiere performance. “The performance featured Juraj Valčuha, music director and Roy and Lillie Cullen Chair, leading the orchestra alongside the Houston Symphony Chorus,” said a rep for the Symphony. “This year’s concert featured Dvorak’s The New World Symphony drawing inspiration from his arrival in New York City in the late 1800’s and showcasing themes of America’s landscapes, traditions and cultural exchanges.”

Per the custom, gala guests were loaded into luxury busses and transported to the Corinthian, the regal two-tiered, marble-bedecked event space done up with crystal-dripping chandeliers and copious florals, a la New York’s Golden Age. Think antique blue hydrangea, light blue delphinium, red hanging amaranth, golden cymbidium orchid and more in varying heights. Table settings included vintage stemware. Live jazz and standards were played all night, thanks to Julie Johnson.

Dinner was elaborate. It “began with a baby arugula salad topped with prosciutto San Danielle, long stem artichoke heart, shaved pecorino Romano, toasted pine nuts and white balsamic vinaigrette,” noted the Symphony rep. “For the main course, guests delighted in pan-seared islandic cod drizzled with a lemon-caper Velouté and accompanied by wild rice pilaf with butternut squash, fennel and almonds, and sauteed haricots verts with roasted red peppers.”

The evening’s festivities were chaired by Mary Lynn Marks, and raised more than $550,000 for the orchestra’s education and community-engagement initiatives. ConocoPhillips served as the concert sponsor and a lead gala underwriter for the 39th year. Other patrons included Lindy and John Rydman and Lisa Rydman Lindsey of Spec’s Wine, Spirits, & Finer Foods, who provided wine paired for dinner.

VIP guests included Margaret Alkek Williams, John and Lindy Rydman, Bill and Sharon Bullock, Betty and Jesse Tutor, Sippi and Ajay Khurana, and Hallie Vanderhider and Bobby Dees.