parties

As Its Youth Orchestra Wows Galagoers, Virtuosi Honors Healthcare Heroes

Daniel Ortiz
As Its Youth Orchestra Wows Galagoers, Virtuosi Honors Healthcare Heroes

Carl Hahn, Leisa Holland Nelson Bowman and, Bob Bowman

TWO CAUSES OF utmost importance to Houston were celebrated at a single event: At its annual gala, Virtuosi of Houston, an orchestra comprised of young musicians, honored the city’s healthcare heroes.

The evening, held at the Intercontinental Hotel in the Medical Center, featured performances by the young musicians directed by the group’s founding Artistic Director and Conductor Andrzej Grabjec. Everyone received a standing ovation, of course.

Physician C. Richard Stasney, who founded the Texas Voice Center 30 years ago and serves as a consulting otolaryngologist for HGO, the Alley and TUTS, was among the honorees. Texas Children’s Hospital’s James Versalovic was also recognized for his dedication and commitment throughout the pandemic. And the Innovator Award was presented to Monzer Hourani, who founded Medistar Corporation and invented the Biodefense Indoor Air Protection System.

Chairs Cheryl Byington and Beth Wolff were thrilled with the night’s total till, which topped $180,000 and will go toward ensuring that all young performers will receive opportunities to grow to their full potential at Virtuosi, regardless of race, religion or financial status.

Andrzej Grabiec

The student orchestra

Bharti and Rani Puranik

Susan and Denis DeBakey

Bill Stubbs and Cynthia Wolff

Andrew and Rochelle Deiso

Myrtle Jones and Ashley Brooks

Chad Birken and Lauren Pham

Linda Wiley and David Addickes

Cheryl Byington, James Versalovic , Richard Stasney and Beth Wolff

Gaby Graubart and Gabriela Smith

Leslie Siller and Mary Fusillo

From Your Site Articles
Related Articles Around the Web
Parties
art

MFAH's Summer Show Will Have You Meditating on the Many Meanings of 'Modern'

A detail of Konoshima Okoku's 'Tigers,' 1902

THROUGHOUT THE HOT — and hopefully hurricane-free — months of summer, visitors to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston can step through a portal and experience another era with Meiji Modern: Fifty Years of New Japan, on view through Sept. 15.

Keep Reading Show less
music

With 10-Track Concept Album, Houston Singer-Songwriter Makes ‘Powerful’ Contribution to the Genre

Dakota Garrett

Jacob Hilton a.k.a. Travid Halton

THERE IS A long recorded history of musicians applying their melodic and lyrical gifts to explore the darker corners of human existence and navigate a pathway toward healing and redemption. You have the Blues and Spirituals, of course, which offer transcendence amid tragedy in all of its guises. And then there’s Pink Floyd’s The Wall, Frank Sinatra’s In the Wee Small Hours, and Beyoncé’s Lemonade, three wildly divergent examples of the album as a cathartic, psychological, conceptual work meant to be experienced in a single sitting, much like one sits still to read a short story or a novel.

Keep Reading Show less
Art + Entertainment