The Crowd: Philharmonic Society hosts classy, inspirational gala at Segerstrom Center
The social calendar in Orange County overflows with incredible events. Party chairs and donor committees are challenged to create unusual and memorable programs to attract the crowd in a continuing effort to support the some 2,000 nonprofits in the community that compete for both public and private dollars to sustain the need and the cause.
One of the most elegant, classy and inspirational dinner galas unfolded on the Orange Coast recently. It was produced by and benefited the Philharmonic Society of Orange County.
A white tent was erected on the open land within the Segerstrom Center for the Arts that will eventually be the terra firma upon which the Orange County Museum of Art will construct its permanent museum space.
The philharmonic crowd arrived for 5 o’clock cocktails on a Saturday evening, leaving their cars at the valet station at Samueli Theater and then strolling down the promenade to be greeted at the entrance of the tent. They did not know that they would be entering a magical and sensual pop-up canvas ballroom that would transport them into an otherworldly experience.
OK, it sounds a little over the top — and it was.
Designers draped the entire tent from the tip of the roof to the ground with pleated billowing ice-blue silk gauze. The effect was somewhat hallucinogenic, sending a sense of great calm over the crowd of some 200 patrons.
The normal deafening cocktail chatter at an event of this kind was reduced to a more elegant decibel as the Philharmonic Society guests sampled hors d’oeuvres and raised their champagne flutes. The evening had an early call because the gala was built around attendance of an 8 o’clock performance of the world-acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma, accompanied by pianist Kathryn Stott.
At 6 p.m., the ice-blue silk draperies were parted; it separated the cocktail tent from the dinner tent. The crowd entered the setting centered by an elevated round platform stage sporting a Steinway grand piano.
Above, at the pinnacle of the tent, three contemporary chandeliers with cascading strands of crystal drizzled from on high, reaching down toward the piano and dancing ever so slightly in the breeze. Philharmonic society President and Artistic Director John Mangum, who joined the society following the departure of its long-standing leader Dean Corey, welcomed his guests and introduced the honorary chair of the event, Elizabeth Segerstrom, whose exquisite and understated taste was clearly behind the beauty of the setting.
Segerstrom joined a roster of chic women serving as co-chairs of the evening, including Elizabeth An, Gloria Brandes, Katharine Brandes, Ishani Dhillon, Debra Gunn Downing and Barbara Hiller Johnson. Also serving as co-chairs were Britt Meyer, Agnes Lew, Donna Kendall, William and Sakura Wang and Andrew Sharp. Significant support for the evening came from South Coast Plaza and the Henry T. Segerstrom Legacy Series, which underwrites major performance artists coming to Orange County.
Prior to the commencement of dinner service with catering by AnQi at South Coast Plaza, Mangum introduced accomplished pianist Rueibin Chen, who shared with the crowd his talent by performing a number of works by Chopin and Scriabin.
In the tented dining room, at tables round and rectangle that surrounded the stage and were adorned with white rose and orchid centerpieces created by Sunny Ravenbach of White Lilac, were Orange County VIPs Noel Hamilton, CEO and chairman of the Philharmonic Society, accompanied by his wife, Kathy; Bette and Wylie Aitken; Marta and Raj Bhathal; France and Richard Campbell; Dee and Larry Higby; Sabra and Peter Bordas; Mark and Barbara Johnson; Eva and Fred Schneider; and Whitney and Jerry Mandel.
Also in the crowd were Sandi Wright-Cordes, Sharon McNalley, Michelle Rohé, Severyn Ashkenazy, Twila True, Maralou and Jerry Harrington, and Caroline Jones.
The professional waitstaff from AnQi entered the tent with military precision as the crowd dined on an amuse-bouche of lemon grass crab topped with Osetra caviar, served in a tiny cornet. A gourmet multi-course dinner followed, culminating in an entrée of superb pan-kissed Chilean sea bass paired with slow-roasted duck breast and grilled organic summer veggies, all served on top of AnQi’s garlic noodles.
Following service of the dinner entrée, the black-tie crowd was ushered across the plaza and into Segerstrom Hall to join Orange County citizens at large for Ma and Stott’s concert. Every seat in the massive performance hall was filled for the two and a half-hour event.
The musical pair, who have performed together for some 30 years, choose an eclectic mix of music from their recently released recording titled “Songs from the Arc of Life.” Multiple standing ovations ended the performance and the Philharmonic Society guests returned to the tent, which had been transformed by staff into an after-party designed for guests to mix and mingle with Ma and Stott.
Philharmonic Society House Of Design debuts
The annual Philharmonic Society House of Design opened May 24 and will run through June 19.
The 2016 house is a Mediterranean coastal masterpiece situated in an oceanfront development known as The Strand at Headlands in Dana Point. Fifteen acclaimed interior designers from across Southern California have transformed the nearly 9,000-square-foot residence into a design experience.
Noted participants include John Wallace Benecke, Gary Finley, Frank Pitman, Wendy Ann Miller, Barbara McLane, Julia Caro, Tamara Mundia and Valerie Saunders, to name only a few.
Sponsored by South Coast Plaza and Coast Magazine, tickets are on sale to the general public at either $40 or $50, with proceeds benefiting the Philharmonic Society’s youth music education programs. Special kudos to the committee in charge include benefit chair Toni Sobil, working with Sandi Campbell-McClain, Jean Felder, Kim Weddon, Sabra Bordas, Beth Ruegger, Shirlee Pruitt and Marcia Passaglia, to name only a few of the many volunteers making the event possible.
For ticket and program information, visit philharmonicsociety.org or call the Philharmonic Society office at (714) 840-7542.
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B.W. COOK is editor of the Bay Window, the official publication of the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach.
