Press Release
March 31 2009
The Magic of Music Gala: A Fantastic Success
San Diego Chamber Orchestra's Annual Fundraising Event
By any measurement, The Magic of Music gala, San Diego Chamber Orchestra's annual fundraising event held at the Estancia La Jolla Hotel and Spa on Saturday night, March 28, was a stunning success.
Mistress of Ceremonies, Kimberly King, local TV personality, and Bill Menish, Auctioneer and former TV personality, kept the audience entertained and "on their toes" during a fast-paced evening of live auctions, silent auctions, dinner and dancing and just plain fun!
A short film was presented about the season's successes, with a focus on Maestro Jung-Ho Pak's passion for music education in the schools. Anchored by the Orchestra's Frances Hunter Music Memory program, kicked off in the fall of 2008 for thousands of San Diego area school children, the Orchestra's music education program is a core value of the Orchestra.
Other successes noted in the film included a 22% increase in ticket sales over the past two seasons, sold-out concerts downtown and in La Jolla, a big increase in year-end fundraising appeal results (with new donors making up 60% of the total number of donors), and a general word-of-mouth excitement about the Orchestra's programming and connection between musicians and audience members. The plea was made for support of the Orchestra to ensure that San Diegans can continue to enjoy the wonderful music "experiences" provided by the Orchestra and that the music education programs can continue, adding value for all San Diegans.
"The event chairs Elaine Darwin and Teresa O'Connor, with honorary chair Kathleen Davis and The Magic of Music committee, produced an event to remember," said Tyler Hewes, Executive Director.
Sponsors included Deutsche Bank, Irving Hughes, California Bank and Trust, Morgan Stanley, Sanford Winery and Vineyards, Sylvester Construction, K. Ann Brizolis and Associates, Pro Flowers, Northern Trust, Pasqual Wealth Management, Torrey Pines Bank, Mon Lis Handcrafted Wines, ChileCo, Pitney Bowes and The Bridges.
According to Gay Hugo-Martinez, president of the Orchestra's board of directors, "This was truly a magical evening. It was an evening of fun mixed with a wonderful feeling of joy for our Orchestra and, amazingly, given today's economic downturn, preliminary results indicate that this was a remarkably successful fundraising event for us. We are looking forward to many more successes."
