Cate and Rick Waddell
Jeannine Bergeron and Barbara Janusek
Post-performance glamour
Heather McWilliams, Katie Barber and Liz Parker
Dora J. and R. John Aalbregtse
William Burden, Ekaterina Gubanova, Camilla Nylund and Riccardo Muti
Tomeka Belcher and Twanda Jackson
Tomeka Belcher and Twanda Jackson
The Party
The annual Symphony Ball gala celebrated the opening weekend of the 2014-15 season for the CSO. The night started with a festive reception before the concert, with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres in the Grainger Ballroom of the Symphony Center Rotunda. The reception included live music with a jazz duo and percussionists from the Percussion Scholarship Program.
The People
After an hour of mingling, guests were introduced to the new Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association President Jeff Alexander, who begins in January. Afterward, attendees enjoyed a sold-out performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 led by CSO Music Director Riccardo Muti. The Chicago Symphony Chorus joined the concert and shined with “Ode to Joy.”
The Highlights
After the performance, the gala guests entered the Palmer House Hilton’s Promenade where they enjoyed live music, dancing and a three-course meal, including filet mignon in merlot reduction and a sweet cylinder of chocolate and salted caramel with berries meringue. That wasn’t the only sweet thing on the menu; the CSO raised $1.15 million with this musical evening. –Photos by Robert Carl and Dan Rest
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