On November 6, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra League made beautiful music at the Meyerson Symphony Center with its annual Savor the Symphony fundraising event. This year’s theme was a candlelight tribute to Rodgers and Hammerstein, the songwriting team behind such Golden Age musicals as Oklahoma!, Carousel, The Sound of Music, and The King and I.
Proceeds from the elegant dinner and concert benefit the Dallas Symphony Association and its education and community outreach programs: DSO on the Go, Community Concerts and Performances, Cecil and Ida Green Youth Concerts, Symphony Yes!, DSO Kids, and the Kim Noltemy Young Musicians and Young Strings Program.
Two Young Strings alumni, Carlos Vargas (cello) and Alex Villalobos (viola), serenaded guests as they arrived for the al fresco cocktail hour in the Meyerson’s McIntyre Park.
Natalie Boerder, Kaleta Blaffer-Johnson, Meredith Connally, Jennifer Cifuentes, Nathalie Barrera, Hayden Hrncir.Photo by Rob Wythe/Wythe Portrait Studio
While the guests, dressed to the nines despite it being merely a Thursday, mingled in the gorgeously temperate weather, preparations carried on inside for the lobby’s gasp-worthy reveal.
More than 3,000 flameless candles cascaded down the Meyerson’s main staircase and landing, bathing the Italian travertine marble and limestone in a soft glow.
Event co-chairs Reagan Pace, Sheridan Reeder, and Sunie Solomon and DSOL president Claire Catrino welcomed guests to the intimate gathering, for which Laurie Sands Harrison and her daughters Caroline Harrison Loehr, Francis Brito Harrison, Bailey Harrison, and Hassie Harrison served as honorary co-chairs. The Compass School of Texas was the evening’s presenting sponsor.
A quartet played Rodgers and Hammerstein tunes during dinner. Photo by Rob Wythe/Wythe Portrait Studio
A selection of Adair Family Wines complemented the multi-course dinner, during which Motoi Takeda (violin), Nora Scheller (violin), Sarah Sung (viola), and Theodore Harvey (cello) played a selection of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s beloved hits.
A spirited live auction closed out the evening, with guests bidding on diamond hoops from Bachendorf’s, a stay at the St. Regis in Aspen, a private dinner for 10 with Knife Italian Steak chef John Tesar, an Argentinian dove hunt, a case of luxury wines, and a Fender guitar autographed by the Oak Ridge Boys and more country legends.
DSOL’s next big fundraising event will be the the 40th Presentation Ball on February 21, 2026 at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center; 42 local young women will make their debut.