Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/865689
20 SYMPHONY BALL ROCKS THE CLASSICAL APPROACH MAKES WAY FOR A LAS VEGAS AMBIENCE. Shelby Hodge in search of Lady Luck. Photography Priscilla Dickson, Wilson Parish, Anthony Rathbun. T his was not your mother's symphony ball. Au contraire … With then Houston Symphony president and CEO Mark Hanson and wife Christina at the helm, the Marriott Marquis ballroom was reimagined as Las Vegas via fl oor-to-ceiling murals of Sin City's iconic hotels and casinos. More than 630 guests rocked to the rhythms of Vegas showman Frankie Moreno amid showgirls and an aerial acrobat-cum-violinist at the Stir It Up In Vegas fantasy, which raised more than $1.6 million. The bottom line was no surprise, considering the caliber of the honorees: Jane and Bob Cizik, Jan Barrow, Barbara and Pat McCelvey, Barbara Burger, the Alexander McLanahan family, and Margaret Alkek Williams, as well as special honoree Richard Flowers and The Events Company. The energy escalated throughout the night, reaching a crescendo during the after-party, with the sounds of the Jordan Kahn Orchestra. (Hanson announced in July that he was leaving Houston to head the San Francisco Symphony beginning September 1.) RAISING THEIR BETS: Honorary chair Marie Taylor Bosarge, after- party chairs Candace and Brian Thomas, Symphony music director Andres Orozco-Estrada and wife Julia, Joella and Steve Mach, Phoebe and Bobby Tudor, Cora Sue and Harry Mach, Ron Franklin, Cynthia and Bucky Allshouse, Sheridan Williams, Jana and Scotty Arnoldy, and Diane Lokey Farb. Susanne Byram, Becca Cason Thrash, Diane Lokey Farb Bobby & Phoebe Tudor Honoree Margaret Alkek Williams Sippi & Ajay Khurana After-party with Jordan Kahn Orchestra Steve & Joella Mach Beth Wolff, Farida Abjani Julia & Andrés Orozco-Estrada Sheridan Williams Honoree Richard Flowers Astley & Alex Blair Chairs Christina & Mark Hanson Honorees Robert & Jane Cizik