Noor Riddle, Ally Shell, Stacey Lindseth, Kendra Smith, Donae Chramosta
EVENT CHAIRS KENNY and Gaby Owen were thrilled to welcome hundreds of Houstonians to Mercury Chamber Orchestra's annual gala, this year held at the brand-new Thompson Hotel off Allen Parkway.
In addition to being one of the first mega events held at the glam newcomer, the fundraising fete, which adopted a theme of An Arabian Night, made headlines for breaking Mercury's fundraising record. It brought in more than $420,000 thanks to an exciting auction (items included a tour of Chinatown led by Chris Shepherd, and a week-long stay at Casa Angelina in Zihuatanejo, Mexico) and a raffle, which featured a pair of DeBoulle diamond earrings.
Divine Décor Design brought in elegant flowers, furniture and more, transforming the Thompson's Vesper Ballroom into a mystique-filled setting that provided the perfect backdrop for a dinner of Moroccan-spiced steak, Mujadara rice, and zaatar asparagus.
After dinner, Artistic Director Antoine Plante led the chamber orchestra in a moving performance of selections from Mozart’s Ronda Alla Turca, Tchaikovsky’s Arabian Dance, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, and Dizzy Gillespie’s A Night in Tunisa.
Linda & Mike DeMasi
Mike & Jo Anne Donovan, Lesley Crawford, Gary Swagerty
Kristen Shults, Kari Dial, Maria Alejandra Nebreda
David & Kelly Rose, Courtenay Vandiver Pereira & Sabata Pereira
Gaby & Kenny Owen
Brian Riter, Gaby & Kenny Owen, Antoine Plante
Brian & Stephanie Dubiski
Mickey & Debi Barret
Mathew & Mya Melton
Robert Navo & Ginny Hart
Shane & Marissa Gilroy
Gilbert Cruz & Natalie Keshemberg, Dahlia Chaudhury & Khalil Bryant
Summer Boots, Gaby Owen, Monica Jhunjhunwala
Rudy & Debbie Festari, Antoine Plante, Daniel Irion, Kirk Kveton
Ralf van der Ven, Megan Hendrix, Justin Garcia
Stephen & Kim Perich
Travelle & Zach Ellis
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'Dixieland'