Princeton Symphony Orchestra marks 25th year with a gala at Grounds For Sculpture.
By: Christian Kirkpatrick
Outside the sky was like a stormy passage by Vivaldi, but inside the atmosphere was as dry and sophisticated as a song by Cole Porter.
On Saturday at Grounds For Sculpture, the Princeton Symphony Orchestra held a black-tie dinner dance that showcased the visual, musical and culinary arts.
As usual, the Domestic Arts Building at Grounds featured several exhibitions of sculpture and photography. That night, however, amid iconic male torsos in bronze, stone and glass and beside exuberant student works in just about every possible medium, were dozens of tables set for dinner. Their metallic finish and soaring floral arrangements echoed the industrial, loft-like nature of the building, with its exposed pipes and SoHo feel.
Near the entrance to the building, The Seviay Quartet, composed of orchestra members, played with lightness and precision as some 220 guests ate and drank during the cocktail hour.
Scattered throughout the building were exhibitions describing homes in such desirable locations as Greece; Sun Valley, Idaho; County Limerick, Ireland, and Tuscany in Italy. In a live auction, attendees bid for the right to vacation in these delightful places.
There was also a silent auction of music-related items.
The Princeton Symphony Orchestra is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Two attendees, Princeton residents Judith Thomson and Mary Keating, remembered their efforts to found it. "We wanted something along the lines of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra," recalled Mrs. Thomson. Mrs. Keating agreed, adding, "The way the community has responded has been fabulous. The orchestra has become an institution."
Today, the orchestra plays five concerts a year at Princeton University’s Richardson Auditorium, as well as a chamber series at The 1860 House in Montgomery. Each year, its Bravo! program teaches more than 8,000 children in grades 2-6 in Princeton, Hopewell, Montgomery, Trenton and North and South Brunswick about the instruments in an orchestra and explains how classical music is composed. At the end of each year, the children attend a concert at Richardson Auditorium.
"The orchestra offers something for everyone in the community," declared gala co-chair Teresa Danko, "Broadway and pops concerts, Christmas concerts, classical music and children’s shows. The orchestra has a great sense of fun," said the Princeton resident.
"And you don’t have to go to New York or Philly to hear them," added co-chair Kathleen Tovar. "Mark Laycock (the orchestra’s music director and conductor) is just a master at combining something new and the classics," said the Princeton resident. "He’s so thoughtful about his work."
"The orchestra is doing remarkably well in every area," said Caren Sturges, president of its board of managers. It draws enthusiastic audiences, gives more concerts each year and is financially solvent. "This is not so true of other orchestras," observed the Princeton resident, with obvious pride.
In recent years, the orchesra’s budget has doubled, and it has received an award from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, added a previous board president, John Hamel, III, of Princeton.
The orchestra’s final concert for the 2004-2005 season, which will take place April 24 at 4 p.m. at Richardson Auditorium, will feature Copland’s "Appalachian Spring," Stravinsky’s "The Rite of Spring" and Ravel’s "Daphnis and Chloe," Suite No. 2.
Also, the 2005-2006 season has been announced. Highlights will include Tchaikovsky’s Symphonies Nos. 5 and 6; excerpts from operas by Mozart; Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony, Brahms’ Symphony No. 2, and Symphony No. 2 by Sibelius.
Music director Mark Laycock said that he chooses music for his concert on the basis of its beauty, meaning and confirmation of the triumph of the human spirit.
Deborah Shepherd of Merrill Lynch said that her company was thrilled to be a corporate sponsor of the gala. "We think that the arts are an important part of the community," she said, stressing the importance of supporting them.
Other corporate sponsors included the Bank of America, N.T. Callaway Real Estate, Princeton Real Estate Group and WithumSmith+Brown.
Subscriptions to and tickets for the Princeton Symphony can be purchased by calling (609) 497-0020. On the Web: www.princetonsymphony.org.