A record-breaker for CYSO "Women in Music" gala

The Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras (CYSO) hosted its largest and most successful fundraiser to date, “Women in Music,” at The Geraghty on February 25. From the moment the over 500 guests entered the venue, they were immersed in music. Young members of the CYSO greeted guests at the entrance including Sylvia Pine whose arrangement “Rising Storm” was performed during the gala concert.

During the cocktail reception, lucky partygoers were serenaded by the CYSO’s Preparatory Strings, led by Daniella Valdez, Director of String Ensembles. Guests were summoned to dinner to the sound of CYSO’s Symphony Orchestra, led by Music Director Allen Tinkham performing Ellen Taafe Zwilich’s “Avanti!,” as well as the Kaiso Steel Orchestra, led by Scott McDonnell, performing Vanessa Headley’s “Pan in D Galaxy.”

The evening’s program began with welcome comments by gala co-chairs Richard Blessen and Pamela Der, followed by a heartfelt tribute delivered by Tinkham for CYSO’s longest serving staff member, Associate Conductor Terrance Malone Gray, a pillar of Chicago's music community who passed away suddenly last summer (1963 – 2022). Tinkham shared, “He [Gray] was an example to us all in his indomitable positivity. His joy in music-making and love of people was palpable and unabashed.”

This year’s gala celebrated the impact of women in music with the theme extending to the evening’s repertoire—each piece that was performed by the young musicians was composed, arranged, or made famous by a woman musician. The Preparatory Strings performed “Jolene”, written by Dolly Parton and arranged by Sherry Lewis; the Kaiso Steel Orchestra performed “Rolling in the Deep,” written by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth; the Symphony Orchestra performed “D’un Matin de Printemps (On a Spring Morning)” written by Lili Boulanger.

The CYSO's Jazz Orchestra, led by Director Pharez Whitted, was joined by special guest, celebrated Chicago jazz vocalist Dee Alexander. The ensemble performed Mongo Sanatamaria & Oscar Browns’s “Afro Blue,” and Jimmy McHugh & Harold Adamson’s “I Just Found Out About Love.”

A high point of CYSO’s annual gala is always the presentation of the Note of Excellence Awards. This year’s honorees were Natalie A. Brown, CEO, Mesirow; Daniella Valdez, CYSO, Director of String Ensembles and CYSO alum and groundbreaking musician/artist Laurie Anderson. Following a performance by the CYSO Kaiso Steel Orchestra, Anderson joined Maestro Tinkham and the 120 young musicians of CYSO's flagship Symphony Orchestra for the final performance of the evening, a medley of snippets from some of Anderson's most celebrated works, including excerpts from "From the Air," "Heart of a Dog," and a poignant spoken word meditation on "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."

The event was a record-breaker, raising more than $680,000 to support CYSO’s music education programs for dedicated young musicians across Chicagoland. (cyso.org)

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