ROCO Revelry gala raises $200,000 with a little nightmusic
Better than an in-person gala?
ROCO, the organization formerly known as the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, held its eighth annual fundraiser on Sept. 25. The evening’s theme was “Revelry,” and fittingly, the festivities proved over the top.
Many high-level donors received three deliveries in the hours leading up to the virtual soiree. The first was a colorful centerpiece plucked from a late-summer dream. Blush roses, purple orchids and green hydrangea one-upped the usual décor scheme. These blooms were for keeps. The same could not be said of the fine china drop-offs, unfortunately. Swift + Company’s large, gift-wrapped boxes contained full table settings, complete with brass flatware and fresh linens.
Weeks in advance, guests selected four-course dinners from menus created by chef Robert del Grande. The options? Three Berg Hospitality Group restaurants: Cafe Annie & Bar, B&B Butchers or B.B. Italia.
Name the last time a gala offered that.
Wine, procured by Mike Muna through Dionysus Imports, was also available for purchase, though each ROCO goody bag included the ingredients to shake an El Jimador Tequila-sponsored “ROCOrita.” Alongside the lime, hibiscus syrup and miniature
spirits bottle were customized earbuds.
The better to hear the performances.
Beginning at 7:30 p.m., some 250 patrons tuned into a virtual presentation and concert by ROCO’s full, 40-piece orchestra, broadcast live from the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands, a first-time venue for the organization.
Musicians played excerpts from “Starburst,” and later, Anthony DiLorenzo’s “Anthem of Hope,” against an al fresco backdrop. There was also a lively round of Q&A and a dance break led by composer and band one onist Richard Scofano.
The program honored longtime arts advocate John Bradshaw and awarded the second annual Wildcatting in the Arts distinction to Lauren Anderson, Houston Ballet’s first Black principal dancer.
Co-chairs Kelley Lubanko and Leigh Smith sought to “modernize, energize and personalize the concert experience for audiences in Houston and beyond.” The duo raised just under $200,000, the secondhighest figure in ROCO’s gala history.
So if virtual fundraising becomes our new normal, the future could be fun.