On Monday, April 24, 2022, musical sounds wafted from the Plaza Hotel Ballroom as the Orchestra of St. Luke’s (OSL) hosted their annual Gift of Music Gala celebrating a year of dynamic expansion and, innovation, enabling OSL to reach new heights this season, as New York’s vibrant and essential orchestra.
The gala honored philanthropists Lois Chiles and her late husband Richard Gilder, and MacArthur “Genius” Award recipient and frequent OSL collaborator, pianist Jeremy Denk. Proceeds of the gala supports OSL’s citywide artistic, education, and community initiatives.
The black-tie evening began with a cocktail hour, followed by speeches sharing the artistic visions, overview of future performances and collaborations, and accomplishments of OSL from David Hyde Pierce, host; and James Roe, OSL’s President & Executive Director. OSL Board Member Emme DeLand presented the Gift of Music Award to Lois Chiles and in memory of Richard Gilder, and OSL Board Member Carlos Tome presented the Gift of Music Award to Jeremy Denk.
The OSL performance, led by Principal Conductor Bernard Labadie, and featuring the cello soloist Sterling Elliott, provided a musical interlude appreciated by fans of New York’s ‘hometown band’.
At the conclusion of the gala evening, attendees were invited to join in a time-honored OSL tradition of waltzing.
Last Monday night at The Bowery Hotel, Chiara Gorodesky welcomed guests to the Inaugural vildwerk. Gala. The vildwerk. founder shared, “We are all here, leaders in our own fields, because we know there’s a crisis happening in the world, and we need to do something about it. I’m extremely lucky because I work in both in the world of conservation and in the world of dance.
“I know first-hand there is no voice in performing arts that represents the messages of conservation organizations. They are out there in the field, in the dirt, working for us, to protect us every single day. There are so many stories to be told. The arts inspire the hearts of people, and we need to tell these stories of what’s happening in the world. We will collaborate with local organizations, and in 2024 with our first staged season, we will give them a voice.”
Christopher Wheeldon took the stage and shared, “I’m extremely honored to be the chairman of this evening. I love that vildwerk. aspires to be the first organization to invite choreographers and composers to hold hand in hand with conservationists and environmentalists. What can be better than making art with the power of making real change. I am very excited to announce I will be one of the first choreographers to present new work with vildwerk. at the 2024 season.
Standing next to a nearly extinct ploughshare tortoise, joining the Gala by video, was Turtle Conservancy Founder, Eric Goode. He introduced the first piece created for vildwerk., a world premiere by choreographer Joshua Beamish, titled Golden Tortoise, performed by Mara Galeazzi, with music by Felipe Perez Santiago (in audience).
The evening also featured performances by cellists of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Dorothea and Rafael Figueroa. After a video message from David K. Israel, they performed his Windansea, a classical piece by Jean-Baptiste Barriere, and then Dying Swan by Charles-Camille Saint-Saens, joined on the piano by Amber Salladin. Amber, Co-Artistic Director of Inspire – Chorus for Unity, also conducted Grow Little Tree, sang by 7 young vocal artists, accompanied by 9-year-old Anton Figueroa at the keyboard and Cassandra Longville, dancing a piece choreographed by former Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater star, Briana Reed.
Speakers included Professor Russell Mittermeier (Chief Conservation Officer of Re:Wild), Professor James Juvik (Senior Scientist at Turtle Conservancy), and Jorge Islas Lopez (Consul General of Mexico in New York).
Host Sergey Gordeev closed the evening asking, ‘What can YOU do for our planet?” He shared, “Our home is on fire. Some people aren’t home and don’t notice their house is on fire. They are so busy living their lives, they don’t know or care that our house is on fire. Chiara Gorodesky and everyone in this room are here to shout from the rafters that this house is on fire, inhabitants are in trouble, and it needs to be saved. We will do this though the powerful voice of performing arts.”
Guests included Jacqulyn Buglisi, Kurt Froman, Michèle Gerber Klein, Terri Gold, Jeff and Danielle Hirsch, Jana Jaffe, Liane Pei, Debra Pickrel, and Carlos dos Santos.
vildwerk. is the world’s first non-profit organization solely dedicated to raising global environmental conservation awareness through dance and the performing arts. This community of artists, conservationists, writers, thought-leaders, and philanthropists want to help make this planet a sustainable home for everyone.
For more information, visit https://vildwerk.org/
And on April 19th, guests gathered at the Museum of the City of New York for an evening hosted by Cynthia Foster Curry and Dr. Christine Rodeo for a private reception and tour of the exhibition, New York Now: Home — A Photography Triennial.
Curated by Sean Corcoran, the Museum’s Curator of Prints and Photography, and Thea Quiray Tagle, Ph.D., New York Now examines the idea of home in New York City through the lenses of 33 contemporary artists.
Over one hundred members and guests of the Saint Andrew’s Society of the State of New York gathered to salute National Tartan Day, a North American celebration of Scottish heritage and the focus of week-long festivities in New York City.
Richard Porter, 104th President of the Saint Andrew’s Society, welcomed the gathering with toasts, and he introduced attendees from across the United States and Great Britain.
Special guests and featured speakers were Alison Johnstone, Chris Thomson and John Lamont. Alison Johnstone was elected presiding officer of the Scottish Parliament in May 2021 and currently serves as a representative for Lothian. In this role Alison chairs the Parliamentary Bureau and the Scottish Parliament corporate body. Chris Thomson, Scottish Counsellor for the Scottish Government in the USA, has nurtured a successful relationship with the Scottish Affairs office in Washington, D.C. John Lamont has been serving as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland since October 2022.
President Porter gave a special welcome to Emma Wade Smith, His Majesty’s Consul General in New York and Honorary Chair of the Saint Andrew’s Society.
Photographs by Banga Studios (OLS); Photos by John Sanderson/AnnieWatt.com (Saint Andrew’s Society).
