Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s C-Suite Christmas dazzles audiences
On Wednesday, December 11, 2019, seven CEOs from Dallas’s top businesses moved from their corporate offices to the stage of the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center for the inaugural C-Suite Christmas. This new Dallas Symphony Orchestra fundraising event married the business community with the performing arts in a unique way.
Prior to the concert, the audience networked and mingled throughout the Meyerson lobby and in the exclusive CEO Lounge, sponsored by PNC.
Each leader took a different starring role in the evening.
Nina Vaca, Chairman & CEO, Pinnacle Group, served as the event’s Master of Ceremonies.
Lori Lee, CEO, AT&T Latin America & Global Marketing Officer of AT&T Inc., was the resident percussionist, performing on “Troika” from Prokofiev’s Lieutenant Kijé Suite and Sleigh Ride.
Grant Moise, Publisher and President of The Dallas Morning News, and Marty Turco, President and Chairman of the Board of the Dallas Stars Foundation, were narrators on the classic The Night Before Christmas.
Sanjiv Yajnik, President of Capital One Financial Services and Chairman of the Dallas Symphony Association Board of Governors, was guest conductor on two selections from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker.
Nancy A. Nasher, Owner and President of NorthPark Center, conducted the Dallas Symphony Orchestra on the traditional Sleigh Ride.
Geoffroy van Raemdonck, Chief Executive Officer of Neiman Marcus Group, hosted The Twelve Days of Christmas and the crowd sing-along.
The entire group gathered on the stage at the end of the concert to sing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”
C-Suite Christmas was led by event chair Amy Carenza, Managing Director of Corporate & Institutional Banking at PNC. Carenza and the event’s committee recruited the inaugural class of business leaders for the concert.
The event raised funds for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s education and community outreach programs and in particular the expansion of the Young Musicians program. This new initiative provides free instruments and lessons for second to fifth graders in Southern Dallas. Launched in June 2019, Young Musicians has provided hundreds of students with musical instruction. As the program grows, the DSO hopes to nurture a new generation of musicians and music lovers, opening the doors to new opportunities and exploration.
“The holidays are a time of giving and celebration,” said Kim Noltemy, Dallas Symphony Orchestra Ross Perot President & CEO. “At C-Suite Christmas we celebrated one of the most important partnerships of all – business and the arts. The arts in Dallas benefit from strong businesses, and the corporate sector benefits from the cultural community and quality of life cultivated by the arts. We are grateful to our inaugural class of artists, and we thank our sponsors for their generous support.”
“In our mission to inspire and change lives through musical excellence, the DSO is striving to expand the reach and impact of our educational programs,” said Sanjiv Yajnik. “We are lucky that Dallas is home to such vibrant businesses and leaders who are deeply committed to working together to further ignite a thriving arts culture.”
To sign up for C-Suite Christmas 2020 and secure your front row seat to next year’s holiday soiree, contact Kelly Halaszyn, Director of Institutional Giving at k.halaszyn@dalsym.com.
Special thanks to C-Suite Christmas Sponsors:
Featured Executives: AT&T, Inc.; Capital One; The Dallas Morning News; Dallas Stars Hockey Club; Neiman Marcus Group; NorthPark Center; Pinnacle Group
CEO Lounge Sponsor: PNC Bank
Gold Sponsors: Cinemark Theatres; Wipro; Zerbina, Imports, LLC.
Silver Sponsors: Nancy and Randy Best; Maureen and Robert Decherd; Gensler; Greenberg Traurig, LLP; Hilti North America; HKS, Inc.; ISN; Jones Day; Locke Lord LLP; Mint Dentistry; Kim Noltemy; Palm Beach Tan, Inc.; PFSweb, Inc.; Quilling, Selander, Lownds, Winslett & Moser, P.C.; Southwestern Medical Foundation
Advertisement Sponsors: Armanino; Gene and Jerry Jones Family Foundation; Diodes Inc.; Gensler; Jani-King; Jones Day; KPMG; Kymeta Corporation; LandDesign; LDU Coffee; Linda and John McFarland; PwC; The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas; TracyLocke; West Monroe Partners
Special Thanks: Culinaire International; Emerald City Presents Elevation; Radley