West Chester Symphony to host gala

Singers joining in on the fun.
The West Chester Symphony Orchestra pictured at a concert performance in Keehner Park. CONTRIBUTED

The West Chester Symphony Orchestra pictured at a concert performance in Keehner Park. CONTRIBUTED

Several local singers will be Puttin’ on the Ritz! as a part of the West Chester Symphony Orchestra’s 20th season anniversary gala, which will be held on Saturday, April 29, at 5:30 p.m. at Holiday Inn Cincinnati N in West Chester.

“This is our 15th fundraising gala and our 20th anniversary season,” said Conductor Susan Schirmer, West Chester Symphony Orchestra.

“We’ve grown a lot from our beginnings 20 years ago to where we are now. We play more challenging music now, and it gives us a broader range of music we can play, because we’re not strictly classical, we play all kinds of music,” she said.

This year’s annual fundraiser will feature an evening of fine dining, silent and live auctions as well as performances from the West Chester Symphony Orchestra, who will be joined by talented vocalists — Jeanne Phillips, Melody Wallace, Catherine Gorman, Peter Miller, Zachary Riggins and Matt Tchimperle.

“We had a Broadway theme last year, so we had singers for the first time after the dancing-focused fundraisers we held for several years. With the singers, it was a neat evening, so we decided to feature singers again, and I thought about all the great American songs from The Great American Songbook,” Schirmer said.

The menu will include chicken, salmon, steak and vegetarian selections provided by Johnny’s Italian Steakhouse.

All proceeds from the gala will benefit the West Chester Symphony Orchestra, an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization. About $8,000 was raised at last year’s event. Monies are used for the purchase of music for the orchestra as well as to purchase percussion instruments for the group.

West Chester Symphony Orchestra is a full orchestra comprised of about 60 members, including strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. About 10 members have been with the orchestra since its inception. The group performs about six to eight free concerts per year.

The next concert will be a patriotic concert at Keehner Park on Saturday, July 1.

Contact this contributing writer at gmwriteon@aol.com.


How to go

What: West Chester Symphony’s annual fundraiser gala, Puttin’ on the Ritz!

When: 5:30-10 p.m. Saturday, April 29

Where: Holiday Inn Cincinnati N – West Chester, 5800 Muhlhauser Road

Admission: To order tickets on Eventbrite, go to https://wcsogalatickets2017.eventbrite.com or by calling (513) 777-9609. Tickets are $65/per person with discounts available on a table of 10. Tickets must be ordered by Wednesday, April 19.

More info: www.westchestersymphony.org

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