The Alabama Symphony Orchestra is kicking off its season Sept. 20 with its Maestro’s Ball, the orchestra’s largest fundraiser.
This year’s ball, hosted by Catherine and Emmett McLean, celebrates the beginning of Music Director Carlos Izcaray’s 10th season with the ASO, the organization said in an announcement of the event. The ball will honor this milestone and launch a season-long recognition of Izcaray’s leadership.
The evening’s concert, conducted by Izcaray, will preview several of the upcoming season’s performances and culminate with Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, the first symphony Izcaray ever conducted with the ASO.
“Our full-time orchestra under Carlos’s direction will entertain us with an exciting concert to kick off the 2024-2025 season,” the McLeans said in a statement. “The ASO is a vital component of our city’s landscape, enriching our community culturally, artistically, and economically, and we hope you will join us at the Alys Stephens Center for an exciting performance.”
The Maestro’s Ball each year supplies as much as 15% of the ASO’s operating budget through contributions from individual and corporate supporters. The ASO works to serve the public through frequent free community concerts, a substantial hospital outreach program called Music Meets Medicine, and education programs that reach at least 25,000 K-12 and college students a year in 48 of Alabama’s 67 counties.
Maestro’s Ball corporate chairs this year are J. David Brown III, Emily Wood Bowron Forehand and Charles D. Perry.
The ball’s corporate committee this year is made up of Farra Alford, Gail Bayer, Jeffrey Bayer, Dell S. Brooke, F. Dixon Brooke Jr., John Carter, Douglas Croker, Emma Curtin, Peter Curtin, Jen Dent, Lori Dixon, Chris Harmon, Jonathan Hoffmann, Chuck Holmes, William J. Long IV, Taylor McElroy, Maggie O’Connor, Tyler O’Connor, Zac Riddle, Robert Schoenvogel, Sanjay Singh, Ray L. Watts, Jared Weinstein, Nick Willis and Whitney Wright.
Danny McKinney is chairman of the ASO board of directors.
