"It was a night to remember" is how High Progenitor Phyllis Brandon began her wrap of Opus XX, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra's 2004 fundraiser.
Remember? How could we forget? I still hear people talk about that one, and not "Opus XX" or even "The symphony's 20th," but "The Opus that Chip and Cindy chaired."
The memory haunts the hall, and so do Chip and Cindy Murphy.
At least, on Nov. 12.
And more radiant than wraith-like, to be sure.
They stood in the north-facing ballroom of Robinson Music Hall, within a maze of exposed duct work and demolition with fellow symphony supporters Terri Erwin, first lady Susan Hutchinson and symphony board chairman Dr. Richard Wheeler -- and nonprofit director Christina Littlejohn and maestro Philip Mann -- to announce that this time next year, the debut black-tie gala here would be Opus XXXII, and Chip and Cindy would put it on.
This is an exciting announcement for the symphony, which apparently is in the midst of a $7 million fundraising campaign -- it's the first I'm hearing of it -- and an exciting thing for the Murphys and Robinson.
Each one honors the other.
When Cindy Murphy and Fred Scarborough -- the shaman of the Arkansas Children's Hospital Foundation then was chief fundraiser for the symphony -- met to plan the 20th Opus in early 2004, they had the fresh memory of the last one at the Statehouse Convention Center. It raised half a million dollars.
BACK IN TIME
Cindy Murphy had a different idea. Instead of taking the symphony to the party, they'd do the reverse -- a fundraiser space inside the music hall.
The Murphys brought in an outfit named Concert Staging Services that had done Carnegie Hall. It floated a tiered ballroom floor over the orchestra seating. Great white uplit drapery with an indigo-periwinkle twinkle drew the eye up to the ceiling. The chairs and tables were so opulently covered in golden damask and thick satin, one could have slept on them. Trees lined the hall like sentries, and zaftig bouquets of roses parked in stairwell corners. The Murphys flew in the chef and general manager from Galatoire's of New Orleans (and two more staff) to serve first-rate Creole seafood and veal dishes. And perhaps the most mythical remembrance of all -- reportedly, reportedly, after more than 600 procured the $250 tickets, another 400 flashed credit cards at the charity's general direction and were turned away.
No fundraiser in its right mind would ...
"Oh, I would differ with you," Scarborough says.
"That's exactly where we wanted to be. We wanted to not be selling tickets but instead responding to people who wanted to celebrate with the symphony ... delivering an experience that is unique to the symphony. I think we did that that year, and created a standard."
Elizabeth Stinnett of Russellville has been at every Opus but the first few, she said. She and husband Chris chaired it last year. That first year at Robinson, "the stage could accommodate the whole orchestra. In other places, it's the big band" -- a representative ensemble culled from the whole. "It's kind of magical having the whole orchestra there, dancing to the full orchestra with all the lights and sparkles."
"The end result of that event," Scarborough said, "is it raised the profile of the symphony orchestra, and it raised more money" -- $630,000 -- "than had ever been raised previously."
Or since. This year, about $400,000 was raised.
"It was the most successful event for the symphony orchestra, and that was their goal," Scarborough said, referring to the Murphys.
BACK TO THE FUTURE
Can the next Opus be like XX? Robinson will have a dedicated ballroom space, after all. It's all part of the $68 million renovation that will wrap in a year.
"A lot of money has gone into providing for this construction, a lot of which is due to the voters of the state of Arkansas, particularly here in the Little Rock area, going along and renewing a bond," Hutchinson said.
"This will be the first gala in this space," Littlejohn said.
"It will be the symphony coming home and claiming ownership of this room," Cindy Murphy said.
So no triage ballroom, no floating stage. But the celebration will be a memorable one.
LINKS 41
The Little Rock chapter of The Links Inc. holds its 41st Holiday Jazz Brunch and Fashion Show at 11 a.m. Dec. 5 at the Marriott downtown. This year it's going with designer Linda Rowe Thomas and jazz musician Saboor Salaam. In the past it has been Korto Momolu and Rodney Block, but Fox 16 news anchor and event chair Donna Terrell said, in effect, you can't have Links without change every so often.
The Links Inc. is a volunteer service club not unlike a sorority. Its members come from the black community, and the scope of its charity is directed there, too, Terrell said. Last month 500 mostly low-income folks came out to its Move Your Body gathering at which healthy eating was discussed, body-mass indexes were taken, and 175 bicycles were given away.
This year there were five recipients of local Links scholarships, and each year there's a Links night at The Rep for dozens of area school students.
"The young people I've spoken with, they tell us they've never been to the Rep, or they didn't know the Rep existed," she said. So it's "rewarding to us, but very special to them -- it makes them hungry for more."
The money raised at Holiday Jazz Brunch -- $75 for individuals -- is directed toward these programs.
For more information or a seat, contact club president Gloria Love, (501) 350-4819.
Write me at
bampezzan@arkansasonline.com
High Profile on 11/22/2015