Itzhak Perlman to Headline Friends of Jones Hall's A MAD MID-CENTURY CELEBRATION AND CONCERT

The Friends of Jones Hall presents THE JONES HALL 50TH BALL - A MAD MID-CENTURY CELEBRATION AND CONCERT, a gala and concert featuring world-renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman with the Houston Symphony Orchestra. The event salutes the iconic building that launched the leading performing arts organizations in our city and honors the Jesse H. Jones family and Houston Endowment.

The "Jones Hall 50th Ball," celebrating the performing arts center's 50th anniversary, includes a concert featuring internationally-acclaimed violinist Itzhak Perlman presented by the Society for the Performing Arts (SPA). He will perform with the Houston Symphony under the direction of Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada.

The festive concert will be followed by a gala dinner and dancing to the timeless music of the Lester Lanin Orchestra from New York City, under a spacious tent on Jones Plaza. The Houston Grand Opera and Houston Ballet will also be celebrated, as both organizations started out performing in Jones Hall, along with the Symphony and SPA. Gala guests are encouraged to dress mid-century, in full "Mad Men" attire, including white dinner jackets, white gloves and glamorous gowns, a la the mid '60s.

"The Friends of Jones Hall is thrilled to celebrate the 50th anniversary of one of the most revered and influential institutions in Houston," says James Postl, gala co-chairman, along with Alexandra and David Pruner. "Jones Hall really started it all in putting Houston on the map for the arts. The money raised at the Jones Hall 50th Ball will help to fund a master plan by a world-renowned architectural firm for the future renovation of Jones Hall to make it one of the premiere performing arts facilities in the country, if not the world."

"Our hope is that many of the concert-goers will also be guests at the Jones Hall 50th Ball," says Alexandra Pruner, gala co-chair. "The 50th anniversary of this unique institution is a cause for huge celebration. By featuring one of the world's most outstanding violinists with the Houston Symphony, we are offering an evening like no other. I believe this event will be talked about for weeks after as the highlight of the fall social season."

Postl noted that the Jesse H. Jones family donated Jones Hall to the City of Houston in an act of unprecedented generosity in October 1966. As part of the 50th celebration, a new book titled Remarkable Experiences by author and Emmy Award-winning writer/producer Steven Fenberg, will be published this fall. This gorgeous book, rich with historical photographs, focuses on the history of Jones Hall, as well as the key people who put Houston on the map as a major performing arts mecca. These include impresario Edna Saunders, Houston Chronicle arts critic Ann Holmes, Jesse H. Jones, John T. Jones and Audrey Beck Jones.

"Steven is a brilliant writer and an expert on Jones Hall and the Jones family," says Postl. "This is a wonderful adjunct to our Jones Hall 50th Anniversary Ball and Concert. Some Houstonians may recognize Steven as the author of Unprecedented Power: Jesse H. Jones, Capitalism and the Common Good and as the producer of 'Brother, Can You Spare a Billion,' which appeared on PBS and won an Emmy for its compelling tale of the life of Houston's Jesse H. Jones."

The Friends of Jones Hall is a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring the excellence and vibrancy of Houston's first performing arts center.

The Jones Hall 50th Ball gala and concert are on October 22. For those choosing not to attend the gala, tickets to the Itzhak Perlman concert range from $53 - $178 and can be found on houstonsymphony.org or spahouston.org. Gala tables for 10 (reserved concert tickets and gala seating) start at $15,000. Individual tickets (reserved concert and gala seating) are $5,000 per couple and $1500 per person. For more information, visit joneshall50th.org.