Ars Lyrica Houston Hosts Gala At The Houston Museum Of Natural Science, February 4

Ars Lyrica Houston's 2023 gala Gems, Charms, and Treasures will take place on Saturday, February 4th at 6:30 pm at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. This black tie event benefits Ars Lyrica Houston Opera Circle and its Baroque opera productions, and will raise vital support for Handel's opera Amadigi di Gaula, slated for May 2024.

Gems, Charms, and Treasures honors Houston philanthropist and long-time Ars Lyrica Houston supporter Connie Kwan-Wong, alongside her two daughters to celebrate multi-generational philanthropy!

This spectacular gala experience is centered around the idea of a musical journey back in time.

Wandering musicians will enliven the cocktail reception at the Cabinet of Curiosities, an extraordinary room of collected treasures of the past. The main musical attraction of the evening will take place in the Paleontology Hall, where soprano Camille Ortiz, Artistic Director Matthew Dirst on harpsichord, and an ensemble of Baroque instrumentalists will perform an exclusive preview of Handel's stunning magic opera Amadigi di Gaula during a three-course dinner.

Single seats start at $500. For more information about tables and sponsorships, please visit the Ars Lyrica Houston gala page at www.arslyricahouston.org/2223gala.

Gala Host Committees

∙ The Host Committee includes Farida Abjani, C.C. and Duke Ensell, Kenneth Gayle, Liz Grimm and Jack Roth, Ellen Gritz and Mickey Rosenau, Jano Kelley, Linda C. Murray, and Irena Witt.

∙ The Young Professionals Host Committee includes Gwen Bradford, Schubert Huang, Barbara and Cedric Kouam, Charyn McGinnis, Carlos Sierra, and Michelle Stair.

∙ The Junior Opera Circle Host Committee includes Angela and Hazel Cohen.

Founded in 1998 by harpsichordist and conductor Matthew Dirst, Ars Lyrica Houston presents a diverse array of music in its original context while creating connections to contemporary life. Intelligent programming features neglected gems alongside familiar masterworks, and extracts the dramatic potential, emotional resonance, and expressive power of music. Its local subscription series, according to the Houston Chronicle, "sets the agenda" for early music in Houston. Ars Lyrica appears regularly at international festivals and conferences because of its distinctive focus, and its pioneering efforts in the field of authentic performance have won international acclaim.

Ars Lyrica Houston has become a leader in the performance of early music through its acclaimed performances and recordings of a wide range of Baroque repertoire. Under the artistic direction of Matthew Dirst, Ars Lyrica now offers a Baroque opera every other season. Opera Circle sponsors play a vital role in providing a three year commitment towards Ars Lyrica Houston's biennial productions of Baroque opera. Opera Circle sponsorships allow Ars Lyrica to make Baroque opera resonate anew through imaginative staging in collaboration with the world's most respected experts in dance, theater, and music. These sponsorships offer a range of benefits, including behind-the-scenes access to artists, recognition, special invitations to exclusive events, and more.

Internationally recognized for compelling performances of baroque and concert repertoire, Puerto Rican soprano Camille Ortiz is quickly establishing herself as a leading operatic artist. Recent performance highlights include a Kennedy Center debut as Elena (Hélène) in Opera Lafayette's adaptation of Gretry's Silvain, for which she was hailed as "a dramatic tour de force" by Washington Classical Review (Charles Downey, June 2022). A few weeks prior, she made her debut with the Boston Baroque as Oriana in Handel's Amadigi di Gaula, for which she was described on Opera Magazine as possessing a "shimmering lyric sound" (David Shengold, July 2022). Last season, she was also seen as Pamina in Eugene Opera's The Magic Flute and on tour for Ars Lyrica Houston's Crossing Borders, a program of Spanish and Latin American baroque repertoire featured in the Music Before 1800 music series in New York City.

Ars Lyrica Founder & Artistic Director Matthew Dirst is the first American musician to win major international prizes in both organ and harpsichord, including the American Guild of Organists National Young Artist Competition (1990) and the Warsaw International Harpsichord Competition (1993). Widely admired for his stylish playing and conducting, the Dallas Morning News praised his "clear and evocative conducting" of Handel's Alexander's Feast, which "yielded a performance as irresistibly lively as it was stylish." Dirst's recordings with Ars Lyrica have earned a Grammy nomination and widespread critical acclaim. His degrees include a PhD in musicology from Stanford University and the prix de virtuosité in both organ and harpsichord from the Conservatoire National de Reuil-Malmaison, France, where he spent two years as a Fulbright scholar. Equally active as a scholar and as an organist, Dirst is Professor of Music at the Moores School of Music, University of Houston, and Organist at St. Philip Presbyterian Church in Houston.

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