Musical Extravaganza! Virtuosi of Houston Celebrates 20 years of Musical Success

Someone has rightly said that music makes the world a happy place. On May 7, 2016 at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Houston, Texas, Legends of the Future gala was hosted by the Virtuosi of Houston celebrating its 20 years, chaired by Karina and Carlos Barbieri and Zarine and Meherwan Boyce.

The seated dinner gala evening provided non stop music by the students while honoring Margaret Alkek Williams and Monzer Hourani, and was undoubtedly a very successful and extravagant evening. How often do we spot artistic directors and conductors; Andrzej Grabiec and Franz Anton Krager riding in on a motorcycle to the ballroom podium leaving the crowd cheering in excitement. Of course the effervescent emcee duo of KPRC Channel 2 Anchor Dominique Sachse and Houston Magazine Publisher Peter Remington were crowd favorites.

Carlos and Karina Barbieri

A wide display of auction items and a scrumptious dinner, guests at this gala never had a dull moment. For music lovers this is a gala was not to be missed. The crowd swayed along to tunes of favorites like “The Typewriter”, and “The King of Pop: Monster Hits of Michael Jackson”. With the goal to educate and develop young talented musicians into true professionals, who would be sought after by the premier Conservatories and who would pursue a musical career as performers, educators and advocates of classical music, the Virtuosi of Houston is a Premier Young Artists Chamber Orchestra. This organization was formed to create a pre-professional climate and performance opportunities for Houston’s most focused young musicians (11 – 18 years of age), regardless of race, religion or financial status and to bring an expanded repertoire of chamber orchestra works to Houston audiences.

The gala was a reflection of their mission, the extravagant evening not just brought together attendees from various ethnic backgrounds, but also the students performing on stage hailed from all races. In the crowd were: Karina Barbieri in Roberto Cavalli along side husband Carlos, Judy Nichols, Leisa Holland-Nelson, Ralph Burch, Stephanie Von Stein, Jo and Jim Furr, David and Mary Ann McKeithan, Ken and Mady Kades, Veronica Goytia, Wezy and Bobby Dees, Gracie and Bob Cavnar, Linda and John Barrett, Hasti Taghi, Nick Florescu, Beth Muecke, Audrey Toll, Kiran Verma, and many others.

Photos by Kim Coffman