Valdosta Symphony Guild Hosts Symphony Ball Fundraiser Nov. 11

VALDOSTA — The Valdosta Symphony Guild will host the Moonlight Sonata Symphony Ball on Saturday, Nov. 11, at the Valdosta Country Club. The doors will open at 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner and dancing at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets for this annual black tie affair are $100 per person and include a $45 tax deductible donation to the educational programs offered by the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra, including the Youth Concert Series, the South Georgia String Project, and Tunes for Tots. A cash bar, as well as silent and live auctions, will raise additional funds for these programs. Auction highlights include a week’s stay in a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment in Barcelona, Spain; a $2,000 shopping spree at Steel’s; and a party for 80 at the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts.

The Youth Concert Series provides opportunities for area preschool, elementary, middle, and high school students and their teachers to experience special Valdosta Symphony Orchestra performances throughout the academic year.

The South Georgia String Project is an after-school music program where community students ages 8 to adult can easily access low-cost stringed instrument instruction. A joint venture of the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra and the Valdosta State University Department of Music, it is also a valuable, mentored teaching experience for VSU music students, as they lead technique classes, private lessons, and group classes. Performances are held several times a year.

Tunes for Tots is a once-a-year activity that introduces children of all ages to the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra by allowing them to discover the unique sounds of the violin, cello, bassoon, flute, clarinet, oboe, horn, trombone, tuba, as well as percussion and other instruments. 

Created in 1990, the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra serves both the cultural life of Valdosta and the regional academic mission of VSU. The high standard of performance of the orchestra enables it to attract guest soloists of national and international renown to the Valdosta community. Its membership is a unique blend of resident artist-faculty, students studying professional music disciplines, talented community performers, and carefully selected professionals from a five-state region. Supported by an Advisory Board of Directors, the Valdosta Symphony Guild, VSU, corporate sponsors, and hundreds of individual patrons, the orchestra has become an important part of the cultural life of the entire region. Its live performance of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony won the 2014 American Prize in Orchestral Performance.

The Valdosta Country Club is located at 3500 Country Club Road.

Contact Jean Johnson, Valdosta Symphony Guild president, at jeanjohnson39@gmail.com or (229) 244-2043 to purchase tickets, ask about sponsorship opportunities, or donate an item for the auction.