A Story of Celebration | For Your Ears Only

Augusta Symphony’s third annual Gala is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy a fabulous performance and support the Symphony in its outreach endeavors.


The theme is Bond, James Bond! Celebrating its 65th season, Augusta Symphony hosts its third annual Gala Saturday, January 11, 2020. Austria’s foremost James Bond performance group, The Music of Bond, will join the Symphony’s Maestro Dirk Meyer and the Augusta Symphony on stage at the Miller theater to entertain the audience with scores from favorite James Bond films while movie clips roll on the screens above the orchestra.

Your mission is to enjoy an elegant evening of sophisticated fun. The Miller Theater is the perfect setting for Augusta Symphony’s major fundraising event. This tribute to the nearly 60 years of Ian Fleming’s iconic British secret agent opens with a reception of light hors-d’oeuvres and James Bond’s signature martini, the Vesper. This year’s committee, chaired by Mrs. James L. Jones, has planned a spectacular celebration complete with elegant décor and movie memorabilia. There may even be a Bond car or two… or three! This promises to be an evening of great food and friends celebrating the Symphony’s three years at the Miller Theater.

The Augusta Symphony is the primary professional orchestra for the Central Savannah River Area and pursues its mission, “to share the joy of great musical performance with our community –
together we are music,” through annual symphonic, Pops, and family concerts that reach approximately 20,000 people each year. Proceeds from Augusta Symphony’s Gala support its artistic operations and community education and outreach endeavors, assisting the Symphony in reaching its mission and extending beyond the concert hall to perform for those who might not otherwise have opportunities to experience symphonic music.

Community Chords is the umbrella for the Symphony’s 3-part outreach and education programming: Student Education & Outreach, Veterans Outreach, and the Symphony’s own free music therapy program hosted in the Knox Music Institute at the Miller Theater.

Through its Student Education & Outreach the Symphony performs at schools throughout the CSRA, hosts a Discovery Concert at the Miller Theater for students of the CSRA, and takes its Symphony on the Road. These programs are offered free of charge by the Symphony thanks to many generous sponsors.

The music therapy collaboration with the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center continues to be a tremendous success. Augusta Symphony musicians perform frequently at both VA hospitals to assist in music therapy sessions. These collaborations serve to benefit not only the patients and staff of the VA, but the Symphony musicians as well.

In October 2019, Augusta Symphony opened the doors of the Knox Music Institute (KMI) at the Miller Theater. A licensed board-certified music therapist was hired to offer private music therapy sessions free to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This program has seen much success and is destined for growth thanks to the generous support of University Health Care System.

The Miller Theater is the home of all Symphony Series and Pops! performances and features a multitude of varied programming throughout the year. It was built in downtown Augusta in 1940 as an Art Moderne movie theater and vaudeville house and operated until 1984. In 2008, Peter S. Knox IV donated the Miller Theater to the Augusta Symphony to be revitalized as a performance venue. The restoration was the result of a $23 million capital campaign, made possible by the generosity of individuals, corporations, foundation, SPLOST funding, and state and federal historic tax incentives. Construction took place in 2016-2018, and the Miller Theater reopened with a grand Opening Night Gala on January 6, 2018.

A Story of Celebration | For Your Ears Only | Aiken Bella Magazine

Picture of Ladonna Armstrong

Ladonna Armstrong

Publisher of Aiken Bella Magazine.
Picture of Ladonna Armstrong

Ladonna Armstrong

Publisher of Aiken Bella Magazine.

In the know

Related Stories

The Sport of Flirting | Cabinet of Curiosities | Palmetto Bella

The Sport of Flirting | Cabinet of Curiosities

The history of flirting is a long and seductive tale, stretching back to the first stolen glance across a primitive cave lit by fire. Long before language was conceived, we were flirting. It has been employed as a social tool since the dawn of creation, from insects to fish to birds and all mammals. Now, let us step back in time to the Victorian and Edwardian eras when the sport of flirting was given its own instructional manuals. Valentine postcard, postmarked in 1916. ACHM Collection There’s something in my eye … The first step in flirting is most often establishing eye contact, and it can include a wink or a

Read More »
The Ripple Effect of Love | Palmetto Bella

The Ripple Effect of Love

This is a love story that feels like a movie script set in the 1950s. A tall, handsome stranger walks into a Michigan pharmacy with a prescription for his mother. He spies a woman behind the back counter, the most beautiful redhead he has ever seen. The woman is Virginia “Ginny” Hersz. She graduated from college in 1955 with a degree in pharmacy. At the time, less than 5% of the nation’s pharmacists were female, but Ginny was fearless and ready to take on any challenge. When she sees the handsome stranger, she is definitely intrigued. The man is Gary Albrecht. He was drafted into the United States Army at

Read More »
Santa at the Depot | Scene Around Town | Palmetto Bella

Santa at the Depot | Scene Around Town

Santa at the Depot December 19, 2020 Aiken Visitors Center and Train Museum Photography by Allen Riddick Archania Edwards and Kemari, Dre, and Cameron Hartley Tripp, Amy, Mary Irving, Charlie, Anne Masters, and Bobby Calfee Colton, Emily, Jordan, and Carter Cyr Virginia and Eli Forehan Allison, Charlotte, and David Brunson FacebookTweetPin

Read More »
Christmas in Hopelands | Scene Around Town | Palmetto Bella

Christmas in Hopelands | Scene Around Town

Christmas in Hopelands December 2020 This past December the City of Aiken hosted its 29th annual Christmas in Hopelands. Hopelands Gardens was illuminated with thousands of lights that lined the walking trails. Photography by Allen Riddick Allexis O’Callaghan, Gabriel Ruelas, Nadia Ruelas-Durst, Logan Durst, and Serena Ruelas Leila Carter, Kynslee and Kylee Clifton Haze, Madeline, Chrissa, and Chad Matthews Dana Miller and Keaton Allison Monique Overstreet and Emmy Ellis FacebookTweetPin

Read More »