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.
