A beloved Broadway ballad performed on stage during the Fort Worth Symphony Gala Concert quite perfectly summed up the event: "Some Enchanted Evening."

The FWSO and music director Robert Spano welcomed opera icon Renée Fleming and superstar baritone Rod Gilfry to Bass Hall on February 17 for a concert of Broadway favorites with a few sweet surprises thrown in, too.

Fleming, a multiple Grammy winner and one of the most highly acclaimed sopranos on the planet (fresh off her turn as a 2023 Kennedy Center Honoree), brought the audience to its feet with a rousing "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" from The Sound of Music. In an unannounced addition to the evening, Spano sat down at a piano and accompanied Fleming on a heartfelt tribute to FWSO Chairman of the Board Mercedes T. Bass.

Grammy-nominated singer-actor Gilfry brought Valentine's-week romance to the hall with "Some Enchanted Evening" from South Pacific and inspired with "The Impossible Dream" from Man of La Mancha.

Fleming and Gilfry - who looked every bit the duet partners in matching black and white ensembles - partnered up for classic love-song showtunes "'Til There Was You" from The Music Man, "Almost Like Being in Love" from Brigadoon, and "People Will Say We're in Love" from Oklahoma!.

Per tradition, the FWSO Gala had many parts, and the performance was just the start.

  

Photo by Jill Johnson

Misty Locke, Anne Marie Bratton, Mercedes T. Bass, Renée Fleming, Robert Spano, Dana Porter

After the concert's triumphant conclusion (Fleming and Gilfry's hilarious duet "Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)" from Annie Get Your Gun), patrons scooped up their gowns and boarded shuttle buses for a quick ride to the Worthington Renaissance Hotel, where a reception and dinner-dance awaited.

About 300 guests posed for photos in front of a gorgeous flower wall; then mingled with champagne, wine, and cocktails; and nibbled passed hors d'oeuvres while a player piano serenaded during a pre-dinner reception.

Ballroom doors opened to reveal an elegant, chic room filled with hundreds of floral designs and flickering candlelight.

Patrons sat down to a salad of mixed greens with pesto marinated heirloom tomatoes and burrata mozzarella and prosciutto chips; followed by an entree of prime beef tenderloin and grilled shrimp, French gratin potatoes, and vegetables; and finished with a dessert of triple chocolate mousse cake and macarons. Attentive wine stewards never let glasses run dry.

The 2024 Gala honorary chairman was FWSO chairman of the board Mercedes T. Bass, with Anne Marie Bratton, Kimberly Johnson, Misty Locke, and Dana Porter serving as co-chairs.

In onstage remarks, Bass celebrated the achievements of the FWSO, echoed by FWSO president and CEO Keith Cerny and music maestro Spano, who joined her onstage.

A live auction for trips, jewelry, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences raised crucial funds for the FWSO’s education programs, and a “raise the paddle” initiative allowed guests to contribute at various levels from their tables. In total, $109,000 in night-of donations will support FWSO's Adventures in Music Program.

Once the speeches and fundraising had concluded, the party revved up. The Time Machine party band kept the dance floor full into the late-night hours.

Spotted in the crowd were Fort Worth arts leaders including Cliburn President & CEO Jacques Marquis and wife Sandra Doan, Visit Fort Worth's Mitch Whitten, FWSO board members and supporters John Suder, Medea Suder, Capera Ryan, Dr. Asad Dean, Clint Sanders, Rebecca Rogers Berg, Lauren Adams, Will Adams, Stephen Gilchrist, Pamela Gilchrist, MaryAnn Means-Dufrene, Matt Dufrene, Mitch Wynne, Kimbell Wynne; FWSO musicians and guests Michael Shih (concertmaster), Shields-Collins Bray, Joshua Elmore, Keith Williams, Joseph Dubas, Joni Baczewski, Cody McClarty, Kyle Sherman, Tess Sherman, and hundreds more. (You'll find many more photos of the evening here.)

The next FWSO Gala will take place March 1, 2025, and will feature Grammy Award-winning soprano Joyce DiDonato with Spano and the FWSO in a performance of operatic repertoire.