PRESIDENT’S LETTER
GREETINGS TO OUR WONDERFUL MEMBERS OF THE LEAGUE OF THE HILTON HEAD SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA! WE WISH ALL OF YOU A HEALTHY AND FRUITFUL NEW YEAR!
We are halfway through the 2022-2023 League year, and it has been a joy and an honor to serve you this season. We have had a very successful fundraiser on Halloween, as you will discover from Linda Moloney’s report. It was a great day, from a financial and just plain fun standpoint. Plans are afoot for another golf tournament next fall, so stay tuned!
We are halfway through our Musicale season; there were events in November, December and January at the Port Royal Beach Club, Sound Waves, and Palmetto Dunes. We are most grateful to the efforts of Stan Cooke, Mary Noonan, and Eileen and Gerry Durkin for hosting these gatherings. And let’s not forget the efforts of Lois Hoyt-Berry, Eileen Durkin, and Terry Hicks, who head up the committee.
There will be three more Musicales, on February 15th, March 5th, and April 2nd. Please join us for these festive evenings of music and delicious repasts.
Elsewhere in this newsletter you can read about plans for the Spring Luncheon and Fashion Show. It promises to be a wonderful way to celebrate the new season, while benefiting the Symphony.
Other items to keep in mind are the post-concert reception after the IPC finals and the April 4th Symphony Under the Stars. Details regarding these events anon. In the interim, please stay healthy and warm!
Thank you for your support of our beloved Orchestra.
—Carol Gyllenhoff, President, HHSO League
SWING FORE THE SYMPHONY LEAGUE GOLF FUNDRAISER
October 31, 2022, was a beautiful and sunny day for the second golf fundraiser “Swing Fore the Symphony”. This year we had 28 fewer golfers and lost a $10,000 sponsor. But….with perseverance and dedication on the part of our team of nine we pulled off another successful golf tournament.
We had 116 golfers, approximately 30 reception guests and over 30 volunteers helping to make sure the day went off perfectly. An outstanding selection of auction items, appealing to a broad range of individual tastes, brought in over $28,000; this is $13,000 more than we made last year.
We also added a live auction. We reached out to Bluffton businesses and received donations from O. C. Welch, Palmetto Bluff Montage, Bluffton Room, and many more. Donations and hole sponsorships were up from last year. We were fortunate to have three Major hole-in-one sponsors: Club Car, Hilton Head BMW, and Swing Fit. The Jolley Law Firm provided a beverage cart free of charge to the golfers.
The event was held on Halloween and Terry Hicks made sure to have some spooky surprises on the course as well as goodie bags filled with candy, symphony tickets and golf balls donated by O. C. Welch. Volunteers and golfers participated in the fun by dressing in costume.
Our final totals are: drum roll please…..
We took in $84,087.10. Our expenses totaled $29,266.97 for a net profit of $54,820.13. Golfer income contributed $35,200, sponsors and donations $17,681.49. The auction produced $29,115.61. Mulligans and the 50/50 raffle contributed another $2,090.
We had a wrap-up/celebration meeting on November 4th. It ended up being mostly a celebration. Our true wrap up meeting will happen before the end of the year. I cannot express my thanks enough to the team. Their commitment and hard work made this event as successful as last year’s, which seemed almost impossible when we started planning.
Many Thanks To: Carol Gyllenhoff, Bob Cherichella, Mike Harter, Terry Hicks, Nancy Millette, Bret Jacobowitz, Joanne McElravy, and Kathy Zurillo.
—Linda Moloney
MUSICALES
Our Musicales continue to draw great interest and demand for tickets to these wonderful events continue to grow! The first two events of this season included a wonderful experience at the beautiful Port Royal Beach House providing space that allowed around 80 people to mingle. The music program was just amazing and Mario Incorvaia once again proved his knowledge of all sorts of musical entertainment. The second event in December highlighting “Festive Flamenco” was a phenomenal success with a rousing performance to the delight of everyone in attendance, followed by tasty hors d’oeuvres that League members provided. The January Musicale was a delight for all attendees with virtuoso performances and enticing fare. Three more exciting events await folks in February, March, and April in Port Royal HHI, Moss Creek, and Hilton Head Plantation. A complete sell-out for all of these events!
—Lois Hoyt-Berry and Eileen Durkin
SPRING FASHION SHOW AND LUNCHEON
We are reminding everyone of the League of the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra’s Spring Luncheon, Fashion Show and Silent Auction. As in the past, we are excited to return to the The Country Club of Hilton Head on Tuesday, March 21, 2023.
S.M. Bradford is the presenting sponsor and Birdie James is our preview sponsor.
This year’s luncheon promises to be a very special event, including a silent auction, delicious meal and a fashion show by one of the Island’s most popular women’s clothing store. Based on early feedback, we expect a huge turnout!
As space is limited, please don’t delay in marking your calendars and making plans to attend with your friends. Invitations will be coming your way later this month, so act quickly so to not be disappointed. As a reminder reservations are secured on a first-come, first served basis, upon receipt of payment.
Please join us in making this our best luncheon and fashion show ever!
— Carol Gyllenhoff
The 2023 Hilton Head International Piano Competition is set for the week of March 13-18, 2023. The 26th competition will feature an elite group of 20 competitors recently selected from 107 United States and international applicants from 25 countries. Our finalists include competitors from the United States, Japan, Canada, South Korea, and China.
The pianists will perform in the first two rounds to be held in the afternoons and evenings of March 13-14 at Saint Luke’s Church. A group will then compete in the semi-finals in the afternoons and evenings of March 15-16, also at Saint Luke’s Church. The finalists will compete by playing a complete concerto movement with the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra on the evening of Saturday, March 18 at 7:00 p.m. More details are available at the HHIPC website, HHIPC.org.
The competition committee would love to see you at the performances. We would also like to invite you to attend a Piano “Master Class” to be held on Friday, March 17th at Saint Luke’s Church. Performance details and tickets are available at HHIPC.org.
The competition committee also invites you to help by volunteering as an usher, zip code taker/door greeter, merchandise/ticket sales, production assistant, hospitality coordinator, performer escort, and other positions. Volunteer invitations are being sent out via email in January. Our Host Families committee is still looking for possible hosts for our young pianists in March so if you are interested please contact Steve Shaiman at the HHSO.
If you have any questions, please contact Bill or Kathy at [email protected].
—Kathy Zurilla