Gems, Charms, and Treasures

A gala benefitting Ars Lyrica Houston’s 2024 opera, Handel’s Amadigi di Gaula
Honoring Connie Kwan-Wong and her daughters, Zoe and Elly Wong

Saturday, February 4th, 2023 at 6:30 PM
Houston Museum of Natural Science

The gala is sold out! If you’re interested in joining the wait list, please email Kinga Ferguson at kferguson@arslyricahouston.org

Host Committee: Farida Abjani, C.C. and Duke Ensell, Kenneth Gayle, Liz Grimm and Jack Roth, Ellen Gritz and Mickey Rosenau, Jano Kelley, Linda C. Murray, Irena Witt
Young Professionals Host Committee: Gwen Bradford, Schubert Huang, Barbara and Cedric Kouam, Charyn McGinnis, Carlos Sierra, Michelle Stair, Kathleen Staten, Eva Wilke

Join us for this special evening!

We invite you to our gala, Gems, Charms, and Treasures, on Saturday, February 4th, 2023 at 6:30 PM at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. This black tie event benefits Ars Lyrica Houston and its Baroque opera productions, and will raise vital support for our next opera, Handel’s Amadigi di Gaula, slated for May 2024.

We are thrilled to honor Houston philanthropist and long-time Ars Lyrica Houston supporter Connie Kwan-Wong at our 2023 Gala. The evening will begin with a cocktail reception in the stunning Cabinet of Curiosities and end with a three-course dinner in the Paleontology Hall, featuring a performance by soprano Camille Ortiz and an ensemble of Ars Lyrica Houston artists.

Purchase tickets here or scroll down for more information about tickets and sponsorships. This is a black tie event.

A message from the Directors

“Ars Lyrica Houston has become a leader in the performance of early music through its acclaimed performances and recordings of a wide range of Baroque repertoire. Under the artistic direction of Matthew Dirst, Ars Lyrica now offers a Baroque opera every other season. These theatrical spectacles offer full immersion in the world of 17th- and 18th-century culture, with elaborate scenic design, virtuosic singing, stylized dances, colorful orchestras, and profoundly human stories. No other musical genre from this era has the same capacity to move, excite, and inspire audiences. We would be honored if you joined us for this special evening. With the support and encouragement of enthusiastic patrons like you, we look to the future of Baroque opera with excitement and optimism.” - Matthew Dirst and Kinga Ferguson

About the Honoree

Connie Kwan-Wong has been an avid supporter of Ars Lyrica Houston since 2016, each year demonstrating her extraordinary dedication to our mission through her service on our board, supporting opera productions, and sponsoring outreach programs. Most recently Connie and CKW Luxe Publishing underwrote Ars Lyrica’s first children’s book, Maria’s Magical Music Adventure, which reaches diverse Houston audiences with uplifting musical storytimes. We are grateful for her invaluable support and delighted to honor her at this special evening.

Connie is an entrepreneur, magazine publisher, and philanthropist who combines her many endeavors with her passion for charitable work. In 2011, Connie established the Connie Kwan-Wong Foundation to support her charitable work and raise awareness regarding the issues facing many children. She also founded, and is president and CEO of CKW (Caring, Kindness, and Wisdom) Inc. In service to her community, Connie sits on the boards of Ars Lyrica Houston, Kids’ Meals, and Houston Symphony League, among others.

Connie has received many honors, including multiple congressional recognitions for making a difference and impacting the community. Most recently, in November 2022, The Mission of Yahweh honored Connie with a Women of Substance award.

Connie lives in Houston with her husband and two daughters. They enjoy spending quality time together and giving back to their community as a family. We are thrilled to recognize Connie’s daughters, Zoe and Elly Wong, as Ars Lyrica Houston Junior Stars. Their family’s motto is “Share your blessings with others whenever possible. Love the people around you, and help the people who need you!” — we are delighted to honor their caring generosity and celebrate the future of philanthropy with Connie and her daughters at our 2023 Gala!

Tickets and Sponsorships

Fair Market Value (FMV): $150 per seat

The gala is SOLD OUT. If you’re interested in joining the wait list, please email Kinga Ferguson at kferguson@arslyricahouston.org

  • Single Seat: $500

  • VIP Host Committee Pair of Seats: $2,000

  • Impresario: $5,000

    One table of 10 with recognition as an Opera Circle Supporting Producer

    Robin Angly and Miles Smith - in honor of Connie Kwon-Wong
    John and Jano Kelley & Jo Dee Wright

The gala is SOLD OUT. If you’re interested in joining the wait list, please email Kinga Ferguson at kferguson@arslyricahouston.org

You may also make a donation to the Opera Circle by sending a check directly to Ars Lyrica Houston at the following address:

Ars Lyrica Houston
4807 San Felipe Ste 202
Houston, TX 77056

Please contact Executive Director Kinga Ferguson at kferguson@arslyricahouston.org with any questions or comments.

Evening Schedule

Cocktail reception in the Cabinet of Curiosities

Wandering musicians will enliven the cocktail reception at the Cabinet of Curiosities, an extraordinary room of manmade and natural items of the past that reflects humankind’s tendencies towards collecting and displaying treasures.

We find a fitting parallel between Ars Lyrica Houston’s mission to uncover and spotlight hidden gems of the Baroque era, and we are thrilled to begin the night in this unique space with drinks and light bites.

Sit-down dinner in the Paleontology Hall

The Gala will continue in the Morian Hall of Paleontology, where guests are invited to explore the hall before sitting down for a three-course meal among the dinosaurs!

In this majestic space, soprano Camille Ortiz and Ars Lyrica Houston musicians will present an exclusive musical preview of Handel’s Amadigi di Gaula.

Musical Performance

"Among soloists, Camille Ortiz is the stand-out, as innocent as she is imperious playing first a shepherdess, then a Roman warrior.” - BBC Music Magazine

"No one contributed more to the evening’s success than soprano Camille Ortiz... her face alight with smiles and expressive nuance, Ortiz deployed her vibrant tone and lush tremolo to striking effect." - San Francisco Classical Voice

Soprano Camille Ortiz will take the stage at the Gala with Artistic Director Matthew Dirst at the harpsichord and a core ensemble of Ars Lyrica Houston Baroque instrumentalists.

The performance will include an exclusive preview of Handel’s Amadigi di Gaula (slated for May 2024).

  • Internationally recognized for compelling performances of baroque and concert repertoire, Puerto Rican soprano Camille Ortiz is quickly establishing herself as a leading operatic artist.

    Recent performance highlights include a Kennedy Center debut as Elena (Hélène) in Opera Lafayette’s adaptation of Gretry’s Silvain, for which she was hailed as “a dramatic tour de force” by Washington Classical Review (Charles Downey, June 2022). A few weeks prior, she made her debut with the Boston Baroque as Oriana in Handel’s Amadigi di Gaula opposite Anthony Roth Costanzo as Amadigi, Daniela Mack as Dardano, and Amanda Forsythe as Melissa, for which she was described on Opera Magazine as possessing a “shimmering lyric sound” (David Shengold, July 2022). Last season, she was also seen as Pamina in Eugene Opera’s The Magic Flute and on tour for Ars Lyrica Houston’s Crossing Borders, a program of Spanish and Latin American baroque repertoire featured in the Music Before 1800 music series in New York City.

    An avid recitalist and champion of Latin American art song, Ms. Ortiz performed recitals across the United States and taught masterclasses at University of Idaho, Concordia College, and the Puerto Rico Conservatory.

    The upcoming 2022-2023 season includes appearances with Opera Orlando as Marie in The Daughter of the Regiment; Galatea in Eugene Opera’s Acis and Galatea; performances of Crossing Borders with Ars Lyrica Houston in the San Diego Early Music Society and Arizona Early Music, Tucson Desert Song Festival; a baroque program with Chamber Music Amici; the soprano soloist for Palmeri’s Misa a Buenos Aires (Tango Mass) with Eugene Concert Choir; and recitals across the United States.

    She has appeared with the Philhamornia Baroque Orchestra and Chorale, Gulfshore Opera, Magic City Opera, the Naples Philharmonic, the Dallas Bach Society, the Orchestra of New Spain, the Festival of the Aegean in Greece, the Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina (John Rutter conducting), and at Carnegie Hall with MidAm International. She appears in the highly acclaimed CD recording of Rameau’s Le temple de la gloire with the Philharmonia Baroque

    Orchestra and Chorale, conducted by Nicholas McGegan, for which she was named “the stand-out” of the recording by BBC Music Magazine, October 2018. Her fall 2018 performances with the Philharmonia Baroque of Mozart’s Exsultate Jubilate, Coronation Mass in C major, and Litaniae Lauretanae have also been broadcast on San Francisco’s KDFC, classical music radio.

Elevated Av production

The Houston Museum of Natural Science