The Kimmel Center’s Third Annual Summer in the City Gala Travels to the French Riviera for Sun and Fun on Saturday, June 4, 2005
Jazz Trumpeter Chris Botti and Haitian Singer Emeline Michel to Perform in Verizon Hall at Event Benefiting Kimmel Center Inc.’s Diverse Artistic Programming, Education and Community Initiatives
April 28, 2005
The annual gala fundraiser to be held at the Kimmel Center will benefit Kimmel Center Inc.’s education and community access programs as well as the diverse offerings of the Kimmel Center Presents performance series.
The 2005 Summer in the City festivities begin at 5:30pm in the Kimmel Center Plaza with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres in sunny Antibes, during which music will be provided by Beaux Django, playing gypsy-influenced jazz with a French accent. Guests then move to the Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall for a magical night of music as “Queen of Haitian Song” Emeline Michel performs her captivating blend of contemporary Haitian music. Billboard’s #1 jazz trumpeter Chris Botti then follows with selections from his best-selling album When I Fall in Love. Seated dinner follows throughout the Kimmel Center’s tiers and a St. Tropez party will be held in Cadence Restaurant, both catered by Restaurant Associates, with an emphasis on French Mediterranean cuisine. Following dinner, the party heats up again as guests continue the journey through the south of France to a discotheque in Nice as Jerry “the Geator with the Heater” Blavat brings his unique rock-n-roll dance party the Perelman Theater. Also following dinner, guests are invited to the Monte Carlo setting of the Hamilton Rooftop Garden to try their hand at various games of chance such as blackjack, roulette and more, with all proceeds to benefit the Kimmel Center.
New this year, guests are invited to a special evening of cocktails and shopping at Saks Fifth Avenue, 2 Bala Plaza, Bala Cynwyd, on Thursday, May 12 from 6-9pm. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of all purchases made at Saks Fifth Avenue on May 12 from 10am-9pm will benefit the Kimmel Center. For more information about this exclusive evening of shopping, and to obtain an invitation card, please call the Kimmel Center’s Elizabeth Nettles at 215-790-5887.
The 2005 Summer in the City Gala Committee is co-chaired by Gloria Drosdick and Louise Reed. The Gala Planning Committee includes Susanna E. Adler, Pamela Berkman, Sally Cooper Bleznak, Gretchen Burke, Catherine R. Clifton, Susan Coote, Elaine Garfinkel, Marla Green, Ronna Hall, Lynne Honickman, Ellen Lee, Jane Mullany, Carole Shanis, Molly Rouse Terlevich, and Kathy Whelan.
Trumpeter Chris Botti, recently picked as one of People magazine's "2004’s 50 Most Beautiful People,” is a gifted instrumentalist, a talented composer, and a charismatic performer who—since the release of his first solo album in 1995—has created a series of recordings that have made him a virtual genre-of-one in the realm of contemporary jazz. Through a singular combination of lush atmospheres and thoughtful improvisations, he has earned both critical acclaim and mainstream appreciation.
On his latest collection, When I Fall In Love, (on the Billboard Top Jazz Albums Chart for 28 weeks and currently #1 as of April 23, 2005) the best-selling trumpet virtuoso expands the range of his earlier work with an album devoted to once and future classic love songs, each one performed with Botti's impeccable taste and signature tonal qualities.
Emeline Michel is the reigning Queen of Haitian song. For the past two decades, she recorded numerous albums and has appeared on concert stages throughout the Caribbean, Europe, North & South America. Singing both in French and Haitian Creole, her eight albums, Douvanjou ka leve (May the Sun Rise), Pa gen manti nan sa (There's No Doubt), Rhum & Flamme (Rum & Flame), Tout Mon Temps (All My Time), The Very Best, Ban'm Pase (Let Me Pass), Cordes et Ame (Strings and Soul), and Rasin Kreyol (Creole Roots) have catapulted her to international acclaim.
Her latest CD, Rasin Kreyol (Creole Roots), was released on the Times Square label in October 2004, and is made up of the intertwined rhythms of the manman tanbou, boula, and katabou Haitian drums, providing the foundation for original lyrics peppered with Haitian proverbs and positive messages.
Tickets are $100 - $1,000. To request an invitation, please call 215-790-5887. For corporate tables call 215-670-2377.
Sponsors of the 2005 Kimmel Center Presents gala season include Sunoco, Dranoff Properties, Restaurant Associates, and Saks Fifth Avenue.
Kimmel Center, Inc., a charitable, not-for-profit organization, owns, manages, supports and maintains The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, which includes Verizon Hall, Perelman Theater, Innovation Studio and the Merck Arts Education Center. Kimmel Center, Inc. also manages the Academy of Music, owned by the Philadelphia Orchestra Association. The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and the Academy of Music serve as home to eight Resident Company performing arts organizations, including The Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Ballet, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, American Theater Arts for Youth, PHILADANCO, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and Peter Nero and the Philly Pops®. Kimmel Center, Inc.’s mission also includes arts in education, community outreach and a rich diversity of programming through its Kimmel Center Presents and Broadway at the Academy series of performances.
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