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Diamond Anniversary Gala

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A Recap of the Event

NYYS Annual 60th Benefit Gala – Diamond Anniversary!

On October 30, 2023, we celebrated our 60th Annual Gala at Tribeca Rooftop.

Co-hosted by NYYS Trustee and Afternoon host on WQXR, Elliott Forrest and Senior Correspondent for NBC, MSNBC and CNBS, Harry Smith - we honored Deborah Borda with the Theodore L. Kesselman Award for Arts Education.

There were also performances by our Crescendo and our Flagship Orchestra!

The Benefit is the organization’s largest and most important fundraising event of the year. Funds raised support the NYYS’s innovative educational programs, which educate and inspire young musicians through exceptional training and performance opportunities. More than 7,000 students have participated in the orchestra, jazz, chamber music, composition, musical theater songwriting, and conducting programs since the founding of the NYYS in 1963.

Theodore L. Kesselman Award Honoree

Deborah Borda

We honored Deborah Borda with The Theodore L. Kesselman Award for Arts Education. Ms. Borda has extended the artistic, commercial, and technological boundaries of what an orchestra can be in the 21st century through creative leadership, commitment to innovation, and progressive vision. As President and CEO of the New York Philharmonic — where, in the 1990s, she was the first woman in recent history to manage a major American symphony orchestra — she revitalized the institution, working with NY Phil and Lincoln Center leadership to transform David Geffen Hall, deepening connections with the community through initiatives such as NY Phil Bandwagon during the COVID-19 pandemic, and engaging Gustavo Dudamel as the Orchestra’s next Music and Artistic Director. Beginning in July 2023 she becomes the first person to hold the role of Executive Advisor to the President and Board of Directors, in which capacity she will focus on fundraising and special projects.

Throughout her career Borda has advanced how symphony orchestras serve their communities through her leadership of ensembles including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. The LA Phil’s success during her 17-year tenure was chosen for case studies by Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School. While in LA she oversaw the completion of the construction of Walt Disney Hall, the addition of a new shell for the Hollywood Bowl, and the appointment of music director Gustavo Dudamel. The first arts executive to join Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership, Borda has received accolades including honorary doctorates from the New England Conservatory, Curtis Institute of Music, and Manhattan School of Music; election to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences; receiving the League of American Orchestras’ Gold Baton award in 2023; and chairing the Avery Fisher Artist Program.

Photo Dario Acosta

Some Pics from This Year's Gala

Photo Credit: Jonathan Taylor

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