SOCIAL CIRCUIT
A look at the social events, galas, functions and fund-raisers in the area.
An upbeat night
Philadelphia Orchestra music director Christoph Eschenbach and guest violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter were not the only ones to take a bow at the Philadelphia Orchestra's Opening Night Concert and Gala on Saturday at the Kimmel Center. Before the all-Brahms program began, Joseph and Marie Field received the Philadelphia Orchestra Award in recognition of their donation of robotic cameras and a high-definition video production facility that allows the orchestra to stream its concerts around the world. The black-tie benefit, which raised about $750,000, began with a champagne reception before the concert and continued after with a filet mignon dinner for 1,000 at the Kimmel.
Pretty as a picture
Philadelphia is the last and only U.S. stop for a lush show of 61 landscapes by Pierre-Auguste Renoir that opened with fun and fanfare at the Philadelphia Museum of Art's black-tie gala Thursday night at the museum. The evening, cochaired by Mary and Charles Mather III and Maude de Schauensee, was attended by 350 guests. "Renoir Landscapes," drawn from public and private collections around the world, opens tomorrow to the public and continues until Jan. 6.
Artful women
Moore College of Art and Design, the nation's first and only art college for women, celebrated the achievements of two women in the arts at its fifth annual Visionary Woman Awards Gala at the college on Sept. 25. Along with Moore president Happy Fernandez, the awards were presented by David Girard-diCarlo to Amalia Mesa-Bains, a California-based artist, educator and activist, and by Marguerite and Gerry Lenfest to philanthropist Elizabeth A. Sackler, president of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Foundation of Washington. The dinner, chaired by Art Block of Comcast, raised more than $300,000 for Visionary Woman Scholarships.
A room of one's own
State Sens. Vincent J. Hughes and LeAnna Washington, State Rep. Lawrence H. Curry, and State Secretary of Public Welfare Estelle B. Richman were among the 200 guests who celebrated the 10th anniversary of Keystone House, a 19-bed residential hospice in Wyndmoor, at a Victorian Garden Party on Thursday. The politicians also basked in the glow of the $1.45 million renovation of the historic house, which was funded by the state, the City of Philadelphia, Montgomery County, and private donations. Keystone House has served 2,000 families in the region since it opened in 1997.
Star power
Irish rocker Bono, who went from center stage to a world stage fighting poverty and disease in Africa, received the Liberty Medal on Thursday from former President George H.W. Bush, who is chairman of the National Constitution Center, before a crowd of 2,500 on the center's lawn. The U2 front man will donate the $100,000 cash prize to DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa), the nonprofit he cofounded five years ago that was also honored. Before the ceremony began, Citizens Bank president Stephen Steinour, sponsor of the President's Reception, greeted 200 guests, including Brian and Miriam O'Neill, Vivian Piasecki, John Bogle, Sister Mary Scullion, and Rosalind Lehman, chief financial officer of SAP America Inc.