Dynamic Quintet of Women Orchestrates Unique Fundraiser for Phoenix Symphony

Five women known in the Valley community as tireless workers and committed arts supporters have orchestrated a unique event for The Phoenix Symphony, based on a fundraising model different from the usual ballroom gala or performance in a large venue.

Limited to 80 guests, An Intimate Evening with Yuja Wang will be held in a private Paradise Valley residence May 5. Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will precede a performance by the world-famous pianist with a seated dinner and question-and-answer session following the concert. The performance will generate significant revenue for the symphony.

Barbara Anderson, Nancy Hanley, Jane Jozoff, Ellen Katz and Polly Levine are the event chairs. Dr. Robert Spetzler and his wife, Nancy, serve as the honorary chairmen, and the entire proceeds benefit the symphony’s education and community engagement programs.

A DIFFERENT FUNDRAISING MODEL
How to raise significant money with fewer guests and less burden on staff is a question Ellen Katz has considered for a while. There has to be a better way to raise money, she thought. What if benefactor couples could be inspired to underwrite an exclusive, one-of-a-kind evening?

Dr. Robert Spetzler and Nancy Spetzler

The formula came to her because of a relationship: Katz’s son and classical pianist Emanuel Ax’s son went to grade school together. Katz and her husband, Howard Katz, have maintained the friendship over the years with Ax and his wife. As a favor to them, Ax agreed to play in an Arcadia home for 60 guests in April 2014. Like the evening planned for May 5, the 2014 event included a private performance followed by dinner and a conversation with the musician.

“On both events, we’ve had the entire evening underwritten before the invitations even went out,” Ellen Katz says.

Ellen and Howard Katz have underwritten Yuja Wang, and the other four chairs have underwritten the dinner and everything that goes along with it. Benefactors – Joan Cremin and Haig Tchamitch, Cathy Dickey, Jacquie and Bennett Dorrance, Diane and Bruce Halle, Pat and Earl Petznick, Sue and Bud Selig, Beverly Stewart and Jim Montang, and Miriam and Yefim Sukhman – have contributed $10,000 each. In addition, the Spetzlers have made a significant contribution.

“It’s fun to bring a New York vibe to the Scottsdale and Phoenix area. People are comfortable in the home setting,” Katz adds.

YUJA WANG
Yuja Wang is a Chinese classical pianist. A magnetic performer who dresses in designer clothing, the beautiful, nearly 6-foot tall performer has been recognized as among the most important and brilliant pianists of her generation. Born into a musical family in Beijing, she has studied piano since she was 6 – at the Beijing Conservatory, at Calgary’s Mount Royal College, at Mount Royal Conservatory, and at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. By the time she graduated from the Curtis Institute, she was already a professional star.

Ellen and Howard Katz have enjoyed two concerts by Wang. The couple, who spend their winters in the Valley, travels to L.A. at least once each winter when Gustavo Dudamel conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic. “One year, Yuja Wang played,” recalls Ellen. “We were so blown away, we couldn’t believe it.”

A year-and-a-half later, they enjoyed her solo concert in Carnegie Hall, where the audience demanded five encores. “They would not let her go,” Katz says.

When approached about the possibility of performing for an intimate audience in the Valley, Wang agreed, offering two choices of dates. The committee settled on May 5, and both they and their guests for the sold-out event know they are in for a very special evening.

SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS
While there will still be big, successful galas, which contribute significantly to the arts organizations’ bottom line, this smaller, more intimate model of fundraising offers an option for a different type of experience for both organizers and guests. There is room for both.

“We need all of us who are interested to support the arts because having an active arts community makes Phoenix a better community,” Katz says.

PHOTOS COURTESY THE PHOENIX SYMPHONY