The Frost School of Music celebrated its annual Winter Wonderful gala on Dec. 8. Soaring music from Frost School students welcomed 325 supporters to Miami’s JW Marriott Marquis, and donors Charlie and Ann Johnson were honored with the Frost Legacy Award.
The holiday celebration is a key fundraiser for the Frost School’s Donna E. Shalala MusicReach program, a powerful outreach effort in which Frost School student mentors provide over 1,500 youth in under-resourced South Florida communities with the musical and educational tools to reach their full potential.
“MusicReach is at the heart of the Frost School of Music’s goal to educate and inspire through music,” said Joe Burleson, MusicReach’s director of outreach. “Winter Wonderful is one of our largest sources of funding and a critical pillar of support for MusicReach. Beyond that, it is always so beautiful to see the community come together to enjoy the holidays and celebrate the power of music.”
The ongoing generosity of donors such as the Johnsons and The Children’s Trust, as well as new funding from the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust, has enabled MusicReach to continue growing, most recently adding contemporary rock and pop music to their mentoring programs. “This ensures that every student, no matter what their musical aspiration, can find a home with MusicReach,” said Burleson.
Five of those contemporary students were showcased performing the Mariah Carey holiday favorite “All I Want for Christmas is You,” with passionate teenage vocalists Luna Menseses and Mariana Rivas bringing the audience to their feet.
Attendees were regaled by music from the moment they entered, serenaded by the Frost Holiday Carolers. Inside the party, interim music director and director of choral studies Matthew Brady led the Frost Choral Union and Holiday Orchestra in captivating performances of holiday favorites, from Jingle Bells to more solemn works. The Stamps String Quartet and Stamps Woodwind Quintet added to the glowing musical atmosphere.
Frost School Dean Shelton R. Berg was a genial host. “Tonight we celebrate our wonderful community, the wonderful Frost School of Music, the wonderful University of Miami,” Berg said, thanking donors and attendees for their generosity. “We also celebrate you. We invite you to put away your cares and let the music embrace you.”
Berg saluted the Johnsons’ giving to the Frost School and MusicReach and to arts institutions in their home in Palm Beach (notably to the Palm Beach Symphony, led by the Frost School’s Maestro Gerard Schwarz) throughout their lives. “Wherever you put down roots, your generous commitment to expanding access to the arts is widely felt,” Berg said. “It is our pleasure to present you with the Frost Legacy Award for all you do for the arts and for mankind.”
“Ann and I are privileged and honored to be here,” Charlie Johnson responded. “We’ve come to know the Frost School through Shelly. It’s an outstanding organization, and we’re happy to be affiliated with it.”
Berg also paid tribute to the Johnsons as only he could, accompanying Frost School vocal professor and acclaimed opera singer Kim Josephson (dressed as Santa Claus, a Winter Wonderful tradition) on piano for a moving performance of the jazz classic “I’m Glad There Is You.”
Also attending were Stuart Miller, Jeffrey Miller and Leslie Miller Saiontz of the Miller Family Foundation, and other notables including former Florida governor Jeb Bush and his wife Columba Bush, Ambassadors Sue and Chuck Cobb, University of Miami President Emeritus Dr. Donna Shalala, and Frost School naming donors Dr. Phillip and Patricia Frost.
The evening closed with Frost School ensembles in gorgeous performances of “Silent Night” and “O Holy Night,” bringing the audience to its feet once again.
