On December 1st, the McCallum Theater held its annual fundraising gala- the first in three years! The gala featured performances by Matteo Bocelli, Pia Toscano and the McCallum Theatre Orchestra conducted by Eugene Kohn while celebrating Brooke Koehler, a McCallum trustee and philanthropist. The gala raises funds for theater operations and arts education that brings theater, dance, music, and visual arts to over 50,000 local students and teachers.
“We really hit it out of the park with our 35th annual gala, raising more than $1.5 million for valley-wide theatrical, education and community outreach programs. Our chairman, Harold Matzner, has put us on firm financial footing, and it’s wonderful to see Coachella Valley come together to celebrate our success. There’s nothing better than looking out at 1,200 smiling faces in our beautiful, intimate theater, all enjoying a live performance with world-class musicians,” Garry Kief, first vice president of the McCallum Theatre told The Desert Sun.
Harold, who was the gala’s honorary chair and a platinum circle sponsor, would like to thank all of his wonderful fellow sponsors, including platinum circle sponsors James R. Houston and Brooke Koehler; gold circle sponsors Helene Galen, Lisa Hofmann Morgan, Dianne Moss, Robert and Karen Rishwain and Jan Salta; and silver circle sponsors Rebecca Benaroya, Joan Cortopassi and Peggy Jacobs, Fremont Foundation and Barbara Fremont, Joy W. Goldstein, Ron and Sylvia Gregoire, Barbara R. Hames, Mary Vaughan Lester, JoAnn McGrath, Greg and Stacey Renker, Marion Rosenthal, Eileen and Steve Scheel, Joan and Kent W. Shodeen, and John B. and Maggy Simon.