Orchestra Indiana to Host Premier Gala Featuring Broadway Performers

Craig Schulman and Tamra Hayden are two Broadway performers that will provide live entertainment at the gala. Photo provided.Craig Schulman and Tamra Hayden are two Broadway performers that will provide live entertainment at the gala. Photo provided.

By Melissa Jones—

MUNCIE, Ind. — Orchestra Indiana is bringing Broadway to downtown Muncie in its premier Music of the Night Gala on Friday, April 8.

“This is one of those night’s you’ll be glad that you are in Muncie when nationally known Broadway stars Craig Schulman, Tamra Hayden and Susan Anderson perform hits from the most popular musicals on Broadway, right at your table,” said Scott Watkins, executive director of Orchestra Indiana (formerly Muncie Symphony Orchestra). “The performances will be spectacular and memorable.”

Watkins said the Music of the Night Gala will highlight the mission of Orchestra Indiana—”redefining the orchestra experience”—by bringing an exciting and inspiring professional music performance to the community.

“The event is intended to celebrate and raise awareness of the importance of the orchestra to our community,” Watkins said. Orchestra Indiana, formerly Muncie Symphony Orchestra and Marion Philharmonic Orchestra, formed at a time when some regional orchestras were feeling the effects of the pandemic’s limitations on large gatherings and in-person events. By joining forces, Orchestra Indiana intends to unify communities through the power of music.

“Music is incredibly powerful in its ability to bring people together through a shared experience, and we want to bring that feeling to Muncie, Marion and the rest of East Central Indiana,” Watkins said. “This gala is just the beginning of incredible experiences people can expect from Orchestra Indiana.”

Craig Schulman is the only performer in the world to have performed three of the most extraordinary musical theatre characters ever written: He has performed in the title roles of Jekyll & Hyde, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera, and nearly 2,000 performances of Jean Valjean in Les Misérables on Broadway and around the world. Additionally, he has sung on the Rosie O’Donnell Show, NBC Weekend Today, and Guiding Light.

Tamra Hayden is a celebrated vocalist and accomplished multi-instrumentalist, playing piano, guitar and viola. She has five solo albums to her credit, as well as dozens of musical collaborations. She has appeared on Broadway as Cosette in Les Misérables and as Texas in Cabaret. Off-Broadway performances have included Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, and she has toured nationally as Christine in Phantom of the Opera, Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof and It Ain’t Nothing but the Blues.

Susan Anderson has led a full and varied career, ranging from Broadway productions to films to recordings. As a conductor and musical director, Anderson has worked with the Broadway and national touring companies of Pirates of Penzance, Me and My Girl and Cats. She played in the orchestra pits of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Woman in White and is currently playing in Spamalot. She has conducted pops concerts with the Milwaukee, Detroit, Phoenix, Portland and Shreveport orchestras and most recently conducted London’s Philharmonia Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios.

The Music of the Night Gala, presented by Open Door Health Services, will begin with cocktails and music followed by a dinner with themed food stations, including A Stroll Down 5th Avenue, A Swim Around Long Island, A Tour of Italy, and A Times Square Treat.

The event will take place at 6 p.m. Friday, April 8 in the Open Door downtown building (former Chase building; 220 S Walnut St., Muncie, Indiana, 47305).

Individual tickets and tables of 8 are available at $75 per person. Tickets can be purchased online at OrchestraIndiana.com.

Corporate sponsorships are also available by contacting Scott Watkins or Jenni Boseker in the Orchestra Indiana office at 765-216-0970 or assistant@munciesymphony.org.

“We are incredibly thankful for Open Door’s generosity as our presenting sponsor and venue host,” Watkins said. “They’re an organization that equally values the community and quality of life, and it’s been really meaningful to be united in those values.”

Orchestra Indiana would like thank its current sponsors for this event:

  • Open Door (Host and Presenting Sponsor)
  • Indiana Trust Wealth Management (Leading Role Partner)
  • Fred Reese (Take A Bow Partner)
  • Accutech (Ensemble Partner)
  • Aspect 6 (Ensemble Partner)
  • C0ldwell Banker (Ensemble Partner)
  • Deltec Solutions (Ensemble Partner)
  • Intersection (Ensemble Partner)
  • J Metzger Group (Ensemble Partner)
  • LaRea Slater (Ensemble Partner)
  • Meridian Health Services (Ensemble Partner)
  • Once Upon A Plate (Ensemble Partner)
  • Ray & Karen Allen (Ensemble Partner)
  • Sight & Sound (Ensemble Partner)
  • Jenni Boseker (Ensemble Partner)

 

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Muncie Symphony, Marion Philharmonic Join Forces as ‘Orchestra Indiana’