Are not normally blooming indoors, unless you're at the most beautiful spot in the Philadelphia area, Longwood Gardens in Chester County. That’s where AVA held its gala, Viva la Voce! this year.
The famous Dupont Estate is now home to one of the most famous Botanical Gardens in the USA and 
it happens to be in our back yard. This event is the culmination of months of planning and with the help of so many people, it was a fabulous evening.
A key part of the evening is, of course, music - and this year two spectacular alums came back to serenade the guests. Soprano Angela Meade and tenor Bryan Hymel graciously offered their voices and personalities to this event. Angela was just finishing up her performances at the Metropolitan Opera, and Bryan just ended a run of Rusalka at the Royal Opera House in London, and had a brief time before beginning rehearsals for Faust for Baltimore Lyric Opera.
It’s always a thrill for me to see the alums back on, as I say ‘home turf’. Bryan had not been back to Philly in a few years, and brought with him his most beautiful and talented wife, Irini. (Through Facebook I found out that Irini made her Royal Opera debut this season as well). It was old home week with vocal coaches Danielle Orlando, Richard Raub, David Lofton and Laurent Philippe accompanying the artists during the concert. Many of the resident artists serenaded during the dinner.
The dinner was awash in green with live flowers at the height of their beauty. During the event AVA 
paid tribute to Jeannine Cowles (AVA ’50) who recently endowed the Music Director Chair in honor of Maestro Macatsoris, and to the Davis family in honor of Sally Paxson Davis, our past president and grand-daughter of the founder of AVA, Helen Corning Warden. (photo of Jeannine Cowles, seated and Maestro Macatsoris, standing)
I was lucky enough to help with both the silent and live auctions with the help of Lindsey Crane. Our live auctioneer, for the third time was TV star of Antiques Roadshow, Alasdair Nichol.
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