Tony Award-winning singer Idina Menzel will perform with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, September 26, headlining the orchestra's signature annual fundraising event at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in the Dallas Arts District. The Symphony Gala pairs a seated dinner and welcome reception with a full concert featuring Menzel performing a medley of hits alongside the orchestra, capping the night with a gala after-party.
According to NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, the evening's full-package guests get a welcome reception, seated dinner, premium concert hall seating and the after-party, while general concert-only tickets are also on sale for those who just want to catch the performance. Ticket tiers for the night range widely: full gala packages start at $1,500 per seat, while individual concert admission begins at $153, according to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. This year's gala is chaired by Allison and Brett Brodnax, with Dr. Linda L. Burk and Dr. John R. Gilmore serving as honorary co-chairs.
The full schedule for the night runs late: dinner starts at 6 p.m., Menzel takes the stage at 8:45 p.m., and the West Lobby after-party — featuring a live DJ and cash bars open to both full gala guests and concert-only ticket holders — runs until midnight, per PaperCity Magazine.
Who's Leading the Orchestra That Night
Principal Conductor Enrico Lopez-Yañez directs the gala concert. Lopez-Yañez serves as Principal Conductor of Dallas Symphony Presents while also holding principal pops conductor posts with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Pacific Symphony, and he has led high-profile symphonic collaborations with artists ranging from Dolly Parton to Pepe Aguilar and Nas, the orchestra notes. He's become something of a fixture on the Texas pops circuit — Hoodline reported this week that Lopez-Yañez is also leading a Pepe Aguilar concert with the Houston Symphony at Jones Hall this same month.
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra itself is led by Music Director Fabio Luisi, a Grammy Award-winning conductor who took artistic leadership of the orchestra in the 2020–21 season. Luisi previously served as principal conductor at the Metropolitan Opera and general music director at Zurich Opera, and he signed a contract extension in January 2021 that keeps him on the podium through the 2028–29 season, per the Associated Press. On the administrative side, Michelle Miller Burns has served as Ross Perot President and CEO of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra since September 2024, after six years leading the Minnesota Orchestra; she had previously served as the DSO's interim CEO and chief operating officer before that Minnesota tenure.
Inside I.M. Pei's Meyerson Symphony Center
The gala unfolds inside a building with its own pedigree. The Meyerson Symphony Center was designed by architect I.M. Pei and acoustician Russell Johnson, opening in September 1989 in the Dallas Arts District with a seating capacity of 2,062 in its Eugene McDermott Concert Hall, according to Pei Cobb Freed & Partners. Owned by the City of Dallas and operated by the Dallas Symphony Association, the center received an AIA National Honor Award in 1991. NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth describes it as one of the world's finest concert halls.
The hall's Eugene McDermott Concert Hall also houses the Lay Family Concert Organ, a 4,535-pipe mechanical-action instrument built by C.B. Fisk and installed in 1992, rising the full height of the stage backdrop. Its cherry-veneered case and burnished tin pipes were designed in close collaboration with Pei, per C.B. Fisk.
Where the Gala Proceeds Actually Go
The Symphony Gala isn't just a night of dinner and a show — it's the DSO's signature fundraising mechanism, supporting the orchestra's programs and initiatives throughout the year, according to NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. The orchestra presents more than 100 concerts each year at the Meyerson and serves more than 200,000 adults and children annually through performances, educational programs and community initiatives, including school programs and neighborhood concerts. Funds raised help the DSO invest in the North Texas community more broadly, the station reports.
Gala dollars specifically support initiatives like the Kim Noltemy Young Musicians and Young Strings programs, which serve more than 7,000 children across Southern and East Dallas with tuition-free instruments and music education, according to Philanthropy Lifestyles. Young Strings participants have achieved a 100% high school graduation rate, and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra League presented a $1.5 million gift to the orchestra in June to help fund these outreach efforts. A separate economic impact study released by the orchestra in 2023 found the DSO delivers more than 200 outdoor chamber concerts annually across Dallas neighborhoods and offers digital music instruction to more than 700 students, part of a broader push to extend its reach through its PNC-sponsored Next Stage Digital Concert Series.
Part of a Bigger Pops Trend
Bringing in a pop and Broadway star like Menzel fits into a wider strategy among American orchestras to blend classical programming with mainstream names to draw new audiences. In April, the Dallas Symphony presented composer Steve Hackman's Stravinsky x Kendrick Lamar mashup, an approach also being tested by orchestras in Phoenix and Houston as they look to diversify who shows up in the concert hall, as per Hoodline. The orchestra shares its artistry with audiences well beyond North Texas too, through acclaimed recordings and international touring, according to NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth.
Both NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth and its sister station, Telemundo 39, are inviting the public to attend the September 26 gala, with the orchestra's mission described simply as inspiring and changing lives through musical excellence.
