I Am What I Am

Broadway legend leads Turtle Creek Chorale's glam gala with glorious concert

Co-chairs Craig Davis, Kathleen Frankford, Denise Lee, Brandon Mosley

Photo by Sheryl Lanzel and Justin Yoder

In March 2020, Turtle Creek Chorale blew its audiences away with the inaugural Rhapsody gala featuring Idina Menzel. Then the pandemic hit. But now, two years later, Rhapsody returned with a bang by bringing in six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald for a concert at the Meyerson Symphony Center on March 5.

The hour-long concert by the most decorated performer in musical theater history was certainly a highlight, but the evening overall brought together glamorous guests ready to support the most recorded men's chorus in the world.

Presented by Lexus and benefiting the Turtle Creek Chorale, the gala also pledged a portion of funds raised to support the work for racial equity and social justice of Black Theatre United, an organization founded by McDonald and other Black artists.

Co-chairs Craig Davis, Kathleen Frankford, Denise Lee, and Brandon Mosley welcomed guests to an elegant meal in the Meyerson lobby before the concert, and encouraged several rounds of fierce bidding for the live auction.

Following a performance by the Turtle Creek Chorale, McDonald appeared to join them on the iconic song "I Am What I Am" from La Cage aux Folles. Her ensuing set included some of her biggest hits, from "Summertime,""Climb Every Mountain,""Stars and the Moon," and an encore of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

Then it was time to dance the night away in the lobby, where the crowd had swelled in size thanks to members of the public that also been welcome to purchase tickets to the concert.

Spotted on the dance floor were Jimmy O'Reilly, David Andrews, Dr. Steven Pounders, LeeAnn Locken, Steve Kemble, Chad Collom, Dr. Carla and Joey Russo, Regina Bruce, John Pickett, Liz Mikel, Ryan Matthieu Smith, and TCC membership president Wes McCormack, board chair Daniel Kuhn, and artistic director Sean Mikel Baugh.

The Turtle Creek Chorale was founded in 1980, and today is comprised of more than 250 singing and auxiliary members who contribute over 100,000 hours annually to rehearsals, performances, and community outreach. You can learn more, donate, and see the Chorale's performance schedule here.

Co-chairs Craig Davis, Kathleen Frankford, Denise Lee, Brandon Mosley

Photo by Sheryl Lanzel and Justin Yoder

Co-chairs Craig Davis, Kathleen Frankford, Denise Lee, Brandon Mosley

concerts fundraisers galas celebrities

Humans, Horses, Hope

Run for the Roses theme spurs Equest’s 45th anniversary Dallas gala

Photo by Tamytha Cameron

Nancy Gopez, Lynn McBee, Steve Kemble, Maggie Cooke Kipp

While spring rainstorms swirled around Dallas-Fort Worth on a recent Saturday night, Gilley’s Dallas reined in one of the city’s most hot-to-trot crowds for Equest’s milestone 45th Anniversary Blue Ribbon Gala.

The sold-out April 25 event drew 600 supporters - outfitted in swingy sequin frocks and polished cowboy boots - to honor more than four decades of transforming lives through equine-assisted therapies and activities.

Chaired by Melinda and Mark Knowles, with Lynn McBee serving as honorary chair, the gala glittered a little more than usual - no surprise with event designer Steve Kemble overseeing a “Run for the Roses” theme. Guests stepped into a dramatic sea of red, with cascading roses, luxe linens, and a whimsical cowboy boot-shaped disco ball setting a glamorous Texas-meets-Kentucky Derby tone.

The evening began with cocktails and silent auction bidding before guests sat for a three-course dinner. After the Rev. Kenneth H. Brannon offered the invocation, mistress of ceremonies Calvert Collins-Bratton guided the program, which included a Color Guard presentation, moving client testimonials, and fundraising opportunities led by auctioneer Louis Murad.

One of the evening’s most poignant moments came when Equest co-founder Susan Schwartz and Adam Telessy of Fred Astaire Dance Studios performed a memorial dance tribute. Schwartz returned to honor Leslie and Hawkins Golden with the Founders Award.

Equest CEO Eric Lindh presented the 2026 Citation Award to Carol Huckin and gave the crowd of patrons and supporters a vision of the future of the organization.

Equest’s guiding message — “Humans. Horses. Hope.” — was woven throughout the night. The organization, founded in 1981, provides equine-facilitated therapies, counseling, and therapeutic horsemanship to children and adults with physical, cognitive, sensory, and learning disabilities, as well as veterans through its Hooves for Heroes program. In 2025 alone, Equest directly served 727 individuals and reached more than 1,500 others through outreach and education, they say.

After an evening celebrating Equest’s 45 years of impact, guests took to the dance floor to the sounds of Jordan Kahn's Manhattan Orchestra.

Among those in attendance were committee members, including: Underwriting co-chairs Nancy Carlson, Alison Malone, and Stacey Walker; auction co-chairs Maggie Cooke Kipp and Nancy Gopez; patron party chair Amy Turner; reservation chair Bonner Allen; and hundreds of VIPs and supporters including Chuck Steelman, Julie Moran, Daniel Valentine, Sarah Valentine, Denise Vrana, Tad Vrana, Anne Ray, Robert Ray, Fonda Arbetter, Shelly Hammer, Carol Huckin, Paige Locke, Chuck Locke, Lisa Laughlin, Peter Weeks, Kay Weeks, Ashling Besgen, Matthew Besgen, Blake Frye, Heather Wiese, Callie Wade, Amanda Gadison, Amy Green, Luis Araujo, Karla Noone, Andrew Noone, Kevin Ward, Meredith McKay, John Riveria, Nico Zevallos, Mackenzie Sork, William Avondet, Harley Cozewith, Blane Balch, and many more.

Photo by Tamytha Cameron

Nancy Gopez, Lynn McBee, Steve Kemble, Maggie Cooke Kipp

fundraisers charity equest equest blue ribbon ball galas