The Power of Harmony: The Centennial Gala for United Way and the Stockton Symphony
Often our world feels dissonant. The clashes and chaos among people and nations take center stage, overpowering everything else and making peace seem far away. However, when we turn our gaze toward our local community, we can find places where harmony overcomes the dissonance, bringing people together and rising above the conflict.
This year, two organizations that have brought harmony to our local community celebrate their centennial anniversaries: the Stockton Symphony and United Way. Instead of hosting separate celebrations, they have decided to come together, highlighting their similarities in an unforgettable gala that shows both their gratitude to the community that has supported them for the past 100 years and the zealous joy that drives them forward to last for another century to come.
The connection between United Way and the Stockton Symphony may not be immediately apparent, but for Maestro Peter Jaffe of the Stockton Symphony and Kristen Birtwhistle, the CEO of United Way, nothing could be more fitting. “We’re a convener; we bring people together for change. We invest and build nonprofits so they can serve the community,” Kristen said as she explained their mission. United Way has been carrying out their mission of “mobilizing the caring power of the community” since 1926, bringing together funds and community support for a vast number of organizations, including Hospice of San Joaquin, El Concilio, the 180 Teen Center in Lodi and more. “Our symphony is the ability to make nonprofits sing and soar,” Kristen said with a laugh as she compared the Stockton Symphony and United Way. “Peter is in the art of music, and I’m in the art of service.”
Almost everyone knows what a symphony is and what it does to some degree, but its deeper purpose thrums beneath the obvious. There is a mystical element to music; it awakens inside of us things that cannot be put into words, complex blends of emotions that range from cathartic to transcendent. Live performance enhances the experience, introducing a vibrant synergy in which the whole becomes so much more than the sum of its parts, laced with the thrilling risk of musicians playing in real time without the safety net of autotune or editing. That type of performance takes a group of individuals and unites them in a blend of harmony and emotion that cannot be experienced anywhere else. “The basic ethos of what we do is bring people into a concert hall to take them out of the day-to-day troubles of their world and have this vicarious adventure thrill,” Peter said. “Our mission is to inspire joy and build community through the magic of music.”
The two organizations have collaborated with each other throughout the years in various ways, including United Way’s providing meeting space for the Stockton Symphony’s board meetings. “The association between the symphony and United Way goes back decades,” Peter said. “It’s coming to fruition in the anniversary celebration.” Their joint centennial gala will happen on September 26, and it’s slated to be a celebration worthy of their 100 years.
Kristen and Peter will emcee it together, sharing their own personal touches and years of experience with the audience. It will be hosted at the River Mill, a beautiful building with a history to rival both the Symphony’s and United Way’s, the ambiance amplifying the history and elegance of their celebrated century. “It’s a gala in the true old-fashioned term of what a gala means, a very elaborate and wonderful party, a huge celebration that really is quite unusual in its collaboration,” Peter said. They describe it as an “unforgettable” evening, with fantastic food and drink and a variety of high-class musical entertainment. The gala celebrates not only their longstanding presence in the community, but the community itself, which has shown its steadfast support since their founding. In particular, United Way will be recognizing Donna Ng, who has worked with them for 50 years, making her the longest-serving employee of the organization worldwide. The Stockton Symphony will be recognizing Francesca Vera, the niece of their founding conductor, Manlio Silva, and showing their gratitude for her lifelong support of their work and mission.
As the Stockton Symphony and United Way reflect on their past 100 years and prepare for the centennial gala, they also look ahead to the future with hope. “What we’re doing together is much more powerful than what we could do by ourselves,” Kristen said. “Innovation is important; we have to be built to last for the next century.”
Peter agreed, reflecting on how the ability to grow has ensured the Symphony’s continued success. “We continue to evolve and reinvent ourselves, but at the same time, not in such a radical way we lose our way,” said Peter. To stand the test of time, the roots of tradition must be nourished along with the evolution of growth, and the Stockton Symphony and United Way stand as testaments to that. “We don’t have enough music, we don’t have enough partnerships,” Kristen said. Their collaboration over their centennial anniversaries is a testament to their commitment to bring harmony to our local community and to the world. And as long as community comes together to support the things that combat chaos and are built to last, the dissonance in our world will fade to the power of harmony.
