During an early autumn evening last Thursday filled with wine, music and conversation, over 150 musicians, patrons and Monroe County public welcomed Leonardo Panigada as the new conductor of the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra at the Oliver Winery.
Co-sponsored by 103.7 WFIU, IU's public radio station, the BSO fundraising event opened at 6:30 p.m. to guests with gourmet hors d'oeuvres and a plethora of Oliver wines for visitors to taste. Providing the evening's entertainment was Karl Sturbaum's Jazz Group, whose lead member, Karl Sturbaum, is a cellist for the BSO.
With jazz music floating in the humid, twilight air, guests browsed the tables laden with prizes for the night's raffle. Among the gifts were concert, theater and sports tickets, gift baskets, retail gift certificates, fine arts and crafts, CDs and more. The master of ceremonies for the night was George Walker, the classical music programmer for WFIU. Opening the evening with welcome remarks, Walker soon gave the microphone away to Panigada, whose thick accent gave all in attendance a hint of what is to come for the BSO concerts.