The Academy of Music Anniversary Concert and Ball, which benefits both the Academy and The Philadelphia Orchestra, always takes place on the last Saturday in January. In 2016, two feet of snow forced the last-minute cancellation of the entire event. But this year was a banner year, and the turnout for the Academy’s 160th anniversary was overwhelming. About 2,000 celebrants enjoyed a memorable evening of music, food, entertainment and fun.

Sen. Bob Casey and Gov. Tom Wolf were among the guests at the concert and ball. However, Casey and Wolf left the pre-concert reception briefly to head to the airport to show their support for the protesters and for the immigrants who had been detained or forced to leave the country because of the Trump administration’s executive order on immigration.

Other distinguished guests at the concert and ball included Adele Schaeffer, president of the Academy of Music board of trustees; Amy Buckman, manager of public relations and special events at Philadelphia Media Network (The Inquirer, Daily News, Philly.com); Larry Kaiser, M.D., CEO of Temple University Health System, senior executive vice president for health affairs and dean of the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University; Dr. Kevin Johnson, president and CEO of OIC of Philadelphia (Opportunities Industrialization Center); and Larry Dubinski, CEO of the Franklin Institute.

The concert was held at the Academy of Music, with Martin Short as the guest entertainer. Short sang a few songs with the orchestra and then did a mock interview with Music Director Yannick Nezet-Seguin, which had both the director and the audience roaring with laughter.

Then guests made their way to the Hyatt at The Bellevue for a number of ballrooms with orchestras and a sit-down dinner. At the end of the evening, everyone left with a copy of the fabulous program journal as a memento of the event.

Photos by Bonnie Squires.