Oak Lawn Band is celebrating its 45th anniversary on Oct. 11 with special concert at Moody Performance Hall benefitting Resource Center, OLB officials have announced.

“In a time when LGBTQIA+ visibility and rights remain at the center of cultural conversation, … Dallas’ vibrant symphonic band for the LGBTQIA+ and ally community — is stepping boldly into the spotlight with its most ambitious concert yet,” OLC announced through a press release last month.

Sapphire Celebration: 45 Years of Pride starts at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 11. At Moody Performance Hall, 2520 Flora St. Tickets are $10 plus a fee of $1.79 for general admission (floor level, back rows) and balcony seating, $20 plus a fee of $2.29 for General Admission Plus (floor level, center rows) and $30 for Premium (floor level, rows closest to the stage. Tickets are available now at the Oak Lawn Band website.

According to the press release, Sapphire Celebration “marks a significant milestone and launches OLB’s new coalition-building initiative designed to unite organizations and uplift the LGBTQIA+ community through music and connection.”

The press release notes that OLC chose Resource Center as its beneficiary for Sapphire Celebration because Resource Center “stands as one of the nation’s largest LGBTQIA+ community organizations and a primary HIV/AIDS service provider in North Texas,” serving more than 60,000 people each year.

Rhea Pollard with Resource Center said, “The Resource Center has always pursued societal equity for the LGBTQIA+ community, and our partnership with Oak Lawn Band for Sapphire Celebration is a powerful example of that commitment in action.

“We’re honored to be a part of this commemorative experience,” Pollard added.

Since its founding in 1983, the press release notes, Resource Center “has been a lifeline in Dallas, providing health services, advocacy, education and cultural programs” for the LGBTQ+ and HIV/AIDS communities. Since its own founding 45 years ago, OLB has “brought the LGBTQIA+ community in Dallas/Fort Worth together through music, activism and performance,” the press release continues. “Partnering with Resource Center underscores OLB’s belief that community progress requires collective action.”

Oak Lawn Band President Susan Elbedeiwy, said, “The partnership between Oak Lawn Band and Resource Center reflects OLB’s commitment to not only celebrate its own history but to strengthen the organizations that safeguard and empower the LGBTQIA+ community in North Texas.

“The Oak Lawn Band wouldn’t be where it is today without organizations like the Resource Center ensuring our community members have access to healthcare resources, education, and support,” she continued. “That’s why we’re inviting the entire city to celebrate the progress we’ve made together, and to recommit to the work still ahead.”

Sapphire Celebration will “weave together classical repertoires, Broadway favorites, contemporary commissions and multimedia storytelling” in a program “designed to move our audience both musically and emotionally,” said OLC Artistic Director Nickl Nunley. “Every selection was chosen with intention, from honoring our earliest performances to highlighting landmark moments like marriage equality.

“Music has always been the heartbeat of the LGBTQIA+ community, and this concert is our chance to tell that story on Oak Lawn Band’s biggest stage yet,” Nunley continued.

Included in the concert will be “Pegasus Fanfare,” honoring Dallas’s red Pegasus and OLB’s earliest identity; “John and Jim” by Viet Cuong, a Texas premiere marking the 10th anniversary of marriage equality  with band member love stories projected live on stage; a reimagined version of John Lennon’s “Imagine” with a visual time capsule of OLB’s 45 years; selections from Wicked, celebrating the queer-coded bond that has defined modern musical theater; and “Get On Your Feet” in a Whitney Houston-inspired celebration complete with color guard visuals, drag artistry “and a rainbow crescendo worthy of the milestone.”

— Tammye Nash

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