Join us to celebrate Smith College’s 150th anniversary

Description of the event

Smith 150 at Disney Concert Hall
from $150.00

February, 1, 2026

2:00 pm

Los Angeles, CA

Christie Winkelman ‘92, Britt Neff ‘94, Mandy Barton Clark AC’95, Michelle Wong ‘19, Julia Collins ‘17, Amy Gardner ‘92, Robin Winfield ‘79, Kate Chaffee ‘05, Joanne Liskin Cloutier ‘84, Robin Phillips ‘95, Vivian Sayward ‘88, Sue Ellen Schuerman ‘85, Sheryl Thomas ‘90, Julia DeKay ‘93

Host committee

Deborah L. Duncan ‘77  (2016-20, 2009-2016), Sidney H. Golub (2003-13), Alexander C. Lindsey (2003-13), Judith Bronstein Milestone ‘66(2000-10), Carlene Hatchell Miller ‘65 (1993-98), Susan Porth ‘70 (2001-2011), Lois Hoffman Thompson ‘66 (2012-2020), Annie Morita ’90 (2006-2011), Madeleine Fackler ’80 (2014-22), Camille O’Bryant ’83 (2015-2019), Midge Costin ’78 (2025- present)

Honorary host committee

  • President and CEO, Los Angeles Philharmonic Association

    Kim Noltemy began her tenure as President & Chief Executive Officer of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association in July 2024. She brings to Los Angeles more than a quarter century of leadership experience in American symphony organizations.

  • Conductor

    Born in Hong Kong, Elim Chan studied at Smith College in Massachusetts and at the University of Michigan. In 2014, she became the first female winner of the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition and went on to spend her 2015/16 season as Assistant Conductor at the London Symphony Orchestra, where she worked closely with Valery Gergiev. In the following season, Elim Chan joined the Dudamel Fellowship program of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She also owes much to the support and encouragement of Bernard Haitink, whose master classes she attended in Lucerne in 2015. 

  • President, Smith College

    Sarah Willie-LeBreton has served as the 12th president of Smith College since 2023. She earned a B.A. from Haverford College, and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Northwestern University, all in sociology. She taught at Colby and Bard Colleges before being tenured at Swarthmore College, where she spent 26 years, concluding with her appointment as provost and dean of the faculty.

 FAQs

  • Sleigh bells and sweet melodies tumble out from Mahler’s Fourth Symphony, painting a scene the composer compared to “a dewdrop on a flower that suddenly illuminated by the sun, bursts into a thousand lights and colors.” Former Dudamel Fellow Elim Chan leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic as they traverse a shifting atmosphere of mellow woodwinds, menacing trumpet calls, and eager timpani wallops, before approaching the gates of heaven.

    When everything unravels in the final movement, South African soprano Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha voices Mahler’s joyful child, envisioning what lies beyond the pearly gates. With her “sumptuous, plush sound,” Rangwanasha “floats high notes with almost indecent ease. Hear a few of them live and it’s as if you’ve died and (sins allowing) gone straight to Heaven” (The Times of London).

  • General admission: includes one orchestra-facing ticket for the concert as well as admission to the reception.

    VIP: Includes all of the above, and …

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