Back to Work A vocalist and string musicians perform onstage at a gala beneath blue and purple event lighting.

Curtis Institute of Music Gala

Overview

Showorks provided audiovisual event production for the Curtis Institute of Music Gala on May 15, 2026, at The Bellevue Hotel in Philadelphia. The evening brought guests together in celebration of Curtis and its students, with proceeds helping support the school’s tuition-free education. Showorks handled the audio, video, staging, and lighting for the event.

The Challenge

With student performances at the center of the gala, the production had to support two different parts of the evening. Showorks handled audio for the main program from the primary stage, while the center stage was reserved for student performances. For those performances, Curtis chose to keep both the singers and instruments unamplified. The idea was to keep the sound as organic as possible and give the students the opportunity to control the mood of the room on their own. The venue also called for a different approach to video. To position the screens where they were needed, the Showorks team hung them from the balcony using a cantilevered truss and pole setup. The Showorks team provided:

  • Audio for the main program
  • Video
  • Staging
  • Event lighting
  • Cantilevered screen setup from the balcony

Overview

Showorks provided audiovisual event production for the Curtis Institute of Music Gala on May 15, 2026, at The Bellevue Hotel in Philadelphia. The evening brought guests together in celebration of Curtis and its students, with proceeds helping support the school’s tuition-free education. Showorks handled the audio, video, staging, and lighting for the event.

The Outcome

The Curtis Institute of Music Gala put the students and their music at the center of the evening. Showorks built the production around that choice, supporting the main program with audio while giving the performances room to stand on their own. The event included:  

  • Audio support for the main program
  • Video, staging, and lighting
  • Screens hung from the balcony to work within the room
  • Production support throughout the gala
For the Showorks team, getting it right meant understanding where production needed to step in and where it needed a step back. The technology supported the evening without competing with the students and the music everyone had come to hear.

Back to Work Start a Project
Showorks AV lights a ballroom in blue and purple as a vocalist performs with a string ensemble.
Showorks AV provides warm lighting for a seated gala with musicians performing on an upper balcony.
Showorks AV supports a gala speaker onstage beneath hanging lights.
A singer and violinist perform onstage as gala guests applaud under blue lighting.

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