The Dallas Symphony Orchestra League invites you to join in the celebration of music and fashion at the 10th annual Fashion Notes Designer Award Luncheon and Style Show on Thursday,  October 12, 2023 at the Meyerson Symphony Center. Jada Mowles and Laura Price are the event chairs for the luncheon. Nancy Labadie is the DSOL President.

The Honorary Chairs for the event are Karen Cox and her daughter, Isabella Cox, longtime supporters of the Dallas Symphony. Karen is a former Fashion Notes Chair, and Isabella was a Dallas Symphony Orchestra League Debutante in 2020.

The Fashion Notes Designer Award 2023 will be presented to Catalina Gonzalez of Dondolo, a luxury children and woman lifestyle brand. The talented designer and her beautiful lifestyle brand will be celebrated.

The morning will begin at 10:30 with a fashion show followed by lunch and a raffle. Fall fashions from LoveShackFancy, Dondolo, accessories by Milliard Diamond Concierge and boots by Petite Paloma will be featured. The fashion show will be produced by Robyn Chauvin Productions. PaperCity is the digital and print luxury lifestyle media sponsor.

Through this event, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra League strives to raise funds that support the love of music and arts for thousands of young people in the Dallas community. Funds raised help provide quality outreach and educational programs that light the way for talented local musicians. A musical performance by a Young Strings musician will be a highlight of the event.

Sponsorship tables are $15,000, $10,000, $5,000, $3000. Single Tickets are available at $500 (Patron Level) and $300. Tickets are available on the website: www.dallassymphonyleague.com. For further information m.haba@dalsym.com or 214-871-4005.

Mark your calendars for a night of music and dancing on Saturday, January 27, 2024, as the Junior Symphony Ball takes over the iconic Gilley’s Dallas for an evening of fun and entertainment. Full details will be unveiled in the weeks to come.

The lineup of the 2024 Co-Chairs represents schools across Dallas: Ela Austin, Ursuline Academy; Cara Lichty, Episcopal School of Dallas;  Adelaide Boisture, Parish Episcopal School; Cash Nix, Highland Park High School; Caroline Woram, Highland Park High School; Ashton Krug, Jesuit College Prep of Dallas; James Sutherland, St. Mark’s School of Texas; Kate Fagan, The Hockaday School; and Baker Trent, Bishop Lynch High School. 

Their supportive and proud moms are: Suzanne Austin, Jenny Lichty, Ashley Boisture, Jonika Nix, Dana Woram, Holly Krug, Lauren Sutherland, Aimee Fagan, and Katy Trent.

The JSB is the Dallas Symphony Orchestra League’s longest running fundraiser now in its 66^th year. It is a student-led event that unites high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors for a night filled with live music, dance, gaming tables, exciting raffle prizes, and refreshments. Funds raised benefit education and community engagement programs of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.  

Link to high resolution photo  https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/2yzp34ii4xlvaejo2o6ds/h?rlkey=syd3wrdpx93t7rrhy54hgrdqc&dl=0

Married for 33 years, Michael and Victoria Steindorf have a rich Texas history. Victoria was a Highland Park graduate, and in 1881 her great grandfather, Tom Scollard built the first five-story building in downtown Dallas. Her grandmother was a DEB in 1912 and her sister was a DEB in 1908. “My mother was also a DEB,” shared Victoria. “The tradition continued with our daughter, Ellie, who recently participated in the DSOL DEB Ball.” Michael grew up in Houston and West Texas and moved to Dallas in the mid-80s as he joined Norton Rose Fulbright, a law firm here. The Steindorfs have three children – Michael, Caroline, and Ellie. Michael is in private equity and is a partner at Trinity Hunt.  He and his wife have three girls. Caroline is a Highland Park graduate and currently lives in Columbia, South Carolina, with her husband and three sons. Youngest daughter, Ellie, just finished her sophomore year at The University of Alabama where she is studying finance.

Ancestry has become a fascinating part of the Steindorfs’ lives, and they have located genealogical records that have proven to be quite fascinating. “I was never interested much until 2012,” shared Michael. “Victoria’s side of the family can be traced back to ancestors in Jamestown. We recently took a trip to Gettysburg, Jamestown, and a family farm in Virginia where we visited Stephen Bedford’s home. My own ancestors came to Philadelphia in 1751. In a later generation there were four sons who fought in the Civil War. Having that family connection makes it very interesting.” Michael’s side of the family moved to Oak Cliff in 1900 and the oldest daughter was Della Owens Rice. In 1928 she was hired by Herbert Marcus, co-founder of Neiman Marcus and became one of its first models. “She used to ride her bike from Oak Cliff across the viaduct to Neiman’s to work downtown,” said Michael. “Her claim to fame was that she became friends with Grace Kelly and was involved in the design of her wedding dress in 1956. They exchanged letters for many years and some of those are now family heirlooms.”  Interestingly, Michael and Victoria say that their daughter, Ellie, bears a resemblance to Della.

Staying involved and plugged into the community is important to Victoria, Michael, and Ellie. Victoria has volunteered in a multitude of ways. She was introduced to Junior League Dallas in the early 90s by her mother and has also been involved with the Women’s Auxiliary to Children’s Medical Hospital. She has been a volunteer at Armstrong Elementary, McCulloch and HPHS. Victoria has participated in fundraising for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, as well as raised money for Dallas Summer Musicals and participated in National Charity League, which introduced Ellie into volunteering. She enjoys golf, tennis, scuba diving, and genealogy. Michael, along with Victoria, is a member of Dallas Country Club and Park Cities Presbyterian Church. He is a past chairman of Dallas Summer Musicals and has previously served on the boards of the North Texas Food Bank and Dallas Opera. In his free time, he enjoys golf, SEC football, genealogy and US History. Ellie continues philanthropic endeavors while in college and is a member of the Alpha Chi Omega Sorority. She, along with her mother, is a member of Daughters of the American Revolution – Highland Park Chapter and has previously participated in a dance marathon to raise money for the Children’s Hospital. Additionally, she has participated in La Fiesta to raise money for arts at Highland Park.

All of these activities tend to keep the Steindorf family busy, but they do love to vacation with some of their favorite destinations being Seaside, Florida and Lake Michigan. “Lake Michigan is always a favorite,” said Michael. “Ellie grew up going there, as did Victoria, and it’s a great place to visit.” Over the years business has taken Michael to New York and London frequently and Victoria and Ellie have occasionally tagged along. The family enjoys seeing shows on Broadway and in the West End and keeping up friendships they have made in both cities.

Describing themselves as traditional, the Steindorfs say they like to perpetuate traditions. “We value those traditions and try to stay involved,” shared Victoria. “We also loved watching old movies and listening to 40s music as Ellie was growing up. By the time she was eight years old, she could recite word-for-word the Hope and Crosby Road movies.” Ellie laughed and added, “I still can! It puts everyone else to sleep, but the three of us love them more than anything!”

The Underwood family has had a rich and adventurous life together! From their diverse backgrounds to their love for travel and exploration and, career accomplishments, their story began in South America, where Gina’s grandfather, a successful businessman, investor, and politician in Peru, had a passion for real estate. Gina shared that he even purchased a property in Louisiana, where she spent her formative years in Baton Rouge until the age of 10. Despite English being her first language, the Underwood family is bilingual, and Gina became fluent in Spanish after moving back to Peru at the age of 10. She pursued her studies at Universidad del Pacífico, earning a degree in business and finance. With a deep-seated affinity for the oil and gas industry, Gina worked at ExxonMobil Exploration and Producing Peru and crossed paths with Trey, who was also working in the same industry in Peru for his father’s oil and gas company. Trey lived in Peru for 14 years.

Trey is from Dallas, having grown up in Preston Hollow and attended Park Cities schools before pursuing his graduate degree at Midwestern University for business administration.

After meeting Gina in Peru, they returned to Dallas, where they got married and welcomed their first daughter, Megan McKamy. However, familial obligations prompted them to make a move back to Peru for three years to assist Trey’s family with the formation and administration of their agricultural company in Northern Peru. It was during this period that their second daughter, Charlotte Kate, came into the world. Gina fondly recalled how they took the girls on adventures all over Peru and South America during their early years.

Following their time in Peru, the family relocated once again to Dallas. Gina was rehired by ExxonMobil Corporation, this time at the corporate office in Irving. She devoted herself to the company for a number of years before retiring to focus on caring for Megan and Charlotte. During this time, Gina found fulfillment in pursuing activities she had always desired, such as joining the Junior Group of Dallas Garden Club, the Afternoon Book Review Club, playing tennis at Northwood, and Mahjong with a beloved mahjong group formed by her friend group at Ursuline Academy “The Magnificent Seven” and indulging in their family passion for travel. Eventually, she reentered the oil and gas industry as a consultant while also serving as a district Spanish Translator and Interpreter for Garland ISD and the Dallas County Court Juvenile Department. Meanwhile, Trey flourished as a Finance executive at AutoNation and frequently embarked on fishing trips to the Texas coast, making the most of his leisure time.

 Their eldest daughter, Megan, attended St. Rita Catholic School and Ursuline Academy before moving on to the University of Texas at Austin (UT).  She is an active member of Kappa Alpha Theta and finds joy in playing tennis, golf and traveling. Currently, Megan is completing an internship for the Highland Park Education Foundation and is also business owner of MUM, a company that imports baby alpaca and designs scarfs and home accessories. Charlotte, at the age of 15, attended Christ the King Catholic School and now attends Highland Park High School. Her love for fashion has ignited aspirations of pursuing it as a career, with plans to potentially attend prestigious institutions such as FIT, Parsons, or a fashion business school in Europe. Trey’s mother, Kathleen McKamy Johnson, was an Idlewild and Fiesta San Antonio Debutante, so it was inevitable for Megan and Charlotte to become Debs themselves, Gina expressed.  Kathleen always hosted Deb parties, and Gina vividly remembers being captivated by the grandeur of these events. In fact, Kathleen even preserved her own Idlewild dress to be passed down to Megan and Charlotte.

As avid travelers, the Underwoods have explored various destinations worldwide, with Greece holding a special place in their hearts. They make it a point to visit Greece every year, although one amusing incident involved traveling five hours to Olympia, the home of the ancient Olympic Games, only to find it closed. Nevertheless, it was still a memorable trip. Their adventures have also taken them to Japan and China, countries rich in culture and history. This summer, they have plans to travel to Croatia, Italy, and return to Greece. Closer to home, they enjoy frequenting Café Pacific for intimate date nights, as well as Northwood Country Club and Dallas Petroleum Club. They often take leisurely walks from their home to Highland Park Village, using it as a time to plan their next big adventure.