Guests will enjoy an enchanting evening of Viennese music including a suite by Fux, a programmatic work by Schmeltzer that depicts a fencing lesson, the Pizzicato Polka by Strauss and operatic excerpts by Mozart and Gluck featuring soprano Lauren Snouffer, a 2012 finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and currently a member of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, and countertenor John Holiday, a native Houstonian who makes his Carnegie Hall and Metropolitan Opera debuts this season.

The concert is followed by the Ars Lyrica Annual Gala at 10:30 p.m. in the Grand Lobby of the Hobby Center. Guests will enjoy flowing champagne, hors d'oeuvres from Artista Restaurant, Viennese waltzes and the opportunity to bid on a distinctive silent auction. At the stroke of midnight everyone will join in singing "Auld Lang Syne."