There has always been a strong link between the North Texas business and arts communities. That bond is celebrated each year with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s Holly Jolly Celebration: A C-Suite Christmas event, which benefits the DSO’s educational and outreach programs. The popular event is coming up next week: Dec. 7, at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center.

Last year, I had the thrill of conducting the DSO as its phenomenally talented musicians played a couple of pieces from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. (Read how Lucy Billingsley helped prepare me for the gig here.) For 2022, business headliners include Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall, former AT&T Business CEO Anne Chow, Mercado 369 and Latino Center for Leadership Development Founder Jorge Baldor, and WFAA President and GM Brad Ramsey.

In a new twist, the DSO is seeking 100 North Texas companies to contribute $2,000 each to support a year of free music lessons to 200 students in southern Dallas via an initiative called Instruments for Change. The program’s success will be celebrated at the C-Suite Christmas event, with students performing in the lobby prior to the concert and recognized from the stage.

The DSO is currently about 80 percent toward its goal, which it hopes to hit by the Dec. 31 deadline. Companies that support the program will receive complimentary tickets to the C-Suite Christmas concert.