The instant the San Diego Symphony played the inaugural year’s fanfare, the Bravo San Diego gala became a party so memorable, so magical and so kaleidoscopic that people felt they must return the following year to capture whatever succulent morsel they might have missed at their initial go-round.

Although food and drink abound, the best serving is not edible. It is a part of what is called “an all-you-can-eat buffet of the arts” by Jung-Ho Pak, celebrity master of ceremonies and San Diego Symphony artistic director.

The annual arts showcase — this year 680 performers from 60 arts organizations at 18 performance areas throughout the Westgate Hotel — is designed to juxtapose business leaders and the performing arts in an intimate setting and to see what transpires. Supported by 18 corporate sponsors, 26 in-kind sponsors, seven media sponsors, 43 vendors and 115 Bravo Angel couples, Bravo 2001 takes place Nov. 17. The San Diego Performing Arts League’s Arts and Business Program benefits.

Bravo’s progenitors are Westgate Hotel General Manager Georg Hochfilzer and Performing Arts League executive director Alan Ziter. Once the seeds of the idea germinated, Hochfilzer and Ziter enlisted the invaluable services of experienced extravaganza producer Rob Appel, who makes the intricacies and inner workings of Bravo look easy. Co-chairs are arts patron Lisa Wilson and Manpower partner Phil Blair.

Some would say that Bravo is just a social event where a lot of rich people get together to show off their clothes.

“Sure, I’ve heard that,” says Wilson, a lawyer and arts activist. “The basic individual ticket price is only $150. Consider what you get for that. At most galas, you sit down at a huge dinner table, listen to speeches, and then maybe have some dancing and that’s it. At Bravo you can stay from 6 p.m. till past midnight, depending upon your endurance level. You wander at will, see theater, ballet, modern dance and puppeteers. You hear four symphony orchestras, musical comedy, opera, choral groups and chamber music. It’s a great value, an evening full of things one might not otherwise experience, a showcase of San Diego’s living and breathing arts.

“Some of the smaller arts organizations need exposure. They don’t have marketing budgets,” Wilson adds. “They need an evening like this, where people who might become patrons are exposed to them. Bravo gets business people interactive with arts organizations that need such alliances.”

In its third year, Bravo enjoys a proven and accelerating track record. The first year’s proceeds were $25,000, the second year’s, $120,000, all of which benefited, enhanced and enlarged the scope of the Arts and Business Program of the San Diego Performing Arts League. Wilson says attorneys working with arts organizations through PAL’s Lawyers for the Arts program are “not your senior people. These are young lawyers starting a practice. It’s very exciting to see them getting involved in the arts community.”

As for Bravo seeming trivial in light of Sept. 11, Wilson says, “I had some ambivalence initially, but I think art heals. You can find expression and comfort in participating or viewing. It’s not a diversion. Art is definitely something positive in a time when we’re all a little unsure. That’s why art has always survived throughout history. With the drop in tourism and travel there is going to be an even greater need to support the arts locally, because they’re not going to be able to rely on government or TOT funds as much as in the past.”

Wilson reports an increase this year in the number of underwriters as well as increased numbers of patrons signed on at the Angel ($1,500) level. “I anticipate that ticket sales will be great as well,” she says.

Attendance is limited to 1,100 because, as Hochfilzer says, “The Westgate is a smaller, boutique hotel. We don’t have a golf course. We’re not next to the water, but we are San Diego’s No. 1 arts and culture hotel. We may be limited in how big we can make this event, but we can always make it better and more prestigious. We can do this in such a huge magnitude because of the incredible commitment of the hotel’s 200 employees, who love putting on this event because it makes the hotel shine and come to life.”

The performers move unseen from the Green Room — a convivial place, say inside sources — to their performance area. This bit of magic is effected by Appel’s cadre of volunteers and staff and by the Westgate’s maze of hidden passageways and staircases.

The San Diego Men’s Chorus, which will perform again this year, pleases the crowd at the 2000 gala. (photo/Paul Nestor)

Upon their arrival, patrons receive a schedule of events along with a symphonic fanfare and welcome. After hoisting a flute of the bubbly, they wander through the artistic and gustatory riches laid before them on the Westgate terrace, in public areas and in salons located on three levels.

Some opt to remain in one ornately beautiful salon and let the entertainment come to them. “You can plunk yourself down in a room comfortably and see five performances,” says Ziter. “Even though Bravo was near perfect in the past, they’ve done a little internal tweaking that most guests won’t notice. “The flow will be a little better,” he says. The crystal pendants will be polished and so will the performers, and, as Ziter says. “You can come three years in a row and not have the same experience.”