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WARREN — The Warren Symphony Orchestra launched into its 52nd season with a night of fundraising and entertainment on Jan. 29.
More than 190 people attended the annual fundraiser gala, held at Andiamo Warren.
The orchestra was started in response to public schools eliminating string programs, according to Julie Nemeth, who handles the orchestra’s public relations.
“The elimination of a string program is devastating to a community,” she said.
WJR’s Marie Osborne, who emceed the event, remembered seeing the orchestra evolve as she was growing up in Warren.
“I went to Fitzgerald High School … We had an awesome music department and a fantastic band program. And when this orchestra started, it sort of gave meaning to all those students who were in band,” she said. “They knew that what they were doing was important in a much bigger picture.”
Diane Young, a member of the orchestra’s board of directors, said the youth concert put on by the orchestra each year inspires hundreds of students to pursue music when they enter middle school.
“It’s one of the highlights of my year to see their faces when they walk in, because the next year at their school, when they go into sixth grade, they have a choice of going to band or choir, and we know that that concert that we host every year inspires many of them to pursue music,” she said.
The program concluded with a performance by the orchestra, featuring a guest appearance by Jenny Cresswell and tunes including “As Time Goes By,” by Herman Hupfield, “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” by Cole Porter, and a medley tribute to Irving Berlin.
“We need fundraisers like this,” Nemeth said. “This is a professional orchestra. We pay these musicians to perform.”
Nemeth said the event raised a total of $38,000.
The symphony’s next performance will be held at 3 p.m. March 1 in the auditorium at Warren Woods Middle School and will feature Mozart’s “Flute Concerto in G Major.”
For a full list of upcoming performances, go to warrensymphonyorchestra.org.
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