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WARREN — Dressed in a sea of black and white attire, supporters filled The Gazebo Banquet Center to standing room only Jan. 25 for the Warren Symphony Orchestra’s 50th Anniversary Black & White Gala celebrating classical music in the city.
“I drew inspiration for the WSO’s 50th Anniversary Gala from the infamous Truman Capote Ball of 1966,” said Diane Young, benefit committee chair, as she explained the black and white theme.
Truman Capote, a 20th-century writer and actor known for his passion for life, reportedly had a Black and White Ball on Nov. 28, 1966. He invited nearly 600 of his “closest friends” that spanned the who’s who of luminaries of that time from the world of publishing, politics, entertainment, captains of industry, socialites and others. Some described it as the “best party ever.”
Many said the Black & White Gala was a great event. Smiles and laughter filled the room, and 150 tickets were sold.
“Last night was so successful, we have already talked about repeating the event for next year and making it perhaps an annual event,” said Warren City Council Secretary Mindy Moore, a Warren Symphony Orchestra board member.
In attendance were elected officials including Warren Mayor Lori Stone, Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel, state Sen. Paul Wojno, current and former Warren City Council members, members of the Macomb County Board of Commissioners, leaders in the community and several 37th District Court judges.
“This is a great community event. It shows a lot of support and love for our Warren Symphony Orchestra that is such a jewel to our community,” said Judge Steve Bieda of the 37th District Court in Warren. “I was very proud and delighted to be the honorary chair of the gala. It’s (the Warren Symphony Orchestra is) something I’ve been attending since I was a kid.”
The event was a fundraiser for the orchestra. The nonprofit relies on donations, grants and funding. Donation envelopes were at each table.
“Usually, one fundraiser would pay for one concert,” Moore said. “Because concerts are pretty expensive.”
Moore continued.
“It would be great to have enough funding that would pay for our concerts and to have a sponsor for our youth concerts,” said Moore. “Certainly, part of our mission is to introduce youth to symphonic music. And we want to inspire interest and love of all kinds of music to children.”
The orchestra was started when string instruments were removed from a local school district’s curriculum. The WSO was created to expose school age children to classical music and build the next generation of classical music lovers, and to inspire a love for the arts.
Wojno presented three tributes to the mayor honoring the Warren Symphony Orchestra. Included were tributes from U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, the Macomb County Board of Commissioners and the state of Michigan, which was signed by several of Stone’s former colleagues in the Michigan Legislature and by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
The gala started with words from Andrew Neer, the new Warren Symphony Orchestra’s musical director and conductor. He asked how many in attendance had seen a symphony orchestra perform in the past year. Less than 25% of the more than 150 people in the room raised their hands.
Two tickets were placed at each seat for the orchestra’s next performance, on Feb. 4. The symphony will perform Stravinsky’s suite from “The Firebird” ballet, Mendelssohn’s “Fingal’s Cave,” and Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet (Fantasy Overture).”
The Warren Symphony Orchestra String Quartet performed at the gala. Sherri Martilla, a violinist and member of the quartet, has been with the orchestra for 30 years. She also holds the title of concert master and personnel manager for the orchestra.
“There are several of us who are still around. We were with the orchestra with Dave Daniels, founder of the orchestra and musical conductor of the orchestra,” Martilla said.
Many from the orchestra talked about how making music with others is an emotional and bonding experience.
“It’s a pretty cool thing to be sitting in the orchestra and participating with your part and then being so close to all these instrumentalists and creating this musical experience,” Martilla said. “It’s just a very unique thing that we get to do as musicians, especially with symphonic music. That’s why we all keep coming back.”
The Macombers, a group of singers, dancers and actors from Macomb Community College, performed. They were a crowd favorite singing standards, musical theater numbers and pop genre favorites. The selections included “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” “Singin’ in the Rain,” and “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You.” Many in the audience sang along and moved to the music.
