4.2.12: Spring Gala benefits | New York Social Diary

Spring Gala benefits

The cast of the NY Philharmonic Spring Gala concert, conducted by Ted Sperling.

On Monday, March 26, 2012 the New York Philharmonic hosted Anywhere I Wander: The Frank Loesser Songbook, a Spring Gala benefit. 330 guests attended the event and over $875,000 was raised for the Philharmonic.

The evening celebrated the music of Frank Loesser, the late legendary Broadway composer of Where's Charley?, Guys and Dolls, The Most Happy Fella, Greenwillow, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Directed and conducted by Tony Award winner Ted Sperling, with Andrew Palermo as associate director and choreographer, the performance featured an all-star cast which included (in alphabetical order): John Bolton, Ann Hampton Callaway, Victoria Clark, Jason Danieley, Bernard Dotson, Marc Kudisch, Robert Morse, Michael Seelbach, Bryn Terfel, Mary Testa, and a special appearance by Loesser's widow and leading lady Jo Sullivan Loesser.

Philharmonic Executive Director Designate Matthew VanBesien, Gala Co-Chairman Jo Sullivan Loesser, Rosanne Jowitt, Board Member Karen LeFrak, and Chairman Gary W. Parr

Guests of the Spring Gala arrived at Avery Fisher Hall beginning at 6:00 p.m. for an hour-long cocktail reception on the Grand Promenade. The concert began at 7:30 p.m., followed by a post-concert dinner also on the Grand Promenade.

The evening's event was catered by Restaurant Associates, and the décor was provided by Van Vliet & Trap.

This Gala benefit was presented by BNY Mellon. Gala Co-Chairmen were Alec Baldwin and Jo Sullivan Loesser, and Senior Executive Vice Chairmen were Agnes and Gerald L. Hassell. Vice Chairmen for the event were Daria L. Foster, Rob and Mary Henrikson, and Ingeborg and Ira Rennert.

Board Member Sandra Warshawsky and Stanford Warshawsky

Gala Co-Chairman and Board Member Alec Baldwin and Hilaria Thomas

Gala Vice Chairmen Ira and Ingeborg Rennert with Dr. Albert and Shirley Lefkowits

Martina and Tim Keaney with Agnes Hassell

Agnes Hassell and Barbara Jackson

Board Member and Special Events Committee Chairman Karen LeFrak, Board Member Peter Cummings, and Kimberly Strauss

Chairman Gary W. Parr and Board Member Ronald J. Ulrich

Board Member Benjamin M. Rosen, Robert Morse, and Donna Rosen

Eve Plumb

Board Member and Special Events Committee Chairman Karen LeFrak and Richard LeFrak

Gala Co-Chairman Jo Sullivan Loesser, Ted Chapin, and Heather Hitchens

Gala Co-Chairmen Jo Sullivan Loesser and Alec Baldwin

Board Member Timothy George and Cosby George with Philharmonic President and Executive Director Zarin Mehta

Board Member Gerald L. Hassel and Agnes Hassell

Board Member Honey Kurtz and Philharmoninc Executive Director Designate Matthew VanBesien

Christine Schwarzman, Richard LeFrak, and Abby Milstein

Donna Rosen and Board Member Benjamin M. Rosen

Board Member Joel I. Picket and Joan Picket

Board Member Rob Henrikson and Mary Henrikson

Robert Morse, Hilaria Thomas, and Gala Co-Chairman and Board Member Alec Baldwin

Philharmonic President and Executive Director Zarin Mehta and Board Member Daria L. Foster

Board Member Gerald L. Hassell, Chairman, President, and CEO, BNY Mellon, and Liz Peek

Victoria Clark and Mrs. William T. Knight III

Board Member Daria L. Foster and Stephen Brown

Spring Gala centerpiece

Tuesday, March 20th New York City – A dazzling party was held at the Upper East Side townhouse of Estée Lauder Group President John Demsey to celebrate his birthday and the birthdays of his fellow Pisceans, CNN anchor Alina Cho and top modeling agent Marilyn Gauthier.

The hosts welcomed a tidal wave of faces including fashion and style gurus Thom Browne, Carolina Herrera, Fern Mallis, Bergdorf Goodman’s Linda Fargo, Coach’s Ronald Frasch with wife Georgia Frasch, Fay Ricotta of Saks Fifth Avenue, Carly Cushnie and Michelle Ochs of Cushnie et Ochs, who dressed Alina Cho for the fete, and celebrity hair stylist Sally Hershberger. Many members of the Estée Lauder “family” stopped by to enjoy a glass of champagne including Fabrizio Freda, Jane Hertzmark Hudis, Annemarie Iverson, Maureen Case, Alexandra Trower, Donald Robertson and Joe Spellman. Many fellow anchors and reporters joined in celebrating Ms. Cho’s birthday, including Rosanna Scotto, Erica and Geraldo Rivera, Jason Carroll, producers Ethel Bass and Susan Chun, Gigi Stone, Felicia Taylor, and Robert Zimmerman. John Demsey’s parents, Renee and Joe Demsey came to wish their son a happy birthday along with Youngja Cho, who helped her daughter Alina blow out the candles.

Felicia Taylor, Fern Mallis, Ingrid Sischy, Sandra Brant, and Jane Hertzmark Hudis

International models glided around the patio and upstairs terrace enjoying the fresh air and celebrating their mentor, Marilyn Gauthier. They included Liu Wen, fresh off the cover of T: The New York Times Magazine, Natalia Beber, Olga Maliouk with beau Karl Alomar, and Michelle Buswell. “Top Chef’s” Padma Lakshmi sipped cocktails and chatted with guests including New York social mainstays Sharon Bush, Cynthia Frank with daughter-in-law Claiborne Swanson Frank, Genevieve Bahrenberg, Jill and Andrew Roosevelt, Mark Gilbertson, Ann Dexter-Jones, George Farias, Somers and Jonathan Farkas, and Bobby Fomon with fiancé Jill Fairchild. Fun-loving journalists and media moguls also stopped by to scope the scene including, WWD’s Pete Born, Vanity Fair’s Ingrid Sischy with Sandy Brant, Modern Luxury’s Alexis Clark, Beauty Fashion’s George Ledes, NY Post’s Emily Smith and Stephanie Smith, Gotham’s Samantha Yanks, and cartoonist Marisa Marchetto. Lensman Patrick McMullan captured the evening with his signature snapshots.

The hors d’oeuvres served on fish-shaped platters were courtesy of Cornelia Guest’s catering team from Cornelia Guest Events. Guests also snacked on handfuls of Swedish Fish, gummy sharks, and multicolored gummy octopi displayed in small fish bowls around the house; a rather fitting treat! Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” played on the living room television, getting guests in the under-the-sea mood; the perfect background to a Piscean party. The partygoers reveled in the festive atmosphere for hours and the outdoor patio bubbled over with guests eager to welcome spring. From beginning to end one would certainly say the Pisces Party was a “splashing” affaire.

Constance Jablonski

Felicia Milewicz, Carolina Herrera, Caroline Brown, and Maureen Case

Erica and Geraldo Rivera

Bobby Momon and Jill Fairchild

Anne Dexter-Jones, Rosanna Scotto, and Marisa Marchetto

Chris Tucci and Michelle Buswell

Alina Cho, John Demsey, and Marilyn Gauthier

Jason Carroll and Susan Chun

John Demsey and Padma Lakshmi

George Farias

Ron and Georgia Frasch

Cynthia Frank, Claiborne Swanson Frank, and Genevieve Bahrenburg

Jill and Andrew Roosevelt

John Demsey, Linda Fargo, and Pete Born

Alina Cho and George Farias

Liu Wen, John Demsey, and Carolina Herrera

Sharon Bush and Robert Zimmerman

Lola Rykiel, Carly Cushnie, and Michelle Ochs

Thom Browne and Fay Ricotta

Alina Cho, John Demsey, and Marilyn Gauthier

Temur Dzidziguri and friend

Somers and Jonathan Farkas

Olga Maliouk

Youngja Cho and Renee Demsey

On Tuesday, March 27, artist and fashion designer Emre Erturk of Istanbul and New York City, and businesswoman and TV presenter/producer Nilgun Cloak hosted a book launch and reception for Meera Gandhi at the Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul, Turkey.

Meera Gandhi, CEO and Founder of the Giving Back Foundation, has written a new coffee-table book entitled Giving Back, which is being introduced globally in 2012. The book, with forward by Mrs. Cherie Blair, features 73 humanitarians and philanthropists who have inspired Meera Gandhi and her Foundation. Among those featured in the book are inspiring vignettes about Mother Teresa, Bono, Steven Rockefeller, Lord Loomba, Donna Karan, Deborah Norville, Somers Farkas, Kerry Kennedy and her brother Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Kristi Yamaguchi, singer Ronan Tynan, The Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val Kill, New York, The Royal National Institute of the Deaf in the UK, and the Foundation of the American Friends of Prince William and Prince Henry.

Meera Gandhi with her mother Ellen Mary McCarthy Agarwal and cousin Mary Mc Kane

Nilgun Colak, Emre Erturk, and Meera Gandhi

Mamiz Oztan and Buse Terim

Emre Koacadag, Emre Erturk, and Timur Kunt

Neslihan Yargici

Guntu Menteseoglu, Gokay Ozdemir, and Alin Tasci

Nazlİ Erturk, Serpil Guzey, and Benan Kizilkaya

Dunya Taskin

On Wednesday, March 28th FoodToEat.com celebrated its launch with an awareness raising party for Action Against Hunger at STASH. The food truck and restaurant delivery website's CEO Deepti Sharma Kapur welcomed over 100 tastemakers including Robin Cofer, Leesa Rowland and Nancy Silberkleit over MEDEA cocktails and passed hors d'oeuvres.

Deepti invited guests to support AAH, the global humanitarian organization committed to ending world hunger. Action Against Hunger's Campaign Manager Elaine Ryan shared the non-profit's mission that the best way to give malnourished children a fighting chance is by providing them with access to clean water and food.