5.11.12: Celebration! | New York Social Diary

Celebration!

The New York Pops celebrated its 29th birthday with a grand gala evening titled 'Journey On.'

On Monday, April 30, The New York Pops marked its 29th birthday with a grand gala evening titled 'Journey On' honoring Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, the Tony Award-winning and Oscar-nominated songwriting team of such renowned Broadway musicals as Ragtime, Once On This Island, Seussical, My Favorite Year, A Man of No Importance, The Glorious Ones and the feature film Anastasia.

The event began with a concert at Carnegie Hall hosted by four time Tony-winner Terrence McNally, featuring a spectacular lineup of guest artists under the baton of Music Director Steven Reineke. Performers included Liz Callaway, Kevin Chamberlin, LaChanze, Jason Danieley, Boyd Gaines, Lewis Grosso, Brian d'Arcy James, Nikki M. James, Kecia Lewis-Evans, Norm Lewis, Darlene Love, Rebecca Luker, Marin Mazzie, Tiler Peck, Andrew Rannells and Rachel York! The New York Pops was also joined by Bad Habit and the Ronald McDonald House Chorus, Camp Broadway Kids and Judith Clurman's Essential Voices USA.

Lewis Grosso and Kevin Chamberlin

Ronald McDonald House Rock Band and Chorus

Marin Mazzie

LaChanze

Rachel York and Steven Reineke

Tiler Peck

Nikki M. James and Norm Lewis

Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens

Following the concert, a black tie dinner and dance was held at the luxurious Plaza Hotel.

The evening's corporate honoree was Industrial Acoustics Company (IAC), the world's largest provider of noise control products and systems. IAC has been a stalwart supporter of The New York Pops and its education programs since 2004.

All gala and auction proceeds support the orchestra and its free education programs throughout New York City.

James A. Read, Joanne Stavrou, Patty Read, and Steven Reineke

Sherrie Maricle, Bill Sullivan, and Jungeun Kim

Grace Wales, Patty Read, Tracey Utton, and Shereen Meguid

Frank DiLella, Francine LeFrak, and Rick Friedberg

Ivette Almeida and Cindy Taylor

Patty Read, Katie Anderson, and Annie Read

Michael Doyle, Boyd Gaines, Tom Kirdahy, Terrence McNally, and Andrew Rannells

Alexander Stavrou, Joanne Stavrou, Terri DeSalvo, Corey DeSalvo, Kathy Epstein, and Benjamin Epstein

James A. Read, Lynn Ahrens, and Stephen Flaherty

Thomas and Paula McInerney

Patty and James A. Read

Kay Wight, Brian Curran, and Susan Lee

Harley Riak, Debra Fini, Lisa Daddario, and Paul Metselaar

June Freemanzon, Wesley Whatley, Betsy Jablow, and Chris Meier

The New York Pops Kids Band with Dr. Sherrie Maricle, and Jungeun Kim

Robert Fairchild, Tiler Peck, Boyd Gaines, Ginger Thatcher, and Marco Lips

Andrew Rannells, Liz Callaway, and Steven Reineke

Steven Reineke, Lynn Ahrens, and Stephen Flaherty

Jason Danieley, Marin Mazzie, Jeff Englander, Alise Kreditor, Anne M. Swanson, Toni Peebler, Ruth Henderson, and Kara Street

Ayal Miodovnik, Rachel York, Nikki M. James, Amy Rayca, Kyle Paas, Kevin Chamberlin, Ceci Johnson, Rachel Pang, and Michael Gans

Leslie Goodman and Senator Roy Goodman

Nancy Turaj, Sandra Kwon, Rob Pohly, Julie Turaj, Jeen Pae, Jeff Sohm, Marci Sohm

June Freemanzon, Boyd Gaines, Jamie DeRoy, Rick Friedberg, Diane Laurance, and Francine LeFrak

Last week, Academy Award-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow was honored at the annual Gray Matters at Columbia Spring Benefit Luncheon for raising awareness about postpartum depression and women's mental health.

Nearly one in four women experience depression after giving birth. For many of these mothers, postpartum depression is often left unrecognized or untreated, but clinicians and advocates are working to make people aware that there is help for women. Ms. Paltrow, mother of two young children, has shared her own personal experience with great honesty and eloquence with numerous media outlets, becoming an advocate for women's mental health.


	Frederic Kass, MD, Blythe Danner, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jeffrey Lieberman, MD

Each year, Gray Matters at Columbia honors an individual who has made significant contributions to promote brain research on mental illness. Past honorees at the Spring Benefit Luncheon include Congressman Patrick Kennedy, Paula Zahn, Anne Ford, Jane Pauley and Dick Cavett.

Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD, chairman of psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center, noted "Research is critical in advancing our understanding of the brain to the development of life-saving treatments for psychiatric disorders. Support from families and committed citizens is more important than ever given the economic pressures and reductions in funding that researchers face."

Funds raised by the luncheon support research fellowships to support young scientists pursuing brain research to help solve the mystery of serious mental illnesses like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and autism. The chosen fellows benefit from the multidisciplinary expertise of a peerless team of clinicians and scientists that includes two Nobel laureates.

The 2011-12 Gray Matters at Columbia Fellows are Ragy Girgis, MD (Schizophrenia); Holly Moore, PhD (Schizophrenia); Alla Landa, PhD (Lyme Disease); Carolyn Rodriguez, MD, PhD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder); and Angela Tseng, PhD (Autism).

Paula Zahn, Jeffrey Lieberman, MD, and Gwyneth Paltrow

Victoria Benalloul, Catherine Moussazadeh, and Betty Mossanen

Charlotte Kashani, Geralda Sarraf, Heather Benmoha, and Natalie Harounian

Tania Eshaghoff and Adina Ostad

Bradley Peterson, Mary D'Alton, and David Kahn

Rosi Eshaghian, Sima Ghadamian, and Kate Khakshouri

Lili Kalimian, Rosemarie Lieberman, Brigitt Rok, and Cynthia Ott

Virginia Millhiser and Patricia Begley

Patricia Pei Tang and Susan Brant

Elizabeth Beim, Christine Robinson, Susan Ferris, and Mary Brust

Aspasia Zoumas, Barbara Hauser, and Claudia McNulty-Jensen

Ana de Azevedo, Mary Elliott, Donna Hanover, and Karen Kolster

Each year, The Joyce Theater pays tribute to outstanding individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions to the world of dance through its Annual Spring Gala. This season, the Joyce celebrated one of the world's most accomplished dancers, Sylvie Guillem, who traveled from Europe exclusively to perform the American premiere of her recent Sadler's Wells London commission, 6,000 miles away, at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, April 4, 2012. A Gala dinner took place on the Promenade of the Koch Theater immediately following the premiere.

This year's Gala also honored famed New York City Ballet principal dancer and now Pacific Northwest Ballet Artistic Director, Peter Boal, who has enjoyed a long and collaborative relationship with The Joyce. At the event Pacific Northwest Ballet was presented with The Joyce's new ballet commissioning award, The Rudolf Nureyev Prize for New Dance. The Nureyev Prize is a $25,000 Commissioning grant awarded to large ballet companies so that they may create a new work especially for The Joyce stage.

Charles Askegard and Michele Wiles of BalletNext

Auctioneer Lydia Wickliffe Fenet of Christie's

Steven Pesner

The Joyce's 2012 Corporate Achievement Award was presented to The Boeing Company, whose generous support includes major underwriting for The Joyce's recently completed, two-year national dance presenting initiative, The A.W.A.R.D. Show!, around the United States. Nora Moreno Cargie, Director of Global Corporate Citizenship accepted the award on behalf of The Boeing Company.

Honorary Co-Chairs of the event were the choreographers featured on the program: Mats Ek, William Forsythe, and Jiri Kylian as well as architect Frank Gehry, Kevin McKenzie of American Ballet Theater and Wendy Whelan of New York City Ballet

Honoree Peter Boal, Artistic Director of Pacific Northwest Ballet and Linda Shelton, Executive Director of The Joyce Theater

Gala Co-Chair and Joyce Trustee Gerald Appelstein with Emma Dipadova

The Gala Co-Chairs were Gerald M. Appelstein, J. Kerry Clayton and Paige Royer, First Republic Bank/Jim Herbert, Anh-Tuyet Nguyen and Rob Pollock, and Steven and Michele Pesner.

In addition to the performance, the event featured a dinner for 380 guests catered by Restaurant Associates and a live Auction conducted by Lydia Wickliffe Fenet of Christie's. The event raised over $800,000 to support the programs of The Joyce Theater Foundation.

Elizabeth Levitt Hirsch and Mimi Levitt

George Skouras, Lourdes Lopez, and Dorina and Bob Link

Torrence Boone, Richard and Larissa Miele, and Bonita Stewart

David Fanger, Martin Wechsler, Lane Harwell, and David Harrison

Susan Sosin and Daniel Gold

Sian Ballen and Richard Ablon

Fe and Paola Fendi

AT Nguyen, Morrie Sandler, and Linda Stocknoff

J. Kerry Clayton

On April 24, The Jewish Museum held its 19th annual Most Amazing New York Art & Design Tour. The event attracted over 200 attendees who enjoyed brunch at the Museum, followed by self-guided tours of magnificent provate art collections in some of New York's most spectacular East Side residences. Stacey Bronfman, Eleanor Heyman Propp and Debi Wisch were the Most Amazing New York Art & Design Tour co-chairs. The event raised over $260,000 and the proceeds benefit The Jewish Museum.