Galas upon Galas

Armelle de Vienne, Anja von Schondorf-Gleicher, Isabel Elliman, Elizabeth Webster, Daniela Wambold, Angela Mellon, Lucy Jackson, Carla Somnolet, Mary Elizabeth Emanuel, and Lucy Drummond at the 67th Bal des Berceaux,

On Friday May 2, the 67th Bal des Berceaux, given by French-American Aid for Children and co-chaired by Imssy Klebe and Joan Rosasco, returned to the newly refurbished Grand Ballroom of the Plaza Hotel.

The event raised $500,000 for six beneficiaries of long standing, organizations that extend professional care to needy children in the United States and France, and marked the addition of a new beneficiary organization, Surgeons of Hope Foundation (La Chaine de L’Espoire), a non-profit that brings life saving surgery and medical care to indigent children in developing countries while training local surgeons, building state of the art hospitals and fostering sustainable medical development.


	Armelle de Vienne and Fabio Botarelli

The Honoree was Dr. Alain Deloche de Noyelle, Founder of Surgeons of Hope and other humanitarian organizations, including Médecins SansFrontieres and Médecines du Monde. Dr. Deloche, who performed the first ever open heart surgery in the history of Afghanistan on a 13 year old Afghani girl at the Medical Institute for Afghan Children in Kabul, has inaugurated hospitals in Dakar, Mozambique and Pnom Penh as well as in Kabul, and started a New York chapter of Surgeons of Hope to send surgical teams to developing countries to perform multiple pediatric surgeries. He is a great nephew of Albert Schweitzer.

Master of Ceremonies Charlie Rose, who presented the award to Dr. Deloche, spoke about his own experience in being assisted through a medical emergency in Paris by a physician who was a member of Surgeons of Hope.

Débutantes presented were: Armelle Anning Sophie de Vienne, Lucy Laken Buresh Drummond, Isabel Louise Elliman, Mary Elizabeth Emanuel, Lucy McLeod Jackson, Angela Delafield Mellon, Carla Gabrielle Somnolet, Anja von Schondorf-Gleicher, Daniela Shahrazad Wambold, Elizabeth Webster. Choreography was by David Armstrong. Kristina Klebe presented the débutantes.

Guests included H.E. Ambassador Permanent Representative of France to the U.N. Jean-Maurice Ripert and Mme Yael Bric, the Consul General of France in NY, Francois Delattre, and Mrs. Sophie L'Hélias-Delattre, John and Tara Milne, Sigourney Weaver and James Simpson, Auke and Caroline von Scheltinga, Diony and Denis Lebot, Sharon Costa de Beauregard, Arthur Loh, Beatrice Guthrie, Douglas and Florence von Erb, Jean- Jacques and Christine de St. Andrieu, Alejandro and Lucila Vollbrechthausen, Robert and Susan Case, Ophélie Renouard, George and Jeri Sape, Michel Longchampt and Odile de Schiétère Longchampt, Bill and Frances Bruder, Jacques Leviant, Samantha McCrimmon, Luc de Clapiers.

Fabio Botarelli, Matthieu Caffrey, Alexander Remo, Nicholas Murphy, Peter Smith, James Fitzgerald, Sam Jackson, Stefan Botarelli, Bowen Williams, and Barton Keery

Auctioneer Ed Beardsley of Bonhams and Butterfields conducted the Live Auction of trips, cellars and jewelry, raising over $100,000. Corporate supporters included Air France, American Airlines, Altour, Aon, Baccarat, Calyon, Cartier, Dior, Fendi, Crédit Industriel et Commercial, Dassault Falcon, Hotel Bristol, Interaudi Bank, Logfret, Maybach and Mercedes Benz, USA, Nespresso, Rhodia, Société Générale, South Sea Treasures, Stribling, The Florence Gould Foundation, the Pfizer Foundation and others. Major donors included Ambassador and Mrs. Jean-Marc de La Sablière, Mr. and Mrs. François Maisonrouge, Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Carmody, Keiko Aoki, Mr. Guy Wildenstein, Baron Robert de Rothschild, Mr. Frédéric de Narp and the De Luca family.

French-American Aid for Children, Inc. is a New York based non-profit organization staffed and run entirely by volunteers. Initially devoted to war relief efforts 68 years ago, the organization now provides financial assistance to developmentally challenged children through vetted beneficiary organizations in the United States and in France, and makes one-time donations to special causes. For more information, please visit www.aidforchildren.org [1].

Alex Remo and Angela Mellon

Bowen Williams and Daniela Wambold

Lucy Drummond and James Fitzgerald

Mary Elizabeth Emanuel and Barton Keery

Peter Schmidt and Elizabeth Webster

Anja Gleicher and Matthieu Caffrey

Lucy Jackson and Sam Jackson

Nicholas Murphy and Isabel Elliman

Carla Somnolet and Stefan Botarelli

Emmett Rahn-Oakes sings The Star Spangled Banner and the Marseillaise

Alexandra Leclere and Joerg Klebe

Dr. Alain Deloche and Mme. Huong Deloche

Antoinette Botarelli, Michele Altier, and friend

Charlotte Simpson and Jake Klopp

Florence and Douglas von Erb with their daughter Alessia

Emilie Jackson, Andrea Dubrow, Gerry Esposito, Herman Epstein, Teresa Herrera, and Sharon Costa de Beauregard

Debutante Committee Chair Deborah Jackson

James Simpson and Sigourney Weaver with their daughter Charlotte

Florence von Erb and Sophie L'Helias Delattre

Joan Dimancescu, Liz Lundqvist, and Jane Ross

Co-Chairs Joan Rosasco and Imssy Klebe

Alexandra Leclere

Dr. Alain Deloche and Marguerite Mangin

Barbara Stehle and Ariane de Vienne

Beatrice Guthrie and Elizabeth Stribling

Vivian Mellon

Monica G.S.Wambold and Sarah Hill Cohen

Edward Westlow, Esq., Comtesse Dagmar de Brantes, and Col. Kenneth A. Kraft, Jr.

Wendy Weiler and Donald Chappell

Alexandra Somnolet and Tom MacNeilage

Lucila and Alejandro Vollbrechthausen

Arlene and Theodor Ohlstein

Barbara and Gene Kohn

Christa Ehrenberg and Ricardo Volbrechthausen

Margarita and Marc Somnolet with Marco and Antoinette Botarelli

Rebekah Brown, Deborah Jackson, Monica Gerard Sharp, and Ann Jackson

Claudia and Frank Deutschmann

Odile de Schietere Longchampt and Michel Somnolet

Diane Ackerman

Barbara Stehle

Arthur Loh

Karen Klopp and her son Jake

Monica Morin

Michael Figliola and Molly Dricot

Diana and Sarah Mellon

Dalia Gleicher

Raymond Griffis and Ruth Mueller

Pitty Hempstead and James Mellon

Francois Delattre, Dr. Alain Deloche, Charlie Rose, and Marguerite Mangin

Emilie Jackson, Susan Andelman, and Arthur Loh

Ann Pleshette Murphy and Nicole Bourgois Elliman

Kristina Klebe and D. Moscow

Samantha McCrimmon

H.E. the Ambassador Permanent Representative of France to the U.N. and Mme Yael Bric

Claudia and Frank Deutschmann

Imssy Klebe and Charlie Rose

John and Tara Milne

Michel Mane and Catherine Moriani

Brandy Alvarez, Carla Somnolet, Jon Finkel, Alyssa Agresta, Alexandra Somnolet, and Tom Macneilage

Marco Botarelli, Consul General Francois Delattre, Odile de Schietere Longchampt, Jean-Jacques de St. Andrieu, Patricia Ratut, and Jais Perez

Michel Longchampt and Frances Bruder

The Royal Oak Foundation honored the marvelous noted designer Bunny Williams with its 2008 Timeless Design Award at a black-tie gala benefit at a New York City private club. The event was sponsored by Sotheby’s and Lee Jofa.

Williams was recognized for her three decades of interior design work that has been inspired by the great English country houses and blended with an American flair for a comfortable style that is distinctly her own. Her international body of work has earned her the recognition and respect of her peers and clients alike. She was inducted into the Interior Design Hall of Fame in 1996 and was honored with the Giants of Design Award in 2006. She has written several best-selling books exploring the role of design in both the house and the garden.
The Royal Oak Foundation introduced its annual Timeless Design Award in 1997 to recognize excellence and accomplishment in design and historic preservation. Previous recipients of the Timeless Design Award include The Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, Mario Buatta, David Mlinaric, Holly Hunt, Nina Campbell, Murray Douglas, Mary Fox Linton, David Anthony Easton, Colefax & Fowler in honor of John Fowler, and Albert Hadley.

Frederic and Suzanne Rheinstein with John Rosselli

Anne and Thomas Hubbard with Irene Roosevelt Aitken

J. Thomas Savage Jr. and Bunny Williams

Ian Hooper, Madeline Hooper, Jack Staub, and Renny Reynolds

James and Dede Caughman with Bunny Williams

Herbert and Robyne Camp

Susan Townsend, Thomas Armstrong, and P. Coleman Townsend Jr.

Edward Lee Cave, Bunny Williams, and Duane Hampton

Sandra Ourusoff and Ronald Lee Fleming

Mish Tworkowski, Memrie Lewis, Hans Utsch, Julia Merck-Utsch, and David Easton

Amy Goldman, Edward Lee Cave, and Bunny Williams

William Rondina, Bunny Williams, and John Rosselli

Fred Krimendahl, Emilia Saint-Amand, Carl Hans Tiedemann, and Kari Tiedemann

Konrad Kessee and Mimi Stafford

Miles Redd and Bunny Williams

Julia Merck-Utsch, Memrie Lewis, Hans Utsch, and Bunny Williams

Barclay Butera and Wendy Moonan

Happy and Samuel Shipley

Haleh Damaghi, Kambiz Damaghi, and Bunny Williams

Bunny Williams, Royal Oak Foundation Chairman, and Patrick Gallagher

Edgar and Ellie Cullman with Emily and Leslie Keno

Carrie Rebora Barratt, event Co-Chair and Betsey Ruprecht

Ron Baron, Charlotte Moss, John Yunis, and Bunny Williams

Margaret Russell and John Rosselli

The Orchestra of St. Luke’s (OSL) presented its annual “Gift of Music Award” at a gala event this past Monday at The Plaza. Each year, the OSL presents this award to an artist or leader in philanthropy or business who has made a significant contribution to the world of classical music. This year, the board of directors of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s presented the 2008 “Gift of Music Award” to the founder and president of the orchestra, Marianne C. Lockwood.

That morning, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s announced the creation of a state-of-the-art rehearsal, recording and administrative facility for New York’s musical community. The new resource center, which will be the home of the OSL, is named The DiMenna Center for Classical Music in recognition of a $5 million gift from Joseph and Diana DiMenna.

Mikhail Baryshnikov and Renée Fleming were the honorary chairs of the “Gift of Music” Gala, and Norman S. Benzaquen was the gala chair. The host was actress and OSL board member Barbara Feldon, and the special guest artist was mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, who performed with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, conducted by Patrick Summers.

The Grand Ballroom at The Plaza

Among the 360 guests attending the event, which raised almost $1 million for the orchestra, were Mikhail Baryshnikov and his wife, Lisa Rinehart; Joe and Diana DiMenna; Norman and Diana Benzaquen; Lawrence De Paris; Judy Evnin; Georgia and Ron Frasch;Richard Gilder and his wife, Lois Chiles; Pier Guerci; Roger Hertog; Virginia James; Christina Latargia; New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Kate Levin; Josie Natori; Giacomo Loro Piana; Arthur and Becky Samberg; and Mary Wang.

David Monn, one of New York’s most prominent event designers and a member of the OSL board of directors, was the event producer, donating his and his company’s services to the event.

“Back in 1974, Marianne Lockwood helped create something truly extraordinary,” said OSL Board Chairman Norman S. Benzaquen. “Over the past 34 years, this orchestra has earned a reputation for excellence and the sheer joy of its music-making, and it has played on more stages and with a greater variety of artists than any other in New York City. At this time, two years before her retirement, the board of directors wishes to honor Marianne Lockwood for creating one of New York’s musical treasures, and joins her in her ongoing work for its future.”

The gala’s vice-chairs were M. Bernard Aidinoff, Robert W. Ashton, Con Edison, Joan K. Davidson, Joe and Diana DiMenna, Victor and Sono Elmaleh, Judy and Tony Evnin, Richard Gilder and Lois Chiles, Andrea and David Holbrook, and Virginia James.

Proceeds from the “Gift of Music” gala will support St. Luke’s concerts and outreach, in particular the St. Luke’s Arts Education program, which provides free music and dance performances for approximately 20,000 New York City public school children and year-long artist-educator partnerships at six New York City schools. Acclaimed by educators throughout the City, the program, which this year celebrates its 31st anniversary, has been hailed as “an innovative and welcome educational force for three decades” in The Wall Street Journal.

96.3 FM WQXR is the radio partner of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s.

Marianne C. Lockwood has been associated with the Orchestra of St. Luke's since its inception in 1974 and currently serves as its President and Executive Director. Over the course of her tenure as Executive Director, the Orchestra’s annual budget has grown from under $1 million to almost $5 million. It has made more than 70 recordings including four Grammy award-winning CDs; participates in over 100 performances each year; performs with artists as varied as Renee Fleming, Joshua Bell, Reba McEntire, Paul McCartney, and Metallica; and makes regular television appearances in events taped at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall.

Karen and Bill Watt

Ted Sayers and Barbara Weil Fox-Bordiga

Josie and Ken Natori

Lois Chiles and Richard Gilder, and Bernard and Elsie Aidinoff

Suky Kwak and Richard Schager

Pia and Lucy Hunter, family of honoree Marianne Lockwood

Deirdre Bader and Georgia Frasch

Barbara Feldon, the evening’s host and St. Luke’s Board Member

Joan K. Davidson

David Monn, the event’s designer and St. Luke’s Board Member

Virginia James and Maggie Rapp

Stanford Makishi, Lisa Rinehart, dancer/choreographer Mikhail Baryshnikov, and New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Kate Levin

Marianne Lockwood, St. Luke’s President and the evening’s honoree, with St. Luke’s Board Chairman Norman Benzaquen and his wife Diana Benzaquen

Art and Becky Samberg

Diana and Joe DiMenna

Susan Graham, mezzo-soprano guest soloist at the event, and Patrick Summers, guest conductor

Gerold and Jana Klauer

Last Thursday night at Capitale, The American Friends of Tel Aviv Museum of Art held their 2008 Gala honoring Alexander Calder and honored Livia and Marc Straus, Founders of Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art with the Patrons of the Arts award; and Tamar Rudich, Vice Chair AFTAM Execudtive Board, Tel Aviv Mseum of Art Board of Directors with their Outstanding Service Award.

Jennifer Roth, Senior V.P. Sotheby’s conducted a live auction. Gala chair was Dafna E. Schmerin, Vice Chair, AFTAM Board of Trustees; Honorary Chair, Alexander S.C.Rower, Director of the Calder Foundation.

The American Friends of Tel Aviv Museum of Art (AFTAM) is a non-profit organization founded in 1974 to raise funds for the Tel Aviv Museum of Art in Israel and to seek notable works of art for its collections.

Among the attendees: Marylyn Ditenfass, Zigi Ben Haim,Yigal Ozeri, Philip Pearlstein; Henry Buhl, Michaela and Leon Constantiner, Amalia Dayan and Adam Lindemann, Anita Kahn, Sherry and Joel Mallin, Sammy and Aviva Ofer, Francine Lefrak, Christopher Rothko and Lori Cohen, Gillian and Simon Salama-Caro, Judith and Stanley Zabar;Calder Mary Calder Rower (Alexander Calder's daughter),Bethany Rower; Stefania Bortolami, Andrea Meislin; Stefan Stux; Tel Aviv Museum of Art Director and Chief Curator Mordechai Omer; Gary Barnett (Extell Development), Harold Snyder (founder, Biocraft Laboratories).