The Oakland Youth Orchestra Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary with a Benefit Gala, 5/4

The 50-year-old Oakland Youth Orchestra will celebrate its golden anniversary with a benefit gala concert, dinner and auction Sunday, May 4, beginning at 5 pm at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Ascension, 4700 Lincoln Avenue in Oakland. The evening, which will raise funds for the Youth Orchestra's award-winning and far-reaching education and outreach programs, will feature a concert by its extremely talented young musicians cocktails and dinner and live and silent auctions. The Youth Orchestra will perform a reprise of the premiere of Nathaniel Stookey's Go, which was featured on its February program, Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio Espagnole, Rossini's William Tell Overture and other works to be announced, conducted by Music Director Michael Morgan. Tickets are $125 and may be purchased at www.oyo.org .

The event will honor illustrious alumni Doris Fukawa, Executive Director of the Crowden Music Center (violin, '72-'74) and Emmy Award-winning composer Jeff Beal (trumpet, '79-'81). Ben Simon, Music Director of the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra (violin, '70-'72), will guest conduct the Orchestra in Rossini's William Tell Overture. Oakland Youth Orchestra has records of more than 2,100 alumni since its beginning in 1964.

About Oakland Youth Orchestra: Celebrating 50 Years

Founded in 1964 as the educational arm of the Oakland Symphony, Oakland Youth Orchestra is recognized as an outstanding musical organization in Oakland and the San Francisco Bay Area. The Youth Orchestra features eighty-five talented music students aged 12 to 22 from throughout the region. Oakland Youth Orchestra maintains a commitment to cultural exchange and has toured extensively in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, the Caribbean Islands, Costa Rica, Mexico and Cuba, Italy, Australia and New Zealand, Greece and, most recently in 2013, Argentina and Uruguay. In addition the organization has a history of commissioning, premiering and recording the works of American composers. Oakland Youth Orchestra is a member of the League of American Orchestras, Arts First Oakland, ASCAP, Association of California Symphony Orchestras, BMI and Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. Together with the Oakland East Bay Symphony and Oakland Symphony Chorus, it operates as a unified organizational entity providing performances and music education to youth and adults.