Classic 107.3 Announces 2019 Gala With Marlo Thomas and Leonard Slatkin

Classic 107.3, "The Voice for the Arts in St. Louis", will host its biennial fundraising Gala on Thursday, April 30 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

The Gala is co-chaired by Donna Wilkinson and Thriess Britton, both members of the Radio Arts Foundation board, and features the talents of Leonard Slatkin, Olga Kern, Vladislav Kern and Marlo Thomas, including members of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO).

"We are thrilled that Leonard Slatkin is once again willing to share his love of music to benefit Classic 107.3," said Wilkinson. "All of these artists are generously donating their services because they believe in the importance of a community-based radio station that serves as the voice for all the arts in our region, and we are so grateful."

The Centene Charitable Foundation and Noémi and Michael Neidorff are serving as premiere sponsors of the Gala. Other sponsors include Mercy, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, the PNC Financial Services Group, and the St. Louis Trust Company.

The Gala begins with cocktails at 5:30pm, followed by a 6:30pm dinner and 8pm concert featuring pianist Olga Kern and her son, Vladislav, performing Camille Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals along with members of the SLSO. Actress Marlo Thomas will provide narration for the piece. Leonard Slatkin will serve as the host and conductor for the evening.

Corporate and individual sponsorships are available by calling 314.881.3523.

Internationally acclaimed conductor Leonard Slatkin is Conductor Laureate of the SLSO, Music Director Laureate of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) and Directeur Musical Honoraire of the Orchestre National de Lyon (ONL). He has received six Grammy awards and 33 nominations and a recipient of the National Medal of Arts. Mr. Slatkin maintains a rigorous schedule of guest conducting throughout the world and is active as a composer, author and educator.

American actress, producer, author, and social activist Marlo Thomas is best known for starring on the sitcom That Girl (1966-1971) and her award-winning children's franchise Free to Be... You and Me. She has received four Emmys and a Golden Globe, as well as a Grammy award for her children's album Marlo Thomas and Friends: Thanks & Giving All Year Long. In 2014, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Ms. Thomas serves as National Outreach Director for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.

Russian-American pianist Olga Kern is one of her generation's great pianists. She jumpstarted her U.S. career with her historic Gold Medal win at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition -- the first woman to do so in more than thirty years. Since September 2017, Ms. Kern has served on the piano faculty of the prestigious Manhattan School of Music. Additionally, she has been chosen as the Virginia Arts Festival's new Connie & Marc Jacobson Director of Chamber Music, beginning with the 2019 season. Pianist Olga Kern appears with Leonard Slatkin and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 1 for two performances at Powell Hall (April 27 at 8pm and Sunday April 28 at 3pm).

Russian-American pianist Vladislav Kern was born into a family of musicians. He started his music studies in 2005 at the Central Music School at the Moscow State P.I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory, and from 2011 to 2016 he was a student of The Juilliard School of Music. In 2016, Mr. Kern became a Young Steinway Artist.

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