“Since its founding more than 100 years ago, the great American tradition of supporting the arts through private philanthropy has enabled the Salzburg Festival to implement artistic projects and other major initiatives which would have otherwise been impossible,” said Dr. Kristina Hammer, the new president of the Salzburg Festival and keynote speaker at the New York Gala for their American supporters, the Salzburg Festival Society.
Over 200 guests packed the ballroom of a private club on New York’s Upper East Side in support of the most important international performing arts festival.
Carole Bailey French with her husband John French III, the evening’s co-chairs, welcomed friends old and new. Their guest of honor was Peter Gelb, the general manager of The Metropolitan Opera.
John French III presented both Kristina Hammer and Peter Gelb with a hand-blown engraved decanter by artisan Simon Pearce, a favorite artisan of Laurance Rockefeller.
The centerpiece of the evening was a private recital by two Metropolitan Opera stars, soprano Rosa Feola, who made her Salzburg Festival debut in 2019, and tenor Stephen Costello. They regaled guests with excerpts from Rigoletto by Verdi and L’Elisir d’Amore by Donizetti. Pianist Katelan Tran Terrell accompanied on the piano.
Guests included Salzburg Festival Society president Nabil Chartouni and his wife Samantha, as well as board members Isabelle Harnoncourt-Feigen, Marifé Hernandez with Joel Bell, Alexandra Kauka-Hamill, Isabella Ponta, and Sana H. Sabbagh, as well as Afsaneh Akhtari, CeCe Black, Richard and Marian Bott, Noreen and Kenneth Buckfire, Judith-Anne Corrente, Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, Werner Ebm, Judith and Warren Feder, Susan Gutfreund, Sterling Hamill, Rolf Heitmeyer, Bruce Horten, Martin and Evelyn Hutter, Caroline and Max Jahn, Venelin and Veronica Khristov, Peter and Elbrun Kimmelman, Margo Langenberg, So-Chung Shinn Lee, Jay Nordlinger, Louis and Julia Perlman, Leah Pisar, Michelle Rohe, Guillermo and Cecilia Schultz, Bonnie Simon, Elizabeth Stribling and Guy Robinson, Allyson Tang, Nicola Tegoni, Elizabeth Trotta, Barbara Tober, Luz Miriam Toro, Richard and Susan Tutino, Alden Warner and Peter Reed, and Ann Ziff.
The evening’s generous sponsor was Bank of America Private Bank. Rolex was a Gala Benefactor and Global Sponsor of the Salzburg Festival. The Duckhorn Portfolio supplied superb wines.
Markus Hinterhäuser, Artistic Director of the Salzburg Festival since 2017, will announce the 2023 season with Dr. Hammer in Salzburg on December 9, 2022.
The Salzburg Festival was founded in 1920 by composer Richard Strauss, poet and dramatist Hugo von Hofmannsthal, and director Max Reinhardt. Nestled in the princely Baroque town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Mozart, far from the everyday bustle of big cities, the Salzburg Festival was immediately recognized as a major destination by the world’s foremost directors and artists. For more information please visit: https://www.salzburgerfestspiele.at/en/
Friends and supporters gathered for a night of bowling and fun at The New York Center for Children’s ROCK N’ BOWL GALA at Bowlero-Chelsea Piers on November 17th, 2022. The event raised awareness and funds for The New York Center for Children’s mission of providing free healing services for many of New York’s most vulnerable children.
Leading off in Lane One was none other than SiriusXM Hits1 hot and high-rated host Nicole Ryan of “The Morning Mash Up” — the station’s #1 daily show broadcasting current pop hit music and conversations with many of the biggest stars in the music industry.
This year’s annual BOWLING BALL marked over a quarter century of NYCC’s fundraising efforts to keep the doors open for the purpose of healing thousands of the city’s abused children. As a mother herself, Nicole Ryan understands the importance of helping children whose needs might go unmet without the services of licensed professional therapists. NYCC’s Manhattan center provides services at no cost to children in crisis from all five boroughs of the city.
The importance of the services that the NYCC provides, and the harsh reality of child abuse and neglect was highlighted in the recent Brooklyn, NY, child homicide case – charging a father as responsible for the death of his 23-month-old daughter (according to a criminal complaint obtained by The New York Times), by blows to her head.
This sad reality reminds metropolitan New Yorkers that the average of 5 children dying nationally from abuse and neglect each day, as reported by U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Administration, annual “Child Maltreatment” most recent report, happens in the city of New York with unfortunate regularity. For those children adversely affected by abuse and neglect that do survive, trauma-informed therapy is a must toward long-term wellbeing.
Founded in 1995 with the support of the late Broadway producer Marty Richards and philanthropist Georgette Mosbacher, NYCC provides trauma-focused therapy services to victims of child abuse, free of charge, for as long as their healing requires. NYCC also offers professional training on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of child abuse. NYCC is a not-for-profit organization that relies on donations to cover the costs of operations. NYCC serves all families, including those without insurance. In addition to evaluation and treatment, the children at NYCC also benefit from tutoring, mentoring and extracurricular events. NYCC serves children from all five boroughs of New York City. The child-friendly space is located at 333 East 70th Street, on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
For information visit https://newyorkcenterforchildren.org/
HRH Crown Prince Alexander and HRH Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia hosted the Annual Lifeline New York Luncheon 2022 at Il Gattopardo in New York City in aid of children’s hospitals in Serbia. Lifeline Humanitarian Organization is an international effort founded in 1993 as an urgent response to the tragic situation in the former Yugoslavia, which was afflicted by conflict and sanctions. The goal of Lifeline is to reduce and relieve the suffering of physically and mentally disabled children, orphans, the elderly as well as to improve medical facilities in the country.
Guests at the luncheon were welcomed by Lifeline New York President David Hryck. The attendees enjoyed the music and the performance of singer Gwyneth Giangrande alongside pianist Nick Guerrero.
HRH Crown Prince Alexander addressed the guests at the luncheon and then HRH Crown Princess Katherine thanked her husband, and everyone involved with the Lifeline Foundation:
“My humanitarian efforts for Serbia started 28 years ago by providing medical equipment for the University Children Hospital in Belgrade. Children, their health and their well-being are in the very core of all my humanitarian activities, as well as the activities of my foundation in Belgrade and all Lifeline humanitarian organizations whose patron I am. There is a very difficult situation with children’s hospitals in Serbia and they need to be equipped properly, much better than now, in order for our doctors and nurses to provide appropriate care for our sick children.”
HRH Crown Princess Katherine then spoke regarding the importance of helping children in Serbia. Humanitarian items were donated such as clothing, paintings and portraits which were auctioned.
Notable attendees included: Patron HRH Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia and Crown Prince Alexander, HE Ms. Olgica Vlacic, Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia, fashion editor Rushka Bergman, Catherine Broadbent, fashion influencer Olga Ferrara, Jack Hartnett who led the auction, TV personality Tijana Ibrahimovic, entrepreneur Cheri Kaufman, chocolatier Maribel Lieberman, fashion designer Nicole Miller, Italian model and actress Eleonora Pieroni, Peter Pizzino, Chief Sustainability Officer at OWS Energy Oksana Prysyazhnyuk, EF Hutton CEO Joseph T. Rallo, Ashley Rallo, Marc Rosen, Corporate Finance & ESG editor at Thomson Reuters Greg Roumeliotis, Nadja Sayej, Philanthropist Jean Shafiroff, influencer Katya Tolstova, Richard and Margret Jankov, Robert Wayne.
Lifeline’s Board of Directors includes David Hryck (President), Susan Gutfreund (Vice President), Cheri Kaufman (Vice President), Slobodan Bekvalac, David W. Boral, Dragana Djuknic, Anthony Hayes, Peter Pizzino, Joseph T. Rallo, Kyle Wool and Bojana Jankovic Weatherly.
For further information concerning Lifeline, visit www.lifelineny.org
The 25th Annual Collaborating for a Cure Gala, one of New York City’s favorite charity events celebrated its silver anniversary at Cipriani Wall Street. The “fun-raiser as opposed to fundraiser” as described by Michael Nierenberg raised more than $4 million towards the goal of funding the next five years of crucial SWCRF cancer research programs such as the Partnership for Aging and Cancer Research Program, the SWCRF Institute Without WallsTM, and the Women’s Cancer Research Program.
Following a cocktail reception across the street, guests made their way to the main dining room where emcee, CBS’s Chris Wragge, welcomed the more than 700 guests, introduced the evening’s honorees, and highlighted many of the Foundation’s groundbreaking achievements over the past 50 years. “Tonight, we have a great program to celebrate two giants in the fight against cancer”, said Wragge.
Upon receiving the Vision and Leadership Award, SWCRF Board Chairman Michael Nierenberg commented, “The real honorees are Dr. Waxman and the great heroes like him who treat and cure cancer every day.”
Founder and CEO Dr. Samuel Waxman, who received the well-deserved and long-overdue Lifetime Achievement Award, spoke to his vision (goal) for a future in which cancer does not have to be a disease associated with aging. “The incidence of cancer is increasing, in part, as a by-product of improvements we are making in human longevity,” said Dr. Waxman. “But through our collaborative research programs, we can flatten this curve. I am thrilled to be a part of many amazing breakthroughs that have occurred in cancer research – with more to come.
Special guest, author and breast cancer survivor, Musa Mayer, shared why she has been a longtime supporter of SWCRF and very generously offered a $1 million match for all donations made during the gala. “I will be celebrating my 80th birthday soon thanks to the work of this foundation and Dr. Samuel Waxman,” said Mayer.
As in previous years, the Collaborating for a Cure Gala included a live auction during the night’s festivities, including a meet and greet with MT. JOY, culinary experiences at the Cipriani Vault, il Buco Vita, and New York Vintners, and a Palm Bay Italian Winery experience (in Tuscany) to name a few. There was also a raffle for a private 7-day Bahamas cruise aboard an 82-foot, hybrid-powered, luxury yacht.
Notable attendees include SWCRF Board Chairman Michael Nierenberg, Founder and CEO Dr. Samuel Waxman, Gala Event Chairs, Spencer Waxman, Nicholas Santoro, Baron Silverstein, Marc Taub and Gala MC, Chris Wragge, Elin Nierenberg, Marion Waxman, Sandra Dugoff, Julie Waxman, Eliz Waxman, Jack Waxman, Sophia Bergan, Mario Pecoraro, Chris Arlotta, Mark D. Friedman, Jeremy Hoffman, Sara Waxman, Bettina Waxman, Scott Waxman, Bryan Griffin, Katya Tolstova, Nadja Sayej, William T. Sullivan, Erica Fineberg, and Robin Lathrop.
Photographs by Jill Nelson & John Sanderson/Annie Watt Agency (SFS); Patrick McMullan/PMC (Lifeline); Rob Rich/SocietyAllure.com (New York Center for Children); Jared Siskin PMC/Getty Images (SWCRF)
