Honoring Gary W. Parr and Featuring a Performance by the Young People’s Chorus of New York City
New York, NY – September 30, 2015 - Young Audiences Arts for Learning (YA) celebrates its Annual Gala on Thursday, November 19, 2015 at the Waldorf Astoria. YA will honor Gary W. Parr for his support of the arts and education. The evening will feature a performance by the Young People’s Chorus of New York City. The Gala is chaired by Young Audiences board member, James H. Gellert and vice-chaired by Mary Ann Fribourg, Corinne P. Greenberg and Sue Ann Weinberg. This year’s Business Committee Chairman is Maurice R. Greenberg, Chairman and CEO of C.V. Starr & Co., Inc.
The Gala will commence at 6:30 p.m. with a cocktail reception, followed by dinner in the Waldorf Astoria’s Grand Ballroom at 7:30 p.m. Over 500 guests are expected to attend the event, including educators, artists, government officials, and philanthropists. Past Gala honorees have included Fiona and Stanley Druckenmiller, Elaine and Ken Langone and Paul Guenther.
The Gala dinner will be followed by the Young Audiences’ After Party in the Jade and Basildon rooms of the Waldorf Astoria. This popular annual event will be hosted by one of the steadiest working actors in New York, Joel Marsh Garland. Garland is best known for his roles in Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), Orange Is the New Black and Of Mice and Men on Broadway with James Franco. He will reunite with Franco in John Steinbeck’s In Dubious Battle, due for release in 2016. The After Party will feature live music from the renowned cover band Off the Hook and a Signature Cocktail menu crafted with the bold and unique flavors of Jones Soda. There will also be a raffle with prizes donated by Southwest Airlines, the Official Airline Partner of Young Audiences Arts for Learning.
Gary W. Parr has been active in many philanthropic organizations in the arts and social responsibility areas. He was Chairman of the New York Philharmonic from September 2009 to February 2015 and now serves as Chairman Emeritus. Mr. Parr is also the Chairman of the Parr Center for Ethics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is on the Board of The Morgan Library & Museum. Previously, he was the Chairman of Venetian Heritage, and he was a member of the Board of Lincoln Center, the Board of the Kenan-Flagler Business School of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Board of the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale. Mr. Parr was also a vestry member at St. Mary’s in Tuxedo, New York.
Professionally, Mr. Parr is a Vice Chairman at Lazard. He has provided strategic advice to financial institutions worldwide for over 30 years. During the 2008 financial crisis, he advised on the restructuring of Lehman Brothers, the sale of Bear Stearns to JPMorgan, the U.S. Treasury–led restructuring of Fannie Mae, Mitsubishi UFJ’s investment in Morgan Stanley, the merger of Bank of New York and Mellon and the IPO of the New York Stock Exchange. Mr. Parr graduated with honors, Phi Beta Kappa and Beta Gamma Sigma, from the University of North Carolina and received his M.B.A. from Northwestern University.
The Young People’s Chorus (YPC) of New York City is a multicultural youth chorus internationally renowned not only for its superb virtuosity and brilliant showmanship. Founded by Artistic Director Francisco J. Núñez 27 years ago, this groundbreaking program harnesses the power of music to fulfill the potential of every child. Over the years YPC has created an awareness of the unlimited potential of a children’s chorus to rise to unforeseen levels of artistry and has established the youth chorus as a significant and often untapped instrument for making music. Almost 1,400 children from ages 7 to 18 participate annually through YPC’s core after-school program, its satellite program in New York City public schools, a national affiliate in Tenafly, New Jersey, and since 2012, its first after-school community chorus located in New York City’s Washington Heights.
About Young Audiences Arts for Learning
For more than 60 years, Young Audiences Arts for Learning (YA) has inspired young people and is dedicated to expanding their learning through the arts. Founded in 1952, YA works to support affiliated organizations that are each dedicated to playing a decisive role in young people’s development. Last year, the YA network of 30 affiliates reached 5 million children in over 6,000 schools and community centers with 85,000 performance demonstrations, workshops, and teacher services.
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Contact: Marcus Romero
Director of Communications and New Media
E: marcus@ya.org
T: (212) 860-1563 X108
