Stars’ Mingling Makes an Added Contribution

Hundreds watched composer Marvin Hamlisch perform Saturday at a benefit for St. Joseph Hospital.

But only a few got to meet the genius who wrote superhits such as “The Way We Were” and “People” before he went on stage at the Anaheim Hilton & Towers.

Major donors and event chairman Bob Fiorentino and his wife, Phyllis, were among the lucky ones. “This is pretty exciting,” Bob Fiorentino said. “The big perk for me tonight is raising funds for the hospital--but meeting Marvin is the cream on the cake.”

Schmoozing with celebrities has become a sought-after perk on the charity circuit. The chance to rub elbows with a Hamlisch, a Luciano Pavarotti or a Natalie Cole serves both an organization and its donors and supporters. The organization--be it a hospital, university or arts venue--can use the opportunity to attract support. Supporters get to make a memory that lasts a lifetime.

The artists also find the experience meaningful. “This is part of what I do,” said Hamlisch at the benefit that netted $125,000 for the Orange hospital’s Regional Cancer Center. “You perform, but you also do other things.

“My mother died of cancer, and my sister, thankfully, has survived breast cancer. So this means a lot to me. It’s important. And I know things like this can mean a lot to people.”

Similarly, after the opening night performance last week of Richard Einhorn’s “Voices of Light,” which accompanied the silent film “The Passion of Joan of Arc” at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, major donors to the Philharmonic Society of Orange County gathered to meet the composer.

“Bravo!” said Dean Corey, the philharmonic’s executive director, as Einhorn entered a private reception at the Center Club in Costa Mesa.

It had been an emotional night. While the music lovers listened to Einhorn’s haunting score performed by the Los Angeles Mozart Orchestra, they watched Carl Dreyer’s 1928 silent film on the inquisition and martyrdom of the 19-year-old saint.

Einhorn chatted warmly with reception guests, savoring their reactions to his work.

“I thought it was gut-wrenching,” observed Philharmonic board chairman Fritz Westerhout. “I really feel like I’ve been pulled through a knothole. . . .. And now, here I am talking to the genius who wrote it and wondering, ‘How could he create that?’ This is an honor.”

Said Einhorn: “This is just as thrilling for me. The thing that is so exciting is that I had this experience of finding the film in a tiny archive. And when I saw it for the first time, I thought, ‘I can’t believe what I am seeing.’

“Now to see others having the same reaction as I had is very exciting. And it helps me in some ways. Everybody has a different reaction. It helps me understand how my music is received.”

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When Chapman University in Orange set out to plan its annual American Celebration benefit, organizers decided it needed a new look. For the first time, celebrities will be added to the mix, with singer Natalie Cole receiving a special award.

“We wanted to enhance the benefit--give it new variety,” said Vaughn Kelly, university director of special events. “After 14 years of the same format, it was time to bring a little more excitement into the project.”

Cole will not perform at the Nov. 16 event, but she will mingle with major supporters at a VIP reception staged in the presidential suite of the Anaheim Marriott.

“I hope, in future years, our stars will perform,” Kelly said. “Natalie declined because she has to catch a red-eye to New York the same night.”

Having Cole’s name on the benefit has given it a financial shot in the arm. “We’re already up $20,000 from where we were at this time last year,” Kelly said.

Meanwhile, donors to Opera Pacific are still buzzing about the dinner they shared last month with supernova Luciano Pavarotti. Before breaking bread with supporters at the Four Seasons hotel, the tenor met with major donors at a private reception, signing autographs and sharing his love of opera.

“There’s not a person alive who doesn’t like meeting stars,” said Patrick Veitch, general director of Opera Pacific. “Some of us are just more honest about it. But interestingly, I’ve found that opera stars are just as interested in meeting supporters.

“They like the attention and, more importantly, they need the feedback on their performances.”

The Pacific Symphony also organizes intimate receptions for the artists it features during its season. Not all of the stars have jumped at the chance. There was that night a few years back, for example, when Bernadette Peters seemed terrified when she arrived at a bash in her honor. “She absolutely cringed when people gushed over her,” an observer noted.

But for the most part, the performers leave feeling glad they came, said Louis Spisto, the symphony’s executive director.

“Everyone loves to touch the magic that surrounds great artists,” Spisto said. “Putting donors and artists together is one of the best ways of accomplishing the task of securing major support as well as helping the donor become aware of why their support is necessary. Ultimately, people give to people.”

More than any other Orange County arts organization, the Performing Arts Center has the opportunity to make artists part of its fund-raising landscape. Regularly, its board of directors stages cast parties and receptions for stars who perform at Segerstrom Hall.

The gatherings are a natural, says center spokesman Greg Patterson: “Bringing volunteers and donors together with artists is important because it makes that connection--makes everything we do here tangible.”