Coming Together to Celebrate the Magical Music of Mozart

Asked by a group of wide-eyed little girls if this was his house, Dennis Tito replied, “Yes, this is my home, and I love to share my home with the community.”

The girls--budding pianists Brandy and Leslie Godsil; Madeline Warren, who is learning the flute; and Molly Fishkin, who her companions said “just tagged along”--were not the only ones impressed Saturday night with the scale of Tito’s mansion, built in the style of an English manor house on a hilltop in Pacific Palisades.

More than 200 supporters of the Los Angeles Mozart Orchestra were, as one commented, “on top of the world” about being able to stage their benefit dinner at the estate.

The event had originally been conceived as a cozy gathering around a piano in one of the high ceilinged living rooms, but when demand grew--to about 200 people who bought $75 tickets--it had to be moved to a courtyard under an awning.

With the mist rolling in from the ocean, Tito tried to adjust the heating to a temperature warm enough to keep the orchestra’s music director-conductor Lucinda Carver’s fingers mobile on the piano keys but not too hot to stress the singers scaling the demands of excerpts from “The Magic Flute.”

The concert portion of the evening followed a functional help-yourself dinner of chicken and pasta at tables decorated by Grace Dickman, wife of board member Richard, with simple pink roses and a scattering of musical note confetti.

*

“This Fazioli is a piano, not a pasta dish,” said Carver before taking her seat at the Italian crafted instrument, loaned for the occasion by David L. Abell, one of the orchestra’s advisory trustees.

Carver also interjected precis of “the many layered” plot between the highlights of Mozart’s opera, performed by soprano Camille King, tenors Daniel Ebbers and Sean McDermott, baritone Malcolm Mackenzie and lyric bass William Hanrahan.

Adorned with name tags to make introductions easy, the crowd seemed to have no trouble finding plenty to talk about beyond a unifying love of Mozart’s music.

And they were thrilled to hear that Michael Korney, representing the Jerome Belzer trust, had presented a $100,000 endowment for the orchestra, which is now undertaking its 21st season.

Among the devoted and the newly hooked who organized or simply enjoyed the black tie-optional gathering were event chairwoman Virginia Van Odsel, orchestra President Neil Bennett, Executive Director Susan Stamberger and Larry Kurens, Carol Clement, Neeta and Nirmel Banskota, Smrithi and Basker Krishnan, Rosny and Fred Mandell, and Padmini Raj.