OCEAN PINES—The Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra and the Art League of Ocean City will co-sponsor “Artistry in Motion,” a black-tie optional gala to raise funds for the upcoming season, on Saturday, Oct. 26. 

The event will be held at the Ocean City Center for the Arts from 6-9 p.m. and proceeds will benefit both the MSO and Ocean City Center for the Arts. Attendance is limited and tickets are $125 per person. Hors d’oeuvres and an open bar will be catered by Liquid Assets of Ocean City. 

Guests will be entertained with chamber music performances by Daphne Benichou, on viola, accompanied by harpist Maria Harrison. 

The evening’s activities will include painting demonstrations and a silent auction of art and objects d’art, including hand blown glassworks, jewelry, accessories and gift certificates.

Parking will be available at 94th Street, with complimentary shuttle service provided for patrons to the Center for the Arts.

David Stevens, a former director of the Ocean Pines Association, is the MSO’s area vice president and is coordinator of the fundraiser, which he said has a second purpose of broadening exposure of the symphony beyond its current core of music lovers in the area surrounding the Community Church. “Basically it is oriented towards enhancing Ocean City as a local cultural center,” he said. “By combining our event with the Art League, we hope to accomplish that and to a certain extent, we already have,” he said.

The fundraiser comes on the heels of the symphony’s 17th season premiere performance before a sold out audience in Ocean Pines on Oct. 13, which was also coordinated by Stevens. French violinist Arnaud Sussmann was the featured guest musician in the symphony’s performance of music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Music Director Julien Benichou and Concertmaster Nicholas Currie then led the symphony in a performance of Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 9 in C Major, 944.

Rina Thaler, executive director of the Art League of Ocean City, also said in an Oct. 22 interview, “Nothing like this has ever been done in Ocean City before” and described the event as an effort to help the town expand its artistic base. The Art League will also be celebrating its 50th anniversary that evening at its newly opened 94th Street location.

Thaler said representatives of the Art League were “delighted” to integrate their activities with those of the MSO for an evening that will comingle the musical, visual and literary arts.  

In addition to the musical performances, attendees will be able to view artwork by some of the area’s most talented artists, according to a written statement, including a photography competition in the Thaler Gallery, a special exhibit in the galleria of paintings by Pete Cosby and Randy Hofman, with written reflections on their artwork by the Ocean City Writers Group.

On Dec. 8, the MSO will also sponsor a holiday performance “Amazing Voices,” at the Community Church in Ocean Pines. Season subscriptions are $145 and individual tickets for the performance are $35. 

Other venues for the MSO’s performances during the 2013-2014 season will include the Avalon Theatre and Easton Church of God, in Easton; Cape Henlopen High School Auditorium in Lewes; and Mariner’s Bethel United Methodist Church in Ocean View.

For more information or to order subscription or individual concert tickets, call 1-888-846-8600 or visit the www.midatlanticsymphony.org to download the season brochure and ticket order form.

To get more information on the Art League of Ocean City, call 410-524-9433 or click onto the Art League of Ocean City Web site at www.artleagueofoceancity.org.