The occasion was a gala concert being held in the week leading up to what would have been his father's 70th birthday.

And on Sunday he will be honored at the festival with a gala concert of song.

With five class periods a day for three weeks, plus evening events and gala concerts, the format was set.

This gala concert could easily become a yearly event that Met fans look forward to.

Tickets range from $24 to $36 ($55 for the gala concert), and series subscriptions are available.

Gala concerts, parties, and fan festivals are held in the days leading up to the championship game.

But neither museum shows nor gala concerts can capture the teeming spirit of what was actually going on 25 years ago and more.

So the annual gala concert to boost their pension fund has become a popular and worthy event.

Three more rounds follow, and the event ends with a gala concert on Nov. 1.

After many donations and two Gala Concerts, the project reached a successful conclusion in 1993.