The merry face of spring turns to the world, Sharp winter now flees, vanquished – Carmina Burana

BANGOR – There will be merry faces, excited faces, smiling faces – and some wearing a look of good-natured disappointment at the Merry Face of Spring Dinner Auction to benefit the Bangor Symphony Orchestra on Sunday.

Beginning at 5 p.m. with cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and a silent auction, the evening will feature a dinner menu of spring delights. A May green salad leads the meal, followed by Lemon Herbed Spring Lamb and Sunshine Apricot Chicken with new potatoes, baby-green vegetables and Spring Fruit Crumble with Almond Cream Sauce. The evening continues with a live auction by auctioneer Bruce Buxton.

The fund-raiser will help the Bangor Symphony Orchestra – the nation’s oldest, continuously running community orchestra – keep providing musical experiences to Maine youth through its outreach programs. Dinner auction chairwoman Chris Szal described the youth programs as “the most exciting and perhaps least known, even among our subscribers.”

Each year, the BSO sends small groups of musicians into schools with the “Know Your Symphony Orchestra” program. The “Instrument Petting Zoo” allows young people an opportunity to see instruments up close and each year an educational concert at the Maine Center for the Arts gives 4,000 students the chance to hear a symphony. Says Szal, “For some students it is their first experience in a concert hall; it’s their first experience really hearing a symphony orchestra.”

The BSO also sponsors a high-school concerto competition, giving cash awards to three finalists. The winner plays his or her winning piece accompanied by the BSO at the Youth Concert Series. Selected high-school musicians perform with the BSO at Casual Concerts during the year.

Intriguing auction items have been donated, many by BSO members. Principal bassist Bob Rohe has donated a handmade cello. Percussionist Cindy Brooks-Bastide has donated a two-week stay in a home in a small town in France. And the bidding will certainly be fierce for an evening of canoeing and fishing with BSO’s very own principal oboist, Louis Hall.

Not an angler? How about a golf weekend at Sugarloaf? Take a special overnight at the White Columns Inn of Bar Harbor. Relax on the steamship Katahdin during a three-hour tour of Moosehead Lake, or spend a day sailing Blue Hill Bay aboard the Spark.

Of special interest, a dozen free Bagel Central bagels every month for one year; a Celtic harp; and an autographed Wynton Marsalis album cover. Works from Maine artists Nina Gerome, Tom Hennessey, George Danby, Bill Bracken, Forest Hart and the late Deer Isle artist Dan Hodermarsky will be auctioned, as will a variety of Maine products and crafts.

John VerLee will take the highest bidder for a scenic flight in a Cessna 210, and then to a favorite Maine dining establishment. Hungry bidders will also be interested in a “John & Ginger Hwalek Wok-In Chefs Teaching Dinner,” traditional Chinese fare for eight to 12 persons, or a party for 25 at the Isaac Farrar Mansion with hors d’oeuvres, wine and Flautissimo Four’s live classical music.

And if you’re in the market for a BMW Roadster Z3 in silver and black, Bill Dodge of Westbrook has donated one.

The auction follows the 3 p.m. BSO finale performance of “Carmina Burana” at the Maine Center for the Arts in Orono. Tickets for the dinner and auction are $30. For a full list of auction items, check the BSO Web site at www.bangorsymphony.com. For tickets, reservations or to make a field bid on a particular item, call the BSO at 942-5555.