A kind of musical heaven is about to descend upon the Napa Valley in the form of 16 starry singers of opera fame, and a host of angelic musicians called the Napa Valley Youth Symphony. The occasion will be the first-ever fundraising benefit for the young ensemble, Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m. at Lincoln Theater in Yountville.

Foremost among the array of celebrity singers will be Grammy award-winning coloratura soprano Erie Mills, lyric tenor John Aler from the Royal Opera of London, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Staatsoper Vienna and Napa Valley’s own Marnie Breckenridge, lyric soprano at both San Francisco Opera and the Prague State Opera.

In addition, upcoming stars will include lyric soprano Monica Yunus from the Metropolitan Opera, James Levine protegé Kiera Duffy who mightily impressed recent audiences at Tanglewood, mezzo-soprano Christina Wilcox who has sung with both the New York Philharmonic and the San Francisco Symphonies, lyric tenor Jason Collins from the Canadian Opera and Glimmerglass Opera, and bass Christian Van Horn from the Lyric Opera of Chicago as well as appearances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Mezzo-soprano Juliana Gondek, who has sung at La Scala and at the Salzburg Festival and is now a professor of voice at UCLA, and Marilyn Horne protegé, baritone Weston Hurt, will complete the roster.

These fine singers will appear not only in solos and duets but will join together for British composer Ralph Vaughn Williams’s lovely anthem, “Serenade to Music,” the featured work of the evening.  (Vaughn Williams is perhaps best known in the U.S. for his orchestral pieces “The Lark Ascending,” the fantasy on “Greensleeves,” and his Shakespeare opera, “Sir John in Love”.)

However beautiful the “Serenade to Music” is, it has rarely been performed since its composition in 1938. One reason is because it requires 16 of the best possible voices. Napa Valley audiences will now have the opportunity to hear it in all of its vocal splendor.

The text of the piece is taken from some of Shakespeare’s most romantic verse in his play, “The Merchant of Venice.” And Vaughn Williams’s musical setting is as evocative as the Bard’s words are eloquent.  

A nocturnal mood will be introduced by the orchestra with silvery strings and bosky woodwinds, then accompany a mixture of voices heralding the night — “How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank!” A pairing of tenors soon exult “Look how the floor of heaven is inlaid with patinas of bright gold!” while brass fanfares and the call of a high soprano later awaken the sleeping goddess of the moon (“Come, and awake Diana with a hymn!”).  

Subsequent passages for mezzo-sopranos alternate with those for baritones and basses (“the man who hath no music in him ... is fit for treasons, strategems, and spoils”). The 15-minute anthem then concludes with an elegant praise of music (“Soft stillness and the night become the touches of sweet harmony”).

Such a nuanced composition requires sensitive conducting, and that will be the case with Ming Luke, the Youth Symphony’s vibrant young conductor. Maestro Luke well knows about youthful attainment, having made his own Carnegie Hall recital debut at age 18. And while he has since that time become music and choral director for any number of distinguished music institutions, he remains a passionate advocate for music education through his leading this group. In fact, it has been under his tireless and spirited guidance that the Youth Symphony has grown to such stature, it has been called “a fantastic cultural treasure” by Governor Schwarzenegger.

The 63 talented musicians who comprise the orchestra come from more than 27 Napa Valley schools. There is no minimum age but the maximum is age 25. Members are selected by audition, all are required to participate in current school music programs, and many receive private instrumental instruction. Begun in 2001, the orchestra is an independent entity from the Napa Valley Symphony.

Financed by major contributions and sponsorships, the group now needs to raise additional funds in order to continue its annual schedule of concerts, its advanced chamber music program, its educational outreach programs, and to accept an exciting invitation to perform at the illustrious Carnegie Hall in New York City this June.  

In addition to the Vaughan Williams piece, the orchestra will demonstrate its diverse qualities by performing music from Bizet’s spirited opera, “Carmen,” Verdi’s elegiac opera “Don Carlo,” the pulse-quickening “Danse Bacchanale” from Saint-Saën’s opera “Samson et Dalila,” and Bernstein’s vivacious musical, “West Side Story.”

The benefit, titled “Serenade to Youth,” will feature sample cuisine from some of Napa Valley’s premiere restaurants, outstanding wines from Napa Valley vintners, and a treasure-laden silent auction. Sponsorships are still available by calling (415) 731-5539, and event tickets are now sale at the Lincoln Theater Box Office, (707) 944-1300. Tickets, $30, $60, $100.

It promises to be one heavenly evening!

Serenade to Youth

Saturday, Feb. 16, 7:30 p.m.

Lincoln Theater, Yountville

Tickets: $30, $60, $100

Box office: 944-1300