Daisy and Paul Soros sat in the front row for Orpheus Chamber Orchestra’s gala concert on Thursday, their eyes bright, smiles wide.

The program, a tribute to their Hungarian heritage, brought joy all around, particularly when three members of the Budapest Festival Orchestra fiddled their way to the stage playing Bartok’s Rumanian Folk Dances.

The boisterousness was a contrast to the formality of the setting, the Metropolitan Club with its frescoed ceilings, gilded columns, and heavy red velvet curtains. Then again, the Old World opulence was fitting, especially for the tuxedoed crowd.

The affection of supporters for the orchestra, which plays without a conductor, is plain.

“I love sitting in on rehearsals to watch the collaborating,” Elizabeth Newman, a chairwoman of the gala along with Noreen Buckfire, said.

“It’s democratic,” an Orpheus cellist, Melissa Meell, said.

The orchestra next plays the Bach Cantatas in two concerts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Thursday.

Downtown, a Taste of the Lower East Side

Verlaine’s lychee martinis (served by the folks in the adjacent photo), Inoteca’s paninis, and pairings of Ronnie Sue’s chocolates and Saxelby cheeses were on offer at Grand Street Settlement’s Taste of the Lower East Side on Thursday. The annual event supports the settlement’s mentoring program, Juniors Undertaking Manhattan Pleasures.

agordon@nysun.com