THE CROWD:

She is one of the most dedicated and passionate women on the Orange Coast, promoting culture and specifically the multiple benefits and rewards of music in our lives.

Bobbitt Williams, our very own North Carolina-to-Southern California transplant, has become a champion of so many worthy pursuits to keep the music playing in our schools, in our villages, in our concert halls and in our homes.

Earlier this social season, Williams chaired an event at the Village Crean featuring entertainment by a group called the Hutchins Consort.

The Consort is a very special octet of acoustically combined stringed instruments that are traced back to Old World European roots.

The ensemble was originally created by physicist Dr. Carleen Hutchins, who also designed and crafted the instruments.

Enter Corona del Mar resident and equally passionate cultural music advocate Sharon McNalley, and the Hutchins Consort came to life in Southern California.

McNalley and her son, Joe, who serves as music director of the consort, have spent years promoting this unique musical presentation. As with any other narrowly focused cultural pursuit, it takes time and money to build a reputation, a following, an audience.

The McNalleys have dedicated themselves to this end and have enlisted prominent community support including Williams, who chaired the recent concert, helping to raise more than $30,000 to be used to underwrite additional performances of the Hutchins Consort throughout the 2008-09 season.

Influential local citizens have joined the rally. Howard Jelinek serves as board chairman with support from Susan Beechner, Sabra Bordas, Dr. Robert Burns, RuthAnn Burns, Paul Gerard, Jenny Gerard, Shell Grossman, Lola Gillebard, Karen Cornell, Marge Gates, Janice Johnson and Jan Landstrom.

The event at the Crean estate was themed after an old-fashioned Shakespearean festival in keeping with the roots of the Hutchins Consort instrumentation.

The party included a comedic musician named Dean Ferrell, who dressed as a pirate, delighting the crowd with his antics.

Also supporting the Hutchins Consort were Julie Jenkins, Ron and Marcia Radelet, Kathryn Smith, Margarie Ringwalt, Alma Vanesse, Mary Kay VanderMolen and Barbara Woods.

THE CROWD runs Thursdays and Saturdays.