Actor Alec Baldwin, satirical newsman Stephen Colbert, and Colbert's wife Evelyn will serve as honorary chairs.

Pennebaker and Hegedus are the creators of the classic Bob Dylan documentary Don't Look Back, among other films; Seldes has been nominated for five Tony Awards and won in 1967 for A Delicate Balance.

Schickele, who is also known as a composer of concert music under his own name and as the host of the radio program Schickele Mix, first uncovered P. D. Q. Bach's music in 1954. In that year, according to his web site, "Professor Peter Schickele, rummaging around a Bavarian castle in search of rare musical gems, happened instead upon a piece of manuscript being employed as a strainer in the caretaker's percolator. This turned out to be the Sanka Cantata."

Schickele first performed the music of Bach, the "last and least" of Johann Sebastian Bach's children, at Town Hall in 1965. His works have since been inflicted upon audiences at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and Symphony Space in regular Christmastime concerts.

The gala will include a cocktail reception, auction, dinner, readings, and music. For tickets, contact Mary Hedahl at [email protected].