The Oakland East Bay Symphony is holding a fund-raising dinner and auction to support music programs in the Oakland schools. The event is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. Saturday at the Greek Community Center, 4700 Lincoln Ave., next to the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Ascension.

Actors Danny Glover and Rita Moreno will serve as the event's hosts.

The symphony reached an agreement with the Oakland school district 10 years ago, symphony officials said, so symphony musicians could teach in the schools. The partnership has helped Oakland public school students receive more music education than students in some other school districts, according to Carl Stanley, the symphony's education coordinator.

Instructors have focused on teaching students in elementary schools, Stanley said, for the past decade. "It's been growing ever since," he said.

Enrollment in the district's music program is increasing at a time when the number of students entering music classes around California is dropping. According to the state Education Department, the number of students taking music classes in public schools has declined by half a million over the past three years.

A variety of factors contribute to this decline, said Don Doyle, coordinator for visual and performing arts with the department. Instruments are costly, he said, and finding teachers qualified to introduce music, especially in elementary schools, is difficult.

"Music programs tend to whither away," Doyle said.

But programs for students in Oakland continue to grow, symphony officials said.

The symphony brings its musicians into 18 schools each month, Stanley said. The symphony also offers competitions, concerts and lectures to students.

The musical group raised about $180,000 through a similar gala event two years ago, symphony officials said. They expect 350 to 400 people to attend this year.

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