On June 2, 2012 the legendary Paul Simon headlined the San Francisco Symphony's Black and White Ball, performing in concert with the Orchestra and his band (a Black and White Ball first) at Davies Symphony Hall.
 
The post-concert party for 8,000 Symphony supporters at the War Memorial and Civic Center featured 10 bands on five stages, with music spanning each decade since the ball's 1956 inception, along with dancing, food and drinks. Cyndi Lauper and the Wallflowers were co-headliners on the outdoor main stage, and the night's lineup included R&B artist Janelle Monae, the doo-wop/soul vocal group the Drifters, The Brynna Whittaker Little Big Band and Latin jazz by Dr. Bobby Rodriguez. At midnight, the skies over the Civic Center lit up with lasers and fireworks as hundreds of costumed dancers and singers arrived on trolleys for a “Midnight Surprise.”
 
The event was a fundraiser for San Francisco Symphony education programs reaching 75,000 Bay Area schoolchildren.