Maplewood Benefit Concert Will Support ICE Detainees At Delaney Hall

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — An acclaimed opera singer, composer and group of classical musicians will hold a fundraising concert in Maplewood in support of immigrants detained at Delaney Hall in Newark.

“Songs of Resilience” will be performed on Saturday, June 20 – World Refugee Day – at 7 p.m. at St. George's Episcopal Church, 550 Ridgewood Road. All proceeds will go to First Friends of New Jersey & New York and Cosecha. Learn more or purchase tickets here.

Maplewood resident Melissa Citro – who has performed with some of the largest opera groups in the nation – is teaming up to spearhead the benefit concert with composer Sheila Silver and Protestra, a volunteer-run nonprofit that combines activism with classical music.

Here's what to expect, organizers said:

"Songs of Resilience will feature soprano Melissa Citro, soprano Teresa Castillo, and pianist Francesco Barfoed. Silver’s powerful new song cycle gives voice to individuals confronting urgent social, political, and humanitarian crises. In addition, flutist Juan Carlos Narváez and pianist Francesco Barfoed will perform Borderless Dreams, a new work by composer Arturo Rodriguez. This passionate work explores the interior narrative many immigrants experience when contemplating emigration, spanning from hope to trepidation, and from home toward the unknown."

Donations can also be made online here.

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