PROTESTRA will present the world premiere of composer Sheila Silver’s new song cycle “Songs of Resilience” in a benefit concert on June 20 at 7 p.m. at St. George’s Episcopal Church in Maplewood, New Jersey.

The concert coincides with World Refugee Day and all ticket proceeds will support First Friends of New Jersey and New York and Cosecha, two organizations providing direct assistance to immigrants detained at Delaney Hall, Newark’s federal immigration detention facility.

“Songs of Resilience will be performed by soprano Melissa Citro, soprano Teresa Castillo, and pianist Francesco Barfoed. The seven songs in the cycle draw on texts by Nicholas Kristof, Sara Abou Rashed, Ann Ellsworth, Victor Feldman, Stephen Kitsakos, Rob Lewis, and Lucile Lichtblau. The program also includes the world premiere of “Borderless Dreams,” a new work by composer Arturo Rodriguez performed by flutist Juan Carlos Narváez and pianist Francesco Barfoed.

Citro, a Grand Finals Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and longtime Maplewood resident, co-produced the event alongside Silver and PROTESTRA, the volunteer-run orchestral advocacy organization.

“The songs embody a plea for sanity, empathy, healing and renewal and speak to courage, conscience and the weight of moral reckoning. Each is penned by a different author: Nicholas Kristof, Sara Abou Rashed, Ann Ellsworth, Victor Feldman, Stephen Kitsakos, Rob Lewis, and Lucile Lichtblau,” said Silver, per an official statement.

The concert will run approximately 80 minutes, followed by a reception.

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