Happening Tonight

This coming Saturday, the Hudson Festival Orchestra presents its annual Hudson in Concert: A Community Celebration at Henry Hudson Riverfront Park. Tonight, you can attend a fundraising concert to benefit the Hudson Festival Orchestra. The concert, featuring three extraordinary musicians, Dinuk Wijeratne, Layale Chaker, and Kinan Azmeh, promises to be spectacular.

These three musicians have known each other for several years, but their musical paths diverge. Kinan Azmeh might have several gigs with his Arab-Jazz Quartet City Band, while Layale Chaker is putting finishing touches on her new opera, Ruinous Gods, commissioned by the Spoleto Festival. Meanwhile, pianist Dinuk Wijeratne could be playing a Mozart concerto with Symphony Nova Scotia, or pursuing interests in Indian tabla (drum) music. Yet, as diverse as their interests, they are just as likely to come together--each with original compositions--and create exciting, vibrant pieces that should probably be classified as "world music." All those influences overlap.

Tonight's concert will be an opportunity to hear this group as they share their talents in a benefit concert for the Hudson Festival Orchestra. The event takes place at the historic First Presbyterian Church at Warren and Fourth streets, a sanctuary known for its splendid acoustics. The concert begins at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are required and may be purchased here.