Brooklyn Conservatory of Music is organizing a huge online festival to celebrate World Refugee Day. Saturday, June 20th at 3pm. They are presenting an excerpt from “In Her Words,” with brief but great performances by Rob Ackerman, Melis Aker, America Barcenas, Karen Burthwright, Otho Kerr, Samia Mounts, Elena Shmulenson, Tayo Shonubi, Dana Fenlon Wu.

https://bkcm.org/event/world-refugee-day-online/

Help support refugee resettlement through St. John’s Episcopal Church and Neighbors For Refugees.

I am thrilled that by play I devised from interviews with women refugees will be the centerpiece of the evening. Details here.

If you're near Chappaqua, NY (yes, home of Hillary and Bill Clinton) on Friday, Feb 24 at 7pm, give yourself a treat and head to Chappaqua Station, the very cool restaurant/jazz club in a former train station. There, you'll hear Elizabeth showcase songs from her new album, The Weight of Mortal Skin. She'll be joined by Dave Hart on guitar and Jay Militscher on bass. 

The songs, a luscious blend of country, folk and blues, will take you on an intrepi journey through the rocky terrain of the human heart. With a rich, chocolaty voice and unwavering emotional intensity, Elizabeth shares stories of anguish and elation, revelation and deliverance--songs that feel at once deeply familiar and wholly new.

Elizabeth is Director of Local Programming for Hope Sings. She also writes and performs for our “Songs for a Cause" events that celebrate the social justice work of not-for-profits advocating for women and children such as Hour Children and Girls Inc, Westchester.

More info at Elizabeth Erin Kemler and at Inside Chappaqua. More about Chappaqua Station here.

On Thursday, May 5th, Hour Children hosts its annual benefit luncheon in Bedford NY - and Hope Sings will be there!

Hour Children has invited Hope Sings founder Beth Blatt to perform the song she wrote for them and performed at the Songs for a Cause event they produced for the charity last year in Katonah, NY.

The duet was inspired by Hour Children employee, Kelly Phelan, and letters she exchanged with her daughter while/after she was incarcerated. Tara Curran of Katonah will sing the part of the daughter, and Blatt will reprise her role as the mother. (note: song begins 1:45 into the video)

Hour Children helps incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women rebuild their families and their lives. It was named to acknowledge the important hours that shape the life of a child with an incarcerated mother: the hour of their mother’s arrest, the hour of their visit, and the hour of her release. Founded more than 25 years ago, Hour Children strives to end the cycle of intergenerational incarceration.

The annual luncheon usually sells out – it has lots of local support due to its work at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility – but there may be a few seats left. If you care about making a big difference in the lives of women and children, you’ll want to be there!