PROTESTRA

Orchestra bridging the divide between activism and classical music ✊🎶
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PROTESTRA is an orchestra of activist musicians who use classical music to protest injustice and advocate for social change. We believe that the concert stage is a powerful platform, and that every concert is an opportunity to make an impact, catalyze discussion, build community, and challenge ourselves to take on the issues facing our world.

06/05/2026

Join us for a benefit concert on Saturday, June 27, 2 PM at the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew in NYC! Titled “Founding Mothers,” the program will feature works by contemporary and historic American women composers. Proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to two NYC-based charities whose work supports and uplifts women and girls. Today, we are shining a spotlight on Girls for Gender Equity - GGE works intergenerationally, through a Black feminist lens, to center the leadership of Black girls and gender-expansive young people of color in reshaping culture and policy through advocacy, youth-centered programming, and narrative shift to achieve gender and racial justice. Swipe through this post to read more about the important work they are doing!

The concert will feature two world premieres: "Matriarch" by PROTESTRA Associate Conductor Danielle Jagelski, written in honor of the knowledge systems created and sustained by the enduring wisdom of indigenous female leadership and, JL Marlor’s "YELLFIRE", featuring voice and electric guitar alongside the orchestra in an exploration of female rage becoming a force of transformation. The two pieces were commissioned by the American Composers Forum as part of their multi-year Recomposing America initiative.

For tickets and more info, visit protestra.org

05/22/2026

If your ideal saturday night includes music and collective action, we got you 🎶✨

Join us for Songs of Resilience on World Refugee Day — a benefit concert for immigrant aid & defense featuring the world premiere of a new song cycle by Sheila Silver.

📍 Maplewood, NJ
🗓 Saturday, June 20
🕖 7 PM

Featuring:
Melissa Citro, Teresa Castillo, Francesco Barfoed, and Juan Carlos Narváez

All proceeds support and First Friends of NJ & NY 💛

Come for the music. Stay for the solidarity.

🎟 Tickets + donation info at the link in bio or using the following link https://events.humanitix.com/songs-of-resilience

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Si tu sábado ideal incluye música y acción colectiva, aquí te esperamos 🎶✨

Acompáñanos en Songs of Resilience este Día Mundial de las Personas Refugiadas — un concierto benéfico a favor de la defensa y el acompañamiento de comunidades inmigrantes, con el estreno mundial de un nuevo ciclo de canciones de Sheila Silver.

📍 Maplewood, NJ
🗓 Sábado 20 de junio
🕖 7 PM

Con:
Melissa Citro, Teresa Castillo, Francesco Barfoed y Juan Carlos Narváez

Todos los fondos recaudados apoyarán a y First Friends of NJ & NY 💛

Ven por la música. Quédate por la solidaridad.

🎟 Entradas e información para donar en el link en bio o usando este link https://events.humanitix.com/songs-of-resilience

05/20/2026

Join us on at 7pm on June 20th, World Refugee Day, for a benefit concert for Cosecha and First Friends of New Jersey and New York, two organizations supporting immigrants and families of immigrants detained at Delaney Hall, an ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey.

The concert will feature the world premiere of composer Sheila Silver’s new song cycle, “Songs of Resilience,” performed by 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.

The concert is co-produced by Melissa Citro, Sheila Silver, and PROTESTRA in a continuation of PROTESTRA’s ongoing efforts to support immigrant aid and defense and will be held at St. George’s Episcopal Church in Maplewood, NJ.

Visit protestra.org for tickets and more info 🎟️

05/13/2026

Gathered with a group of amazing musicians in Brooklyn recently to workshop two new pieces - YELLFIRE by JL Marlor and Matriarch by Danielle Jagelski. Part of the American Composers Forum’s Recomposing America initiative, these two works dealing with themes of girlhood and womanhood will premiere at our Founding Mothers concert on June 27.

Grateful for these players and their enthusiasm for new music and collaborating with composers - much fun was had by all!

For tickets and more info about the upcoming concert, visit protestra.org 🎟️

05/01/2026

A group of Recomposing America composers and project producers convened in Minneapolis recently to share their project visions and participate in creative conversations. This also marked the first time that PROTESTRA Artistic Director Michelle Rofrano, ACF Executive Director Loki Karuna, and composers JL Marlor and Danielle Jagelski were all together in one place!

Today, PROTESTRA will be workshopping the newly commissioned pieces in Brooklyn. This will be the first chance for the composers to hear their orchestral work reduced for string quartet and piano. This is such an important step in the process of bringing new work to life; providing an opportunity for making adjustments, trying new things, finding what works best for the pieces, and receiving live feedback from musicians.

You’re invited to experience the world premieres of “YELLFIRE” by JL Marlor and “Matriarch” by Danielle Jagelski on June 27! Proceeds will be donated to two NYC-based charities whose work supports and uplifts women and girls: Hour Children and Girls for Gender Equity.

Tickets and more info at protestra.org 🎟️

04/21/2026

On Saturday, June 27 at 2 PM at , PROTESTRA will present “Founding Mothers,” a program featuring works by contemporary and historic American women composers.

This concert is produced in partnership with the American Composers Forum as part of the multi-year Recomposing America initiative and will feature newly commissioned works by two women composers living and working in NYC. Timed with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Recomposing America aims to refresh and reimagine the “who,” “what,” and “why” of the United States and the stories therein. The new orchestral works will highlight the concepts of girlhood and womanhood as they relate to the history and future of America.

The concert opens with the premiere of Matriarch by PROTESTRA Associate Conductor Danielle Jagelski, written in honor of the knowledge systems created and sustained by the enduring wisdom of indigenous female leadership. The second premiere, JL Marlor’s YELLFIRE, features voice and electric guitar alongside the orchestra and explores female rage becoming a force of transformation. The program closes with Florence Price’s Symphony No. 4, the final symphony composed by the first African-American woman to have her work premiered by a top American orchestra.

PROTESTRA will donate proceeds from ticket sales to two NYC-based charities whose work supports and uplifts women and girls: Hour Children and Girls for Gender Equity.

Visit protestra.org for tickets and more info! 🎟️

04/15/2026

“I follow my intuition and let the music speak for itself…In the last movement, I was aiming for a sense of hope… this is what we got, and this is what we have to do.”

Relatos Migrantes was commissioned for ¿Quiénes Somos? concert as a celebration of Latin-American heritage and culture. Amado describes following his intuition through the music and infusing it with references that come from Latin-American styles, as well as jazz, to represent a communion of two sources. We are overjoyed to have presented this piece, we’ve also included a few words from the composer.

In the last movement, Amado wanted to transmit a message of hope and light. Listen to this world premiere performance of Relatos Migrantes played by flutist, Juan Carlos Narvaez and pianist, Po-Wei Ger.

03/26/2026

¿Quiénes Somos? was more than just a concert. The audience and artists gathered together at shared in an intimate celebration of Latin-American culture and heritage. With music and storytelling as an outlet, tears mixed with both deep joy and sadness were shed. It was the kind of experience that allows space for immense complexity and acts as a simple reminder; you are not alone.

You can view the concert recording through April 4th as we continue our crowdfunding campaign for - visit protestra.org to watch and help us get closer to our goal of 5k for immigrant aid and defense! 🦋

📸

Address

510 E. 14th Street #312
New York, NY
10009

Website

https://www.protestra.org/

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