The Scheherazade Initiative Brings Together World-Renowned Musicians and Charity: Music for Life, UN Benefit Concert for Violence Against Women, Elmira Darvarova, George Mathew, NY Philharmonic

Music for Life International Inc. presents a night of music and charity. The Scheherazade Initiative, a benefit concert to help end violence against women, offers wonderful Scheherazade-inspired pieces by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Maurice Ravel at Carnegie Hall.

This concert brings Music for Life International and the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women together for a collaboration in support of raising funds and public awareness. The concert will not only serve as a fundraiser, but a tribute to the resilience of women, their families and their communities in the face of often unspeakable violence as well as an urgent call to the global community to take action.

The Scheherazade Initiative has been organized and will be led by Singapore-born Indian conductor George Mathew and will bring together musicians from the world’s best orchestras. Principal artists will gather from the New York Philharmonic, Met Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Buffalo Philharmonic, American Symphony Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, as well as their colleagues from other international ensembles; students and faculty of The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Curtis Institute; and other major music academies.

Elmira Darvarova, former concertmaster of the Met Orchestra — and the first female concertmaster in the Met’s history — will serve as concertmaster. Mezzo-soprano and Met Opera star Susanne Mentzer will give voice to Ravel's Scheherazade in the concert. The show will also feature spoken word poet Sarah Kay.

The Scheherazade Initiative is the sixth in a series of global humanitarian concerts that Mathew and Music for Life International have conceived and presented at Carnegie Hall. This particular project was launched in Washington, D.C., in December 2013 and was recently followed by an international concert, The Scheherazade Initiative India, at the India Habitat Centre in Delhi.

The show will take place Jan. 26 at 8 p.m. at the Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall. Net proceeds for the event will benefit the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women. To purchase tickets, click here.