Gala/NYC

Cellist Mike Block, a young alum of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble, embarks on his own cross-genre undertaking: an ambitious Brooklyn-based series featuring collaborations between top talent from pop, classical, folk and world-music circles. Russian violinist Anastasia Khitruk, folksinger Jefferson Hamer (Great American Taxi), percussionist John Hadfield, Syrian clarinetist Kinan Azmeh and guitarist-composer Kyle Sanna get the party started at the inaugural concert on Sat 7.