On Wednesday, November 14 at 7 PM, on the eve of his 76^th birthday, Martin Scorsese returns to his childhood parish, the Basilica of Saint Patrick’s Old Cathedral on Mott and Prince Streets, for a conversation about how his youthful imagination was inspired by his church and his neighborhood of Little Italy. 

Wednesday, November 14, 2018 at 7:00 PM - Basilica of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral, 261 Mott Street, New York, New York. For tickets: https://www.showclix.com/event/mean-streets-to-silence-an-evening-with-martin-scorsese. Mr. Scorsese was in Italy recently to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Rome Film Festival. Paolo Taviani, who presented the award, described Scorsese as a filmmaker whose films “help us understand who we are.”  

Friends of the Erben Organ (http://erbenorgan.org), a 501(c)3 non-profit, of which Martin Scorsese is Honorary Chair, is presenting the event. The group’s mission is to preserve and restore the magnificent Civil War era pipe organ and build a community of music and arts education around it. 

A noted preservationist, Martin Scorsese last year donated his 75^th birthday to the group, which must raise $2 million to restore and preserve the 150-year-old instrument, which is considered one of the most important in the nation. The evening is a benefit for the restoration of the organ. 

There will be a pre-event recital on the organ. Basilica Music Director and Organist Jared Lamenzo and friends will play “Suite for Organ Trio and Strings,” by Josef Gabriel Rheinberger.