Tonight at 8 p.m. in Crowell Concert Hall, students and the general public can expect to be moved by the talent and music of the Gospel Extravaganza 2010. This Haiti relief benefit, hosted by University Protestant Chaplain Reverend Joan Cooper Burnett, will feature jazz, hip-hop and gospel violinist Kersten Stevens.

Additional performers include: Praises of Judah, a local gospel group, the Yale Gospel Choir, and Benjamin Hosig, an up-and-coming tap dancer. Wesleyan students will also be performing during the show.

Stevens, who has been referred to as one of the most electrifying contemporary artists of today, has opened for esteemed artists such as Ray Charles and is a member of Sage, an all-African American female jazz sextet in New York. On her website, Stevens wrote of the Gospel Extravaganza, “I’m rolling out a whole new band, new music, with special guests Ben Hosig and Yale Gospel Choir. You don’t want to miss this!”

The show wasn’t originally organized as a benefit for Haiti, but after the devastating earthquake, the University was presented with the opportunity to raise funds for Haiti relief.

“This is the second year I’ve hosted this event at Wesleyan and this year I thought it was imperative that out community do something in solidarity to support the Haitian people following the devastating earthquake,” Burnett wrote in an e-mail to The Argus. “Although the Gospel Extravaganza was already planned and the ticket sales covered the expense of employing the artists performing, I believed an offering taken during intermission would be a good first step in supporting Haiti relief.”

Tickets are $8 for Wesleyan students, and the money collected during intermission will be donated through the American Red Cross chapter in Middlesex Central Connecticut.