Monthly Archives: February 2006

Classical or Jewish art music, Concerts, WHERE: USA_NY

Regina Resnik Presents: Covert or Convert?

Sunday, April 2, 2:30 PM

Regina Resnik Presents: Covert or Convert?
A Powerful Expression of the Jewish Spirit

Regina Resnik, narrator; Darynn Zimmer, soprano; Michael Philip Davis, tenor;
Charles Robert Stephens, baritone; Vlad Iftinca, piano

This unique program features the work of Felix Mendelssohn and Anton Rubinstein,
converts to Christianity, and Otto Klemperer, a convert back to Judaism, along with
unheralded Jewish composers who wrote covertly during the Inquisition, under
Communism, and in the Holocaust. Works by Aldo Finzi, Pavel Haas, Mieczyslaw
Weinberg and others will have their premieres in the Museum’s Edmond J. Safra Hall.
All of them are powerful expressions of the Jewish spirit. Presented and narrated by
opera legend Regina Resnik.
$20 adults, $15 seniors, $10 members/students
Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
36 Battery Place, New York, NY 10280
t.…
CONTINUE READING >

Cantorial, Choral, Concerts, WHERE: USA_NY

International Celebration of Jewish Music at Alice Tully Hall

Chabad’s Children of Chernobyl
In association with the American Society for the Advancement of Cantorial Arts. Inc.
Proudly Presents
An International Celebration of Jewish Music

The Celebrated Voices of… A New Cantorial Generation …

David Weinbach – Tel Aviv, Israel
Yaakov Stark – Cong. Orach Chayim, NY
Netanel Hershtik– The Hampton Synagogue
Tzadok Greenwald – Jerusalem, Israel
Maestro Matthew Lazar
Music Director

The inspirational 70 voices from
The Moscow Male Jewish Hasidic Capella Choir Conducted by: Sasha Tsaliuk
The New York Synagogue Choir Conducted by: Itzchak Haimov
The Tel Aviv Cantorial Institute Conducted by: Naftali Hershtik
Accompanied by: The ASACA Chamber Orchestra
An exclusive concert at the Alice Tully Hall,
Lincoln Center
Thursday Evening, March 30, 2006
7:30 PM
Tickets: $500, $360, $100, $50
Separate Seating available
Tickets may be purchased through CenterCharge: 212-721-6500
For sponsorships and VIP seating call the CCOC Office: 212-681-7800
For tickets go to www.ccoc.net
Venue: Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center – NYC…
CONTINUE READING >

Classical or Jewish art music, WHERE: USA_NY

Shapira and Shapira Perform Brahms at Carnegie Weill Recital Hall

Renowned cellist Benjamin Shapira will joined by pianist Shulamith Shapira performing the two Brahms cello sonatas at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall on March 16th, 8:00 pm.
B. Shapira’s talent was recognized at a very early age. He was quickly embraced by
America Israel Cultural Foundation, and was selected by Isaac Stern to join a small
group of outstanding young protégé artists at the Jerusalem Music Center. Shapira’s
international career was launched after his celebrated Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall
performance of the Complete Bach Suites for Cello Solo. Since, Shapira is in
constant demand as a soloist, performing all over the United States and abroad. His
recent years’ US performances include concerts in Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston,
Texas, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin. Shapira frequently performs internationally as
well, touring Europe, South America and Israel.…
CONTINUE READING >

Obits, Sephardic, Ladino or Mizrachi

Chazzan Abraham Lopes Cardozo Dead at 92

Chazzan Abraham Lopes Cardozo z”l died February 21 at around 3am. He had been hospitalized for several days with breathing difficulties. Abraham Lopes Cardozo was born in Amsterdam, Holland on September 27, 1914. He was the great-grandson of the Chief Rabbi in Amsterdam and the son of the choir director of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue there. He came to his American post in 1946 and served Congregation Shearith Israel in New York for over 40 years. Cardozo’s recordings from 1959 were recently rereleased in time for the celebration of the 350th anniversary of Jews in America, and reviewed by this website: http://www.jmwc.org/NewCDReviews/shearithisraelcds.html

He was a made a Knight in the Order of Orange Nassau by Queen Beatrix of Holland on June 7, 2000.
Two years ago the Chazzan celebrated his 90th birthday in Amsterdam.…
CONTINUE READING >

CD Releases, Women

Miriam’s Drum

A new CD, Miriam’s Drum has been released with all original new songs by Tziona Achishena Zilbershtein. This recording, intended for women, features a diverse group of musicians performing on everything from traditional oud to Indian tablas, tampura, bendir, bowls, flutes, harmonium and drums. A children’s choir also appears as well as women’s vocals. Most of the texts come from Psalms, or prayerbook liturgy, yet the settings are new and spirited. Tziona is a ‘mulit-instrumentalist who plays guitar, piano, riq (a Middle Eastern tambourine), harmonium, and the Persian santur.’ Recordings can be purchased directly through the artist at: Tziona Zilbershtein Ohr HaGanuz, D.N. Merom HaGalil, ISRAEL 13909. For more information, visit: http://www.koltziona.com/

Agents

Female songwriters needed

A Chasidic female recording artist, Chana Fellig, is putting together a CD compilation of Jewish female songwriters. She’s interested in hearing from women and girls who write original songs or “who has dreamed of being a singer, who writes songs, plays an instrument, composes melodies etc. The songs can be a collaboration of a few talents.” If you are interested in submitting a song to her, please email her directly at chanale@hotmail.com

Books

Irving Fine – An American Composer in His Time

A new book about Irving Fine, by Phillip Ramey was published a few months ago by Pendragon Press. Fine was the Brandeis University composer who founded the Music Department and began the landmark performing arts festival at Brandeis. Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Richard Wernick, who studied under Fine at Brandeis, wrote the Forward. This book is being published by Pendragon Press in association with The Library of Congress.
ISBN: 978-1-57647-116-0 It’s part of the Lives in Music Series No. 8 called Irving Fine – An American Composer in His Time

Cantorial, Concerts, WHERE: USA_NY

Cantorial school concert at Jewish Theological Seminary

Date: Sunday night March 12, 2006
Time: 7:00pm
Where: JTS Feinberg Auditorium
Jewish Theological Seminary
Broadway at 122nd Street, NYC
Tickets are $7 for students; and $15 for anyone else.
There will be a wide variety of music performed by over half of the students of the HL Miller Cantorial School.
For ticket info, contact either Sara Horowitz or Rebecca Carl at
sahorowitz@jtsa.edu, or recarl@jtsa.edu
This is a tsedakah concert.

Classes & Courses, Yiddish or Folk

Yiddish Summer Program at Tel Aviv University

Tel Aviv, Israel
July 3 – 28, 2006
A vibrant new Summer Program in Yiddish language and culture is now available at Tel Aviv University. Under the auspices of Beth Shalom Aleichem, The Goldreich Family Institute for Yiddish Language, Literature, and Culture at Tel Aviv University and the Abraham Lerner Fund, this four-week program during the month of July 2006, offers intensive Yiddish instruction on campus at the beginners, intermediate, and advanced levels, and a rich afternoon program of lectures, tours, theatre, concerts, museums, films, and cultural events organized by YUNG YiDiSH in conjunction with Beth Shalom Aleichem. As students of the Lowy School for Overseas Students at Tel Aviv University whose credentials are recognized by universities world-wide, participants will receive 80 hours of language instruction (four credits) with highly qualified and experienced teachers in small classes and will be housed in dormitories adjacent to the campus.…
CONTINUE READING >

Israeli, Women

Shoshana Damari dies in Tel Aviv

Shoshana DamariShoshana Damari, with a completely distinctive voice, and a career as one of Israel’s favorite singers, died on Tuesday, February 14, 2006 at a hospital in Israel from pneumonia. She was 83. Damari was called by Haaretz newspaper as the “Queen of Israeli Song” , others the “diva of popular song”. Damari was born in Yemen, in the city of Damar, migrating with her family to Israel in 1924. She was a child prodigy and sang at many functions in her community. As a young teenager, she went to seek her career in Tel Aviv, landing a job at the Li-La-Lo Theater and becoming a permanent cast member. One of her solo numbers was by Shlomo Wilenski, called “Kalaniot” (Anemones) and it became her signature song.…
CONTINUE READING >

CD Releases

Zemlinsky Songs Get Some Well Deserved Attention

Alexander Zemlinsky is one of those ‘lesser known’ composers who fled Nazi Germany for the US in the 1930s. Recently there has been a sort of revival of sorts with a book by Anthony Beaumont a few years ago, several concert series about Austrian ’emigre’ composers, and a CD set of Songs of Zemlinsky sung by Hermine Haselbock.To hear samples, go to Haselboeck’s site and click on “Zemlinsky CD”.
Songs by Alexander Zemlinsky (1871-1942)
Hermine Haselböck, /Mezzosoprano
Florian Henschel,/Piano
PAN CLASSICS (PC 10162)
www.panclassics.com

CD Releases

Wings: Songs of the Jewish Heart

Valeria Fubini Ventura, voice, Anna Barbero, piano, have released a CD of classical Israeli music on the Italian label http://www.ludomentis.it/eng/chi_eng.htmlLudomentis. Recorded in the Church of S. Apollinare in Monticello di Lonigo (VI) near Vicenza, the recording has a collection of Israeli composers whose “musical horizon is tied to European national school of the end of the nineteenth century.” Also included are selections by Ravel and Milhaud.

Uncategorized

Klezmer & African Drumming Extravaganza at The Tank

March 16, 2006, 10pm
Aaron Alexander’s Midrash Mish Mosh with Senegalese Sabar masters Yakar Rhythms

A World-Jazz Extravaganza is coming to The Tank on March 16, 2006 at
10pm, featuring Aaron Alexander’s Midrash Mish Mosh and Senegalese
Sabar drum masters Yakar Rhythms, featuring Aliounne ‘Guido’ Faye.
Special guest on Midrash Mish Mosh is drummer David Licht from the
Klezmatics! Both bands will play separately and then collaborate on a
couple tunes at the end. Alexander previously produced and a
collaboration with Yakar rhythms and Hasidic New Wave which resulted in
the CD “Belly of Abraham” for Knitting Factory records.

The Tank is Located at 279 Church St. (bet. Franklin & White), in Tribeca, in NYC.
www.thetanknyc.com
The Tank @ Collective: Unconscious is located at 279 Church Street
between Franklin and White.…
CONTINUE READING >

Women

Two Women’s Events in Jerusalem

Wednesday, February 15 at 8PM Women’s Hachnoses Calla Event, featuring Anita Tucker from GK speaking, and musical entertainment by Ayelet Hashachar, visiting from Baltimore.
At the Matnas in Ramat Bet Shemesh. Bring a gift or cash donation. More info, call: Yehudis Schamroth at 0545-91-6673 or Shoshana Schillet at 999-2805

February 28, at 7:30pm Women’s Performance for Rosh Chodesh Adar: “THE SWITCHBOARD OPERATOR” an original funny musical set in the 1920’s, written, produced and directed by Rebbitzen Devorah Green. At Beit Ha’Am “Gerard Bechar Theater” 11 Bezalel St. Tickets: 45, 50, 60 nis (Proceeds to support Yeshivas Bircas HaTorah). Info: call 054-808-4746

Concerts, Klezmer, WHERE: USA_NY

A Rare Evening of Klezmer Tsimbl

Zev Feldman, Pete Rushefsky and Alicia Jo Rabins
Performing: “A Rare Evening of Klezmer Tsimbl (Cimbalom/hammered dulcimer)”:
Live at The Stone (www.thestonenyc.com/)
John Zorn, Artistic Director
Basya Schechter, Curator for February series
Date: Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Location: Corner of Ave. C and 2nd St., Lower East Side of Manhattan, NYC
Time: Two sets: 8PM and 10PM
Admission: $10

A special night of music featuring the tsimbl– also known as the cimbalom or Jewish/Eastern European hammered dulcimer. A string instrument played like a xylophone, the tsimbl employs over 100 strings to create a mystical harp-like sonority. It was a popular instrument in Jewish klezmer ensembles across Eastern Europe from the 1500’s through the first decades of the twentieth century.

Concerts

FOUR WOMEN: PIANO TRIOS

A concert of Piano Trios by Four Women composers will be held in New York on Sunday, March 19 at 3pm.
The composers are LERA AUERBACH, REBECCA CLARKE, FANNY MENDELSSOHN, CLARA SCHUMANN.
The concert will be held in St. Marks in the Bowery (19th and Second Avenue and performed by the Downtown Chamber Trio: RIEKO KAWABATA, violin; DANIEL BARRETT, cello and MIMI STERN-WOLFE, piano
INFORMATION: dmpmimi@msn.com: Suggested donation: $10
Reservations: 212 477-1594; www.downtownmusicproductions.org

presented by DOWNTOWN MUSIC PRODUCTIONS
MIMI STERN-WOLFE, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Concerts

Rebecca Kaplan & Pete Rushefsky at Newton Free Library

Rebecca Kaplan & Pete Rushefsky
Sunday, Feb. 19, 2006 2 PM
Free concert

Newton Free Library
330 Homer St.
Newton Center, MA
(617) 796-1360

Warm up a winter afternoon with a concert of Yiddish folk songs with vocalist Rebecca Kaplan and tsimblist (cimbalom/hammered dulcimer) Pete Rushefsky in a free concert at the Newton Library. Acclaimed Yiddish music artists Kaplan and Rushefsky bring to life rarely heard gems of traditional Yiddish music, as well as original works.


http://newtonfreelibrary.net

Concerts, Dance, Klezmer, WHERE: USA_NewEngland

WORKMEN’S CIRCLE in Boston features STRAUSS/WARSCHAUER DUO

THE WORKMEN’S CIRCLE PRESENTS A CONCERT AND YIDDISH DANCE PARTY WITH THE
STRAUSS/WARSCHAUER DUO
Saturday, February 11, 8:00 pm
Doors open at 7:30
At the Workmen’s Circle, 1762 Beacon Street, Brookline
TICKETS: WC Members: $12 in advance, $15 at the door. Non-members: $15 in
advance, $18 at the door.
For more information contact the Workmen’s Circle at
617-566-6281 or circle@workmenscircleboston.org

CD Releases

Ruby Harris band Releases CD “LeShem Shamayim”

You¹re invited to a CD Release Party with The RUBY HARRIS Band Star of Diaspora
for the Debut of his CD Le’Shem Shamayim: For Heaven¹s Sake on Sameach Music.
This Saturday nite Shabbas Shirah Spectacular Saturday, Feb. 11, 8:00 p.m.
at The Carlebach Shul
305 West 79th Street New York NY 10024
Tel. (212) 580-2391, Infoline (212) 721-SHUL
appearing with ONEG Shemesh –Founding Moshav Band member and his CD Bring Us Together.

Radio or TV, WHERE: Europe

“Lampa Ladino” Live from Russia Online

For those who use the computer on Saturdays, you’ll be able to listen online to a live concert of unusual band from Russia “Lampa Ladino” . This “Russian ensemble Lampa Ladino performs traditional Sephardic romance music. The haunting and unforgettable music of Lampa Ladino is based on the traditional music written in the Judeo-Spanish language, Ladino, by Sephardic Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula until their expulsion in the 15th century”. The show will begin at 10:00 AM GMT. Saturday, February 11, 2006, in Moscow studio Audgard and will be
transmitted via the Internet to entire world from the site Live-radio.ru. Please search for details at: http://live-radio.ru/efir/player.html

Festivals, WHERE: USA_South

Inaugural New Orleans International Jewish Music Festival

April 1 and April 2. Mark those dates on your calendars. Maybe even book a flight to New Orleans to attend the event! Out of towner tickets are only $50 for the entire two days. The first ever New Orleans International Jewish Music Festival is happening in only a few short weeks. And it’s going to be a great line up: Neshama Carlebach, Rebbe Soul, Moshav Band, Sam Glasser, The New Orlenas Klezmer All Stars and much more. To learn all about it, read this flyer: http://www.hiddurmitzvah.org/neworleans/media/pressrelease.pdf
Come support the Jewish community of New Orleans and at the same time bring some great music back to the city.

Choral, Scores

Judi Lamble’s compositions on new website

Judi Lamble, who composes for accompanied and a cappella choruses, soloists, and duets, has a new website that has contact information for obtaining her scores, and samples of her music. Lamble’s music can be appropriate for groups with varying degrees of sophistication. For more information about difficulty of pieces, contact the composer. Some of the religious texts she uses follow the Reform liturgy. She also includes links to other composers sites.
http://www.jewishvocalmusic.com/listen.html

Articles

IndiePulse Article on Reboot Stereophonic

“The project is grounded in a belief that music creates conversations otherwise impossible in daily life,” says Katznelson. “The mission of the label is to trigger a new conversation about the present by listening anew to the Jewish past.” So quotes an article : online in indiepulse . We find out that the music holds the message. Reboot Stereophonic is a non-profit record label dedicated to finding all sorts of Jewish music from the past and interviewing the musicians examining “generational changes in identity, community and meaning.” Part of the object of this project has been rereleases of of old recordings such as the Irving Field “Bagels and Bongos”

CD Releases, Scores

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

The Ramaz Chorus of the New York under the direction of Caroll Goldberg recorded songs on Yom Yerushalayim in 2001. Title of the CD is Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow. If your Jewish day school is looking for material that is attractive, uplifting, and sounds good both to you and teens, you may want to take a listen to this recording to see what kids can do. Caroll Goldberg also has a book L’yisrael Mizmor, that has “selections with melody line, chords, two and three part settings suitable for amateur as well as professional chorus, texts, transliterations and translations, discography, curriculum guide, amd bibliography.” Availble through www.jewishmusic.com.

CD Releases

Atzilut Concerts for Peace

Atzilut is known in Europe as the “Middle East Peace Orchestra”. The ten-member ensemble features Arab and Jewish musicians in concert making a powerful statement for peace by working together. Atzilut has three CDs: Fourth World, Souls on Fire: Music for the Kabbalah, and Concertsforpeace.com. The latter is a balanced program of Arabic and Jewish music including such works as Fo Rusnic (Arabic), Nagila Halleluyah (Hebrew), Balleghu (Arabic) and songs that combine Arabic and Hebrew. Available on CDbaby. Music director: Hazzan Jack Kessler. The message of the CD is “move forward into peace”. It’s for anyone enjoying middle east music with pleasant voices (Maurice Chedid performing Arabic vocalsand Jack Kessler, Hebrew vocals) and good instrumentalists. has a pleasing voice to western ears as well traditional ones.…
CONTINUE READING >

CD Releases

Laurie Sucher sings “Diaspora Dreams”

Laurie Sucher sings in the Chciago area as a seasoned cabaret, Yiddish singer and cantorial soloist. Laurie grew up in a Yiddish speaking home in New York, so she’s quite familiar with the language– and the songs on this CD show that familiarity.The CD is a mix of music recorded a few years ago live at Chicago’s Harold Washington Library Theater and studio takes. Also included on the collection are a number of Ladino Songs. The CD is available through CD Baby.

CD Releases

Jonah’s Songs CD from Emil Skobeloff

Emil Skobeloff, serving as a cantor of Congreation Ohev Shalom in Wallingford, PA sends a CD dedicated to his son Jonah. It’s a private publication produced with the help of studio musician Pete Huttlinger, who has played on Grammy nominated projects and is a veteran Nashville session player. It shows. The arrangements and instrumentation are professional. The repertoire are all standards of Yiddish, Ladino and Hebrew such as Eli Eli and Quando El Rei Nimrod and My Yiddishe Mama. Contact the cantor at: 225 South Chester Road, Ste. 5, Swarthmore, PA 19081 about obtaining copies.

Compositions & Works

Jewish Vocal Repertoire Being Compiled

Cantor Ken Jaffe is completing the final phases of a large bibliography of vocal compositions of Jewish music. It is a comprehensive and annotated work of large scale pieces for solo voice(s) on Jewish themes by Jewish composers. He is interested in knowing about compositions that he may not have included in this work thus far. If you know of, or have created solo vocal compositions of ten minutes or greater in length, on Jewish themes, please write to him and let him know the information. The book is scheduled to be published in about a year by Scarecrow Press. Please respond by February 14, 2006 and write directly to Cantor Jaffe at.zazasdad@copper.net.