Monthly Archives: April 2016

Gila, Devora

Israeli. Singer/Songwriter. Clarinetist. former Spanish teacher. Native of Long Island, New York. nee Vicki Wiseblatt. B.A. in Linguistics from Harvard College, where she performed with a Renaissance choir, the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum, and hosted a jazz program on WHRB radio. While earning an M.A. in Spanish from Middlebury College, she continued her interest in radio broadcast as a DJ for a Spanish music show on WRMC. She performed with award-winning political theater throughout the East Coast, produced an album in Spanish which made its debut in the Caribbean, and sang back-up vocals in Boston’s folk scene for singer-songwriter Pat Burtis. Among other interests, she is a former Kripalu yoga instructor and martial arts student. Devora Gila, a now frum vocalist, whose recordings are marked for “women only”, has one of the hippest religious recordings around, Hodu Lashem (2003).…
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Gideon, Miriam

Information from the recording by CRI on the composer’s works. For additional information on Miriam Gideon, see the article by Judith Pinnolis in Women and Music in America Since 1900 vol. I, (Greenwood Press, 2002). Gideon’s compositions with Jewish materials include: The Hound of Heaven (1945), How Goodly Are Thy Tents (1947), Adon Olam (1954) , Psalm 84, Three Biblical Masques (1958), Sacred Service (1970), Shirat Miriam L’Shabbat (1974), The Resounding Lyre (1979), and A Woman of Valor(1981).
http://www.composersrecordings.com/cd/782.html

Gerson-Kiwi, Esther

Jewish musicologist who worked in Israel. Born in Germany in 1908. She wrote: liner notes to recording: Musik der Bibel in der Tradition althebräischer Melodien. (1950); The Persian doctrine of Dastga-composition: a phenomenological study in the musical modes (1963); Migrations and mutations of the music in East and West : selected writings (1980). Gerson-Kiwi worked extensively with music of Jewish communities outside of Europe.

Garfein, Rebecca

American. Cantor. A native of Tallahassee, Florida, Cantor Garfein graduated cum laude from Rice University s Shepherd School of Music with a degree in vocal performance and opera. In 1993, she received her Master s Degree in Sacred Music and Cantorial Investiture from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR). While completing her studies at HUC-JIR, Cantor Garfein was the Director of Children s Music at Riverdale Temple, Riverdale, the Bronx, New York. While in Israel, she was a featured soloist with the Ra a na na Orchestra and the Zamir Chorale at the Jerusalem Theater in Israel. Upon graduation from HUC-JIR, she subsequently became the first Cantor of Riverdale Temple, and served in that capacity until 1999, when she was the first woman appointed as Senior Cantor of Congregation Rodeph Sholom in New York City.…
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Ganz, Isabelle

American singer, composer and educator. Dr. Isabelle Ganz received her D.M.A. in Voice and Music Literature from the Eastman School of Music. She is Director of Music for Congregation Brith Shalom in Houston and is on the Voice Faculty of Lamar University in Beaumont, TX. In 1997 she was a Fulbright Scholar in Jerusalem and taught at Rubin Academy in Israel, and received a NEA Solo Recitalist grant in 1992. Dr. Ganz is a champion of contemporary music. She has performed as vocal soloist with Luciano Berio, John Cage, Lukas Foss, Gerard Schwartz and many other composers and conductors. One of the pioneers in the field of Sephardic music, her New York-based ensemble, ALHAMBRA, founded in 1981, has performed throughout the world. For 20 years she was a cantorial soloist for both Reform and Conservative congregations in the U.S., as well as in Winnipeg, Amsterdam and Munich.…
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Gal, Zehava

Israeli born-American based mezzo-soprano. Teacher and Vocal coach. Discovered by Jennie Tourel. Studied voice at the Juilliard School of Music and Piano at the Rubin Academy in Jerusalem. Ms. Gal won prestigious awards such as the Paris and Munich International Voice Competition, and Young Concert Artists in NY. Gal has sung at top opera houses and festivals all over the world, such as La Scala, Paris, Covent garden, Vienna, Glyndebourne, Santa Fe, & Pesaro. Gal sung with conductors such as Von Karajan, Abbado, Mehta, and with major orchestras such as New York, Israel and the Berlin Philharmonic. Gal has appeared in the title role of Carmen in Peter Brook’ s Theatre and Film production of La Tragedie de Carmen. Gal has recorded for major record labels including RCA, CBS, Philips and EMI.…
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Fuchs, Lillian

American. Born, November 18, 1901. Died, October 5, 1995. (Her birth and death dates are incorrectly listed in New Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians/ Online, Baker’s Biographical, Jewish Women in America and other reference sources. Possibly one reason was incorrect information was listed in her obituary in The New York Timesprinted Oct. 7, 1995. The NYTimes did print a correction –the correction appeared Oct. 10, 1995. However, many researchers did not find that. The dates I give above are verified by two government sources, the US Census and the Social Security Death Index.) Violist. “First Lady of the Viola” was the title of her biography. Member of Perole String Quartet, 1920s-1940s. One of the first women to perform in string quartet in America.…
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Friedman M. , Susie

American. Pianist. born 26 April 1898. died 25 Jan. 1990, in Seattle, WA. Active during the 1940s and 50s touring in the “Cavalcade of Jewish Music” with her husband Maurice. Often obtained arrangements from various well known Jewish composers. During World War II played for troops. Retired to Seattle. Papers in the University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.

Friedman, Debbie

American. Singer-songwriter, cantorial soloist, music educator and music director, who writes contemporary liturgical and spiritual music, primarily associated with the Reform movement. Deborah Lynn Friedman was born 23 February 1951 in Utica, New York. In 1956, the young family moved to St. Paul where she sang in the choir in high school and was active in youth movements. She graduated Highland Park High School in St. Paul in 1969. She went to Israel for a year and returned to the United States. She recalls 6 April 1971 as the date a melody came to her while sitting on a bus, and she composed V Ahavta, her first complete setting of a liturgical text, which she then taught at a PAFTY meeting at Rodef Shalom Temple.…
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Frankel, Judy

American. Singer. Sang primarily Ladino folk songs, preserving the music of Jews descended from the expulsion from Spain in 1492. Ladino is a language that’s a mixture of Hebrew and Spanish, which the Sephardic community has preserved over 500 years. Born Judith Bradbury on Aug. 12, 1942, Judy Frankel grew up in Boston and graduated Boston University in 1969. She worked for a while as an elementary school teacher, but moved to San Francisco and refocused her life work on music. Ms. Frankel lived on the West Coast, and performed in elderly housing settings and other Jewish venues. She sang with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus for 10 years. She was a soloist in the San Francisco Consort, an early music group she helped to form around 1980.…
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Fox, Erica

British. Born Vienna, October 3, 1936. Composer and teacher. Grew up in an Orthodox Jewish home. Studied at the Royal Conservatory of Music. Studied composition with Bernard Stevens, Jeremy Dale Roberts and Harrison Birtwistle. Her musical style incorporated many aspects of Jewish music, such as chassidic melodies. She wrote stage and vocal music including “Nine lessons from Isaiah” (1970), and “The Dancer, Hotoke” (1991); chamber music such as “Shir” (1983) and “The Moon of Moses” (1992); and orchestral work such as “Osen Shoomaat” (1985).

Foster, Andrea

American. Cantorial singer, educator and children’s camp specialist. Currently Judaic Program Coordinator and songleader, Capital Camps, Camp Benjamin, 3rd-6th grades, Waynesboro, PA. Dr. Foster holds a PhD in American Studies, George Washington University(1993); MA Philosophy, George Washington University; MA Anthropology/Archaeology, SUNY Buffalo; and BA English, SUNYC Oswego. Dr. Foster is a performer, Jewish Folk Arts Festival, Rockville, MD; Music Specialist, pre-schools, 4th-7th grades, retreats, 6th-10th grades; Student Cantor, adult, Children’s and Tot, services HHD; Student Cantor Bar Mitzvah and Memorial Services, Bat Mitzvah training, Shabbat services; Sunday School Coordinator and teacher; Music Specialist summer camps in area; Jewish meditation group coordinator, facilitator. She is a member of the Women Cantors’ Network. She has also been a part-time Professor Montgomery College, Germantown, Maryland, in History. She resides in Germantown, MD.…
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Forbes, Vered

Israeli cellist and composer. Ms. Forbes studied voice for five years with Amalia Ishak.In August 2005, she studied with Allison Crum and the Rose Consort at the Dartington International Summer School. Ms. Forbes is a student of Philippe Pierlot (viol) and Reinhilde Bovend’aerde (Baroque singing) at the Royal Belgian Conservatory, where she specializes in Historical Performance.
http://vereddagamba.com/

Gila Flam

Israeli. Musicologist and Head of the National Sound Archive of Israel, located at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem. Her significant scholarly book, Singing for Survival: Songs of the Lodz Ghetto, 1940-45 has gained worldwide attention. “Basing her work upon interviews with survivors and the extant archival records of the Lodz Jewish community, Flam, herself the daughter of survivors from Lodz, describes the ghetto’s struggles through the songs composed and sung by its occupants ” (USHMM, book review). Several of these songs have now been recorded with popular groups, such as Brave Old World.

Fischer, Greta

Noted concert critic of German original, who emigrated to Great Britain during WWII. Born, Germany 1893. Died Britain, 1977. Co-founder of “Club 1943” with Monty Jacobs and Adele Schreiber, a cultural forum for emigres in London during the war. Also worked on various newspapers. The Cultural Association had patterned itself after the Kulturbund founded in Germany when Jews lost their right to participate in mainstream cultural organizations under the Nazis.

Fine, Vivian

Born in Chicago, IL, September 28, 1913. She showed musical promise by age five, and received a scholarship to study at Chicago Musical College 1919-1922. In 1924 began studying piano with Djane Lavoie-Herz. In 1925, she attended the American Conservatory in Chicago. She studied composition with Ruth Crawford and counterpoint with Adolf Weidig. In 1931 she studied with Roger Sessions in New York. She composed dissonant “ultra-modern” music. She taught at Julliard School of Music, and NYU. From 1964 until her retirement in 1987, Fine taught at Bennington College in Vermont. She founded the American Composers Alliance. She received numerous grants and awards including National Endowment for the Arts in 1974. Judith Cody completed a bio-bibliography (Greenwood Press) of her works which included 140 compositions. She died at age 86 in March, 20, 2000.…
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Feinsinger, Mary

Born in New York City. A graduate of Barnard College, with B.A.,(Psychology), she also has a Master¹s Degree in Voice from The Juilliard School. She studied Voice: opera ( Martin Lies, Rose Bampton, Daniel Ferro) and Jazz Improvisation (voice-Janet Lawson, piano-Haim Cotton). She also studied Classical Piano (Jeaneane Dowis, Aspen Festival) and Composition (McNeil Robinson). As composer/arranger and editor at Transcontinental Music company in New York, she has written and arranged numerous pieces of solo and choral Jewish liturgical music. She produced, arranged, and music directed the 2-CD set Kol Dodi: Jewish Music for Weddings (2002). Also for the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, she arranged and produced the recording Songs from a Passover Haggadah (1997). She is co-founder, vocalist, and keyboard artist of the West End Klezmorim, and wrote music and lyrics for the off-Broadway revue Hot Klezmer; she has been assistant music director and vocal coach for the Folksbiene Yiddish Theatre.…
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Fensin, Marsha

Vocalist. American cantorial singer. Born the child of Holocaust survivors in Haifa, Israel in 1945. Involved in interreligious community work. Performs Jewish music in concerts, lectures at colleges, churches, the media, schools and other interreligious venues. Currently lives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and serves as cantorial singer at Temple Judah. Musical training through the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music.

Feher, Ilona

Born, December 3, 1901, Budapest, Hungary. Died, Holon, Israel, January, 1988. Violinist, Master Violin teacher. She conertized all over Europe until WWII. Escaped interment and joined the partisans. In 1949, emigrated to Israel. Taught at the Rubin Academy in Tel Aviv, many of Israel’s new generation of great violinists, including Pinkas Zukerman and Shlomo Mintz, and over 250 other students. Awarded the Golden Medal and Diploma of the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, and the Israel prize for the Arts.

Farber, Sharon

Jewish/Israeli Composer. Pianist. Born in Israel. Served in IDF. Worked as theater composer and musical director. Moved to Boston in 1994, studying at the Berklee School of Music, graduating 1997 in both classical composition and film scoring. She composed scores for numerous TV and film projects. Sharon is currently based in Los Angeles and continues works as a Film, TV and Concert Composer in additional to a parallel career in classical composition and choir music. She serves as the Music Director for Temple of the Arts under Rabbi David Baron. Sharon is on the Board of Directors for the Society of Composers and Lyricists and is currently composing for the Emmy Award winning TV Series “Starting Over”. In 2002, her concert composition “The Third Mother/Mothers Lament” (in dedication to Daniel Pearl) premiered with the Los Angeles Master Chorale.…
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Epstein, Leah

Leah Epstein is a song writer living in Israel since making Aliya from Chicago in 1981. She lives on Moshav Keshet, an Orthodox community in the Golan. Her Hebrew and English songs are wistful, and at the same time religious and personal. The music itself is heavily influenced from a ‘time capsule’ of American song from some 30 years ago, such as American folk, Carole King or Joni Mitchell. There are some highly personal songs, such as “Child of the Heights” dedicated to her son killed in a car accident, and other of her texts are more universally and politically themed. The CDs, Nof Mushlam (A Perfect View), and New Faces, Old Souls, are available at Moria Books and Music in the Old City and through cdbaby.com.


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Engel, Hélène

Canadian. Originally born in France, Helene has lived in Montréal for more then 10 years. Singer, musicologist, composer, lyricist and arranger. Graduated in Music Therapy at UQAM. Classically trained singer performs in Yiddish, English and French Ms. Engel performs in various shows within and without the Jewish community. She also occasionally serves as a cantorial soloist at Temple Emanu-El in Montréal. She is also a music therapist, and works in such things as healing services, oneg shabbat in long term care units etc. Ms. Engel has performed in opera in Paris and other locations in France, in such roles as Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro; in Le Pont des Soupirs (Isabelle) at Théâtre de Paris. She has toured Europe and Canada. She has recorded 4 CDs.…
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Elkoshi, Rivka

Born Romania, 1949. Composer. Music Educator and researcher. Immigrated to Israel, 1951. BA Hebrew University; MA New York University, 1976. PhD. Wrote: “An Investigation into Children’s Responses through Drawing, to Short Musical Fragments and Complete Compositions,” Music Education Research, Vol. 4, No. 2, (September 2002): 199, which is available online.

Eisenstein, Judith Kaplan

American. Educator and composer and lyricist. Parallel in generation to Miriam Gideon, she was born, September 10, 1909, Sventzian, Lithuania. Daughter of Mordecai M. Kaplan, founder of Reconstructionism. Died February 14, 1996, Bethesda,(Rockeville?) MD. at age 86. Studied at the Institute of Musical Art (forerunner to Julliard). Graduated Columbia, BS, 1928, and Master in Music Education, 1932. Married Ira Eisenstein, 1934. PhD from HUC-JIR, 1966. Taught at HUC-JIR (1966-1979); Also attended Teachers Institute of JTS and taught there 1929-1954. Taught at Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 1968-1980 (1978-1981?). Created many teaching materials for her pedagogy and history of Jewish music courses. Publications include Gateway to Jewish Song (1937); Songs of Childhood(1955); and Heritage of Music: The Music of the Jewish People (1972, 1990). Many of her English translations of Hebrew songs became well-known standards sung by Jewish children throughout the US.…
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Eisenberg, Jewlia

American. Rock musician and Jewish music synthesist. Born, New York. Educated at UC Berkeley. Traveled widely in Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Israel and Egypt helping influence her musical development. Both parents also influenced her musical tastes as well as exposure to diverse music. Collaborated on a film score directed by Lynn Sachs called “A Biography of Lilith.” Founded Charming Hostess, a hybrid music band, which includes Jewish and Yiddish musical and cultural influences. Her album Trelectic, released on the Tzaddik label, is a song cycle for female voices, but explores the relationship of Asja Lacis and Walter Benjamin, the influential philosopher. Sarajevo Blues(2004) is a CD that witnesses the terror of war. Her earlier work, Eat,(1998) is punk-klezmer.
http://www.charminghostess.us/

Bryan Edelman, Marsha

Singer, choral conductor, full professor of Jewish music (and education) at Gratz College in Melrose Park, PA. Edelman is director of the only non-Seminary-based program conferring an MA in Jewish Music. President of the Zamir Choral Foundation, and author of a variety of articles and liner notes. Author ofDiscovering Jewish Music, [JPS, 2003 ISBN: 082760727X]. Among her varied activities on behalf of Zamir, Dr. Edelman works with Matthew Lazar to coordinate the annual North American Jewish Choral Festival. She also serves as administrative director of Hazamir: The National Jewish High School Choir. (More information about Dr. Edelman forthcoming).

Durmashkin, Henny (Gurko)

Singer. Born 1924- Died, 2002 in Englewood Cliffs, N.J. Sister of pianist Fanny Durmashkin and conductor Wolf Durmashkin. Henny was the youngest. Her grandfather, Akiva, was the cantor of Vilna s main synagogue and respected composer of liturgical music. Before the war, Henny had studied opera. She was fluent in 8 languages. Her brother, Wolf Durmashkin, had been prominent in Vilna’s cultural, conducting the Vilna Philharmonic, prior to the ghetto life during WWII. In the ghetto, he directed a Hebrew choir and an orchestra in the ghetto. According to Barbara Durmashkin, Wolf perished at the age of 30, on Sept. 19, 1944. He was shot an hour before liberation of the Klooga concentration camp. During its 15 months in existence, the Ghetto orchestra performed 35 chamber and symphonic concerts.


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Duarte, Leonora

Born in Antwerp (now Belgium) July 28 1610. Died 1678. Portuguese-Jewish, (formerly marrano) from wealthy family with six children. Known to have been a composer and performing musician with other family members of the lute, viols and keyboard instruments. She wrote in the late Jacobean style. Her works for a group of 5 viols were called “symphonies”. Her family were rich diamond merchants. Her father was baptised when Leonora was around 33 years old, but there is no information of any baptism for her mother Catharina Rodrigues. More information about Duarte, along with a bibliograpy, can be found in The Norton/Grove Dictionary of Women Composers. (p.150)

Drobatschewski, Ellen

Emigre German musician who survived WWII in hiding in France. In 1933 left Berlin for Luxembourg and lived there until the invasion of May, 1940. She Spent the war years in Marseilles and small villages around France, performing music, playing, knitting and working and frequently going into hiding or moving from place to place. Her two sons also survived the war as French soldiers. Drobatschewski describes her ordeal of survival in an article called “In Hiding” in Women of Exile: German-Jewish Autobiographies Since 1933, ed. by Adreas Lixl-Purcell.

Dreskin, Ellen

American. Cantor. Born in Texas. Founding member of Beged Kefet, a musical Tzedakah collective. Graduated Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion School of Sacred Music in New York, 1986. Master in Jewish Communal Service from Brandeis University. Currently Associate Dean of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. First Cantor to be appointed to a full-time senior administrative position at the College-Institute, 1998. Served as Cantor and Educator at Woodlands Community Temple in White Plains, New York, and Fairmount Temple in Cleveland, Ohio, and as the spiritual leader of Chavurat Tikvah in Westchester County, New York. Ellen is married to Rabbi William Dreskin of Woodlands Community Temple.

Dowell, Barbara

Born December 29, 1942 in Columbus, Ohio. Currently serving Congregation Ohev Israel, Newark, Ohio as cantorial soloist. Founder and director of Temple Beth Shalom’s adult choir for thirteen years, The Sharyonim, and their children’s choir Shir Chadash. She also served as the cantorial soloist for Kenyon College holiday services. She arranges choral musical selections, accompanying them on guitar. The Sharyonim recorded a selection of their repertoire, including three original compositions by Barbara, in May, 2002, entitled “The Sharyonim Sing.” Copies of may be otained by contacting Barbara at barbara.dowell@pobox.com

Deikman, Susan

Singer, composer, Hebrew kirtan leader, educator. Leader in the international Music for People Organization, and teacher of voice, music improvisation and art. She teaches singing and leads drum circles. Susan is the creator of Mishpacha Music for children and their families. She is the founder of “Tone Deaf Choir” and has an instructional CD, “Toning for Tuning” for the Vocal Discovery Series. One of the originators of Hebrew kirtan which blends call and response chanting of Hebrew text and names of God with joyous sound: a blend of voice, harmonium, and drums. Kirtan, Deikman states “is an ancient Hindu devotional chant form and is similar in its religious passion and intensity to African-American Gospel and Hasidic niggunim.” Susan is known for her style of chanting. She states that she “offers you a powerful, direct, and personally transformative entry to God-realization.” Susan teaches at Elat Chayyim, which is affiliated with the Jewish Renewal Movement.…
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Czackis, Lloica

Mezzo-soprano. Born in Germany to Argentinian parents in 1973. Grew up in Venezuela. She played and sang with her musical family Latin American folk music. She formally studied singing and choral conducting in Buenos Aires, and completed her training at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London. Her repertoire ranges from the Renaissance to the avant-garde and from folk to tango, including oratorio, opera, and works written especially for her. Since 1999, she conceived and produced programs on Latin American and European 20th Century music, Yiddish song, cabaret and tango. She also performed in renowned venues in Buenos Aires and Europe. Her 2002 Millennium Award-winning show Tangele: The Pulse of Yiddish Tango (www.lloicaczackis.com/tangele.htm), features songs from the Yiddish theatre in Buenos Aires and New York and from ghettos and concentration camps in wartime Europe.…
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Samsonov Cooper, Ruth

Israeli-born Canadian music pianist, teacher. Born 1918, Israel. Died, 1992 Toronto? Canada. Studied piano with Stefan Wolpe in Israel. Studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and earned the LRAM, 1944 in piano, voice, and conducting. Studied with Harold Craxton and Sir Henry Wood. Following the war, Samsonov returned to Israel and began performing and taught. In 1954, she moved to Toronto,Canada, where she taught piano. She was a Jewish music educator in Toronto for many years.

Cooper, Adrienne

Yiddish singer and co-founder of KlezKamp. Born in Oakland, California on September 1, 1946. She studied German lieder and French art song in Israel with Mina Lief. Inspired and coached by Lazar Weiner in New York, Ms. Cooper focused on Yiddish song, concertizing widely. Her CDs include “Dreaming in Yiddish” (1995) and “Ghetto Tango”(2000).She joined “Mikveh”, a women’s klezmer band, and sang in their premier CD in 1998.

Irma (Reinhart) Cohon, Angie

American. Educator, editor, poet. Born, September, 1890, Portland, Oregon. Died, 1991. Her parents were J.F. and Amelia (Marks) Reinhart. Attended HUC, 1909-1910. BA, University of Cincinnati, 1912. Irma Cohon wrote the first English language history of Jewish music (A.Z. Idelssohn’s book was 1929):Introduction to Jewish Music in eight illustrated lectures (publ. before 1923), published by the National Council on Jewish Women (the 1923 edition by Bloch is a second edition). She collaborated with HUC prof, A.Z. Idelsohn, on Harvest Festivals, A Children’s Succoth Celebration. Cohon wrote poetry and several other works including A Brief Jewish Ritual (Women of Mizpah, 1921). On June 12, 1912, A. Irma Cohon married Rabbi Samuel S. Cohon (see Manuscript Collection No.276). They had one son, Baruch Joseph. Cohon’s brother was Harold Reinhart, ‘a prominent liberal rabbi in London, England.’ Her papers and music manuscripts are housed at the American Jewish Archives in Cincinnati.…
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Cohen, Myrna

American. Cantorial Soloist at Temple Emanu-El in San Diego, California, composer and singer. “Myrna received her Bachelor of Science degree in Education and Music from the University of Pittsburgh, and was employed as a counselor and youth advisor at the Irene Kaufman Center, as well as being a music specialist at the Beth Shalom Synagogue Sunday School.” Albums by Myrna Cohen include: Special Days & Lullabies and Quiet Time, Special Days: Songs for Children, and Swinging Chai. Easy to learn songs for very young children.
http://www.soundswrite.com/swmc.html

Cohen, Judith

Canadian ethnomusicologist and performer of Sephardic, Crypto-Jewish, Judeo-Spanish (“Ladino”)and Medieval music. Born in Montreal 1949, Dr. Cohen received her PhD from Université de Montréal in 1989 with a dissertation on Sephardic music in Canada. She travels widely researching medieval and Crypto-Jewish music in Spain and Portugal. She gives lecture-recitals, often accompanied by her daughter Tamar. Her CDs include: “GERINELDO: Chansons traditionnelles jud’o-espagnoles” (1994) and “Empezar quiero contar: Canciones de Sefarad,” (2000). Her website Judith Cohen includes a vitae, list of publications and lectures and discography. Dr. Cohen has published online articles and bibliographies including:A short bibliography of Sephardic Music

Cohen, Harriet

British pianist. Born 2 Dec 1895 and died London 13 Nov. 1967. Eldest daughter of Florence White and Joseph Woolf Cohen. Studied with Tobias Matthay at the Royal Academy of Music (1912-1917). Known for her performances of Bach. Ralph Vaughan Williams dedicated a Concerto to her, which she premiered in 1933. Lover of the composer, Arnold Bax, but they were never married. She made the first recodings of his music. In 1948, she injured her hand, but continued to play for a time with one hand. Her memoirs areA Bundle of Time (1969).

Cohen, Dalia

Israeli musicologist. Professor Emeritus of of the Department of Musicology at The Hebrew University and the Jerusalem Academy of Music. Her research interests include music theory, universals in music, music perception and cognition, learned and natural musical schemata, sytle as determined by both the aesthetic ideal and cognitive constrains, vocal communication among humans and animals, symmetry in music, musical language of Bach, Arab music in theory and practice. She has published numerous books on these subjects as well as numerous papers, books, conference presentations. Often collaborates with Ruth Katz in the field of cognition in music. Wrote her dissertation on Zimrat hahimnônim sel ha-‘arauim ha-rtôdoksim we-bay-yevanim haq-qatôlim be-yisra-el [The Hymn Singing of the Greek Orthodox and Greek Catholic Arabs in Israel]. Ph.D., Musicology, Jerusalem, 1968. Co-author with Ruth Katz, Palestinian Arab Music: A Maqam Tradition in Practice (2005).…
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Cogan, Susan

Born Toronto, Canada. Moved to Jerusalem, Israel in 1966 where she began singing at the age of 15. In the 1970s in the duo Susan & Fran, these Canadian women achieved fame, with their songs now standards in Israel. Recorded, “Susan Cogan o-n-e”, a collection of her original folk and soft-rock songs. Toured Canada in 1981. In 1991 Susan created the indie label and recording studio “Nomad Music” together with producer Paul Brosseau. Released CD “Space-Age Primitives” (1993). CD “Gypsy Hill(1999) CD “Mayim” (2001), a collection of popular Israeli songs ranging from the 1920’s to the 1970’s, in Hebrew. Song “Israel Shemah”.
http://www.susancogan.com/

Chen, Nira

Israeli. Born, Kibbutz Ein Harod. Studied piano in Jerusalem. Wrote several piano pieces, children’s songs, popular songs, such as “Iti Milvanon”, and ‘folk songs’, including the world famous “Dodi Li”, which many people today think of as a genuine folk tune. The tune is often used for choirs, but has received many arrangemenets, such as this one available online at the Boosey and Hawkes website:
http://www.boosey.com/pages/making/composer/sample_detail.asp?sampleid=10287
A pdf score of the music appears at:
http://members.aol.com/gabrielaw9/dodi.pdf

Casman, Nellie

Born 1896 in Proskurov, Russia. Died, May 27, 1984 in New York City. Casman came to US in early 1900s. She began in the Yiddish theater as a child star. She performed in Yiddish theater in South America, Europe and throughout the US playing comic Yiddish roles. Nahama Sandrow, in her bookVagabond Stars, refers to Casman as “one of the rare female kuplétists, tiny and round…” The kuplét was a comedic patter song that had little to do with the action of a show. In some shows Casman combined this with the “red hot mama” style where she “starts to shake her bosom, which makes one cozy curve from shoulder to waist. She vibrates all over, till even the absurd red flower sticking up on top of her head jiggles, too and she looks down at her own chest with such childlike surprise and satisfaction that the audience roars with delight.” She performed in shows such as “The Girl from Argentina” and “The Drunkard”.…
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Carlyle, Jackie

Jewish singer/songwriter. Her song about Israel, SOULS IN THE BREEZE is on the Jewish Agency for Israel website. Clips of her singing are on her website.  I have always felt that writing came through me; it was a gift given to me by some higher power, especially the words. If I had the choice, I don t think I would have chosen this path for myself; I feel it chose me. Jackie s song  You Are My Anchor” was #2 on the charts under Elton John s Circle of Love in Holland. He website includes a bio, photos, clips and links.
http://www.jackiecarlyle.com

Braunstein, Karen

American Cantor and klezmer musician. Bachelor of Music, New England Conservatory, 1981. Hebrew Union College-School of Sacred Music, invested as cantor, 1988. Started the band “Shirim” in Boston. Served various pulpits as cantor and guest-cantor in New York, Pennsylvania, Florida and Texas. Currently serves Temple Shaarei Shalom, a Reform temple located in West Boynton Beach, Fl.

Fanny Brice
Aamerican. Born October 29, 1891, New York. Died May 29, 1951, Beverly Hills, California. New York theatrical singer and comedienne. Starred in the Ziegfeld Follies. Following a success with Irving Berlin, she continued Yiddish style comedic songs. Brice toured as a vaudevillian, and also was featured in several Broadway shows in the 1930s. She became known for her onstage antics and Yiddish ethnic humor. She went on to radio and created the Baby Snooks character.


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Braitman, Sylvia

French-born mezzo-soprano Sylvie Braitman graduated from The San Francisco Conservatory of Music and has performed with various regional companies. She is a performer in the fields of opera, art song, folk and popular music. Braitman focuses on 20th century music– she has premiered opera roles such as Mrs. Vallejo in David Conte’s The Dreamers (Sonoma Opera), Anja in Philippe Manoury’s 60th Parallelconducted by Kent Nagano (Berkeley Symphony). Other roles include Marcellina in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, Madame Larina in Eugene Oneguin, Thisbe in Cenerentola and Mercedes inCarmen. She is a regular feature of the Berkeley Jewish Music Festival and has conceived various one-woman-shows that tell the story of her family’s Holocaust experience through the use of Yiddish music, acting and story telling.…
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Betcher, Cantor Marie

Cantor. Operatic Vocalist. Educator. Bachelor of Music, Vocal Performance Indiana University School of Music, Bloomington, IN; Masters of Music, Vocal Performance Florida State University School of Music, Tallahassee, FL; Certification & Investiture as Cantor Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion-School of Sacred Music, New York City. Performances include: Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Piccolo Spoletto in Charleston SC; and tours in concert in Sicily and England. She has won operatic competitions such as the West Palm Beach Civic Opera Competition and was a finalist at The Dallas Dealey Awards Competition. She has sung with symphony orchestras such as The Las Vegas Symphony, The Pittsburgh Symphony and The Austin Symphony. Her performances have taken her from Toronto to Beverly Hillsto New York and many cities in-between. Her repertoire spans from Puccini and Verdi operas to Brahms Lied and Faure Chanson to Bach and Handel arias.…
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Beit-Halachmi, Michal

Israeli born clarinetist Michal Beit-Halachmi graduated from Givatayim Conservatory, where she studied with Eva Wasserman-Margolis. She continued her musical studies in the United States at Indiana University and Duquesne University, receiving her Bachelor of Music Degree in 1999. In 2002, she received her Master of Music degree from State University of New York at Stony Brook, under the tutelage of Charles Neidich. She has been a scholarship recipient of the America- Israel Cultural Foundation since 1997. She has toured Russia and Armenia with the American- Russian Young Artist Orchestra, performances at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival (Germany) and a concert in the Salzburg Festival with members of the Vienna Philharmonic. Other festival appearances include the Sarasota Chamber Music Festival, and Domaine Forget in Quebec, Canada. Ms. Beit-Halachmi has concertized extensively as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Israel and in Russia, Belgium, Hungary, Germany and the United States.…
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Bauer, Marion

American. Composer. “Marion Bauer (15 August 1882-9 August 1955), daughter of French Jewish immigrants in Washington state, was a member of what scholars have called the “forgotten vanguard” of modernism…” Musicologist Dr. Melissa De Graaf has written a biographical sketch of Marion Bauer for the Jewish Music WebCenter, which can be viewed here as a pdf file.

Dr. De Graaf’s work is copyrighted. Pleasecontact JMWC if you need more information about the use of this article.