All posts by judy-p

Women in Jewish Music

ROSSI, MADAMA EUROPA DE’

ROSSI, MADAMA EUROPA DE’, highly accomplished professional singer in the court of the Gonzaga family in late 16th and early 17th century Mantua. The sister of the composer and musician Salamone De’ *Rossi , she was the daughter of Bonaiuto De’ Rossi and the wife of the prominent Jewish community leader David ben Elisha, whose last name was also De’ Rossi. Madama Europa had two sons, Bonaiuto (Azaria), who became a prominent Jewish leader and educator, and Angelo (Mordechai), who became a court lutanist in Turin and a banker. Madama Europa’s grandsons also served as skilled court musicians and bankers in Turin.

Madama Europa’s musical activities in Mantua are known through court salary records and letters from audience attendees. In one document of 1592–93 she is listed as “Europa di Rossi,” along with a group of other musicians, including Claudio Monteverdi.

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Front Page, Lectures

Jews, Music, and Modernity in Buenos Aires

Dr. Lillian Wohl, Post-Doctoral Fellow
The Lowell Milken Fund for American Jewish Music will speak on Jewish music in Buenos Aires.

Thursday, March 8, 2018
4:00 PM PST/ 7:00 PM EST
UCLA Faculty Center
University of California, Los Angeles

Live-stream this event from anywhere in the world via the Jewish Music Forum Facebook Page!
Not on Facebook? Email us at info@jewishmusicforum.org to request a link to watch the event. 

Since 1994, “Jewish music” has emerged as an important yet ambiguous mode of cultural expression in Argentina, making audible Jewish history in Latin America and affirming a contemporary Jewish presence in the region. This lecture explores the intersection of practices of cultural renewal and the uses of memory as a Jewish musical resource in public and private spaces in Buenos Aires.…
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Concerts, Front Page, WHERE: USA_California

UCLA Concert “Traveling in Pairs”

Samuel Torjman Thomas (sax/oud) and Alon Nechustan (piano)

January 17, 2018. 7:30pm

The Lowell Milken Fund for American Jewish Music hosts a concert and reception, free and open to the public, at the UCLA Music Library. Dr. Torjman Thomas and Nechustan traverse a wide repertoire of Jewish music, extending and exploring new settings that bring a New York City sound to the fore.

Concerts, Front Page, WHERE: USA_NY

A Yiddish Liederabend — An Evening of Yiddish Song

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13 | 7:30PM 
6:30pm Pre-Concert Lecture by Neil W. Levin – 7:30pm Concert

All Jewish Music Forum Programs are Free and Open to the Public
To Reserve Seats

An elegant as well as nostalgic program devoted to treasures of Yiddish song and the poetry that has inspired this musical expression in all its variety of style. Presented in the intimate chamber music setting of a traditional classical Liederabend (song evening) appropriate to the immediacy of this cherished genre, the recital will feature four of its leading interpreters: Ida Rae Cahana,Elizabeth Shammash, Raphael Frieder, Simon Spiro, and a cameo appearance by Robert Paul Abelson, together with world renowned virtuoso pianist Yehudi Wyner.…
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Biographies, Front Page, Obits, Women in Jewish Music

Tzipora Jochsberger, Z”L, died at 96 in Jerusalem

The Jewish music world mourns the passing of music educator Tzipora Jochsberger in Jerusalem on Oct. 28 at the age of 96. (1920-2017) Dr. Jochsberger led the New Jerusalem Conservatory and Academy of Music.   Jochsberger was Director of The Hebrew Arts School (now known as Kaufman Music Center) in New York until her retirement in 1985. Jochsberger may be best known to many as the creator and executive producer  of The Israel Music Heritage Project, a 10-volume video series exploring  the music and culture of Jewish communities around the world.

Hilda Jochsberger was born in Leutershausen, a small village of fewer than 2000 people near Ansbach, Germany on 27 December 1920. Her father was a cattle dealer. There were only a few Jewish families in that community.…
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Call for Participation, Classical or Jewish art music, Competitions/Special Events, Compositions & Works, Front Page

Composer Commission Opportunity

Kaplan Commissioning Project
Saint Mary’s University Concert Band

The ninth Helen and Sam Kaplan Foundation Commission for a new Concert Band composition written by a composer of Jewish heritage is outlined below. Any questions prior to application submission should be directed to Dr. Janet Heukeshoven, Director of Bands, at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. jheukesh@smumn.edu

Amount of Commission:

• $7,000.00 plus travel/expense allowance for a campus residency at the premier of the composition.

Description of the Composition:

• The work will be scored for standard full Concert Band instrumentation, appropriate difficulty level for advanced high school bands and small college ensembles.

• Length of composition: approximately 5-8 minutes in length.

• The composition must be based on Jewish melodic or thematic material, either folk or religious sources.…
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Concerts, Front Page, WHERE: USA_NY

…BESIDE the GOLDEN DOOR

“…BESIDE the GOLDEN DOOR”

Annual Concert for a Bold Spiritual Community of Resistance and Love

Sunday, May 21, 2017, 4 PM
130 W 30, NYC

The Emma Lazarus powerful 1883 sonnet, “The New Colossus,” inscribed on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, has served as a beacon of welcome and hope to generations of immigrants who came to our shores seeking refuge and freedom. We can revel in the chamber music, songs, liturgical settings, choral music and works for Yiddish theater created by immigrant composers, Bela Bartok, Ernest Bloch, Kurt Weill, Sholom Secunda, Irving Berlin, Miguel del Aguila, and Regina Spektor,

performed by

Elana Arian, violin/singer, Ivan Barenboim, clarinet, Adria Benjamin, viola, Tomoko Fujita, cello, John Riddle, tenor, Beth Robin, piano, Joyce Rosenzweig, pianist/conductor, Amanda Seigel, soprano, Sebu Sirinian, violin, Lisa Tipton, violin, Sally Wilfert, singer, Cantor Steve Zeidenberg, singer, and the CBST Community Chorus.

…
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Uncategorized

Joodse Wereldmuziek Centraal bij Amsterdams Festival!

Joodse Wereldmuziek Centraal bij Amsterdams Festival!
20ste editie
International Jewish Music Festival
4 t/m 8 mei 2017

Hoogtepunten:

  • International Jewish Music Festival presenteert grote ster Shiri Maimon
  • 24 ensembles uit gehele wereld bij 5e IJMF concours 4-8 mei 2017
  • Internationaal beroemde jury selecteert winnaars
  • Speciaal Holocaust Memorial concert, 4 mei 2017, Uilenburger Sjoel
  • Volledig programma en tickets op www.ijmf.org
Kaartjes zijn al te koop!
Grand Finale 8 mei in DeLaMar theater met
Shiri MaimonTijdens de Grand Finale van het IJMF2017 concours, op 8 mei 2017, zullen de Hoofdprijs Prijs en de Publieksprijs, alsmede een aantal genre prijzen worden uitgereikt. Ook geeft de wereldberoemde Israëlische zangeres, televisiepresentator en actrice, Shiri Maimon, een eenmalig concert in de grote zaal van het DeLaMar Theater. Zij schitterde eerder bij het Eurovisie Song Festival, de MTV European Music Awards en tijdens vele tournees.
…
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Front Page, WHERE: USA_NY

‘When We Remembered Zion’: The New Budapest Orpheum Society Commemorates Yom HaShoah

‘When We Remembered Zion’: The New Budapest Orpheum Society Commemorates Yom HaShoah
Monday, April 24, 2017
Pre-concert talk at 6:30 pm by Dr. Philip V. Bohlman, Ludwig Rosenberger Distinguished Service Professor in Jewish History, University of Chicago
Concert at 7 PM

Drawing from repertories of Jewish song from the Holocaust gathered from the cabarets, camps, ghettos, theaters, and films New Budapest Orpheum Society bears witness to those murdered, those who resisted, and those who must not be forgotten. In this concert commemorating Yom HaShoah, the New Budapest Orpheum Society honors composers Hermann Leopoldi, Friedrich Hollander, Imré Kálmán,

Hans Eisler/Bertolt Brecht, and Erich Korngold, whose musical contributions trace
a path to the European Jewish past resounded once again.

Center for Jewish History | 15 West 16th Street | New York, NY 10011
This program is co-sponsored by the Leo Baeck Institute, the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, and the American Jewish Historical Society.

…
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Choral, Front Page, WHERE: USA_NY, Women

Melodia Spring Concert Awakening the Spirit in NYC

Melodia’s spring concert Awakening the Spirit will feature the U.S. Premiere of John Rutter’s new work “Visions,” a powerful work that examines the spiritual, religious, and historic importance of Jerusalem as a symbol of “a utopian ideal of heavenly peace and seraphic bliss for redeemed humanity” in four movements.

The violin soloist performing this piece is the wonderful Areta Zhulla, an award-winning young artist who works and trains with Itzhak Perlman. I’ll enclose the details of the upcoming performances of this piece below, but please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’d like this information in a different format. Thanks so much for considering adding this event to your calendar.

PERFORMERS
Melodia Women’s Choir led by Cynthia Powell, Areta Zhulla (violin), Rita Costanzi (harp), and an all-female string quintet: Rachell Wong, Robyn Quinnett, violins; Stephanie Griffin, viola; Kate Dillingham, cello; and Kathyrn Stewart, bass.…
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Classical or Jewish art music, Front Page

Steal a Pencil for Me and More in NY

Wednesday, April 26, 2017, 7:30 p.m.

JTS will host a performance of excerpts and discussion of two important new operas: As One (music by Laura Kaminsky, libretto by Mark Campbell and Kimberly Reed), following a transgender woman’s journey to self-acceptance. The other is Steal a Pencil for Me (music by H. L. Miller Cantorial School Assistant Professor Gerald Cohen, libretto by Deborah Brevoort), the story of a real-life couple who fell in love while imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps. Following the performance, the two composers, Laura Kaminsky and Gerald Cohen, will discuss their operas’ creation. Cantor Nancy Abramson, director of H. L. Miller Cantorial School, will moderate the discussion.

Tickets: $10

For Tickets: https://www.wizevents.com/register/register_add.php?sessid=8244&id=5114

JTS is located at 3080 Broadway, New York, NY 10027

All students with ID—as well as JTS alumni, faculty, students, and staff—may request up to two free tickets each.…
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Children, Choral, Front Page

HaZamir Event at the Met in NYC

 

HaZamir, the International Jewish High School Choir will have a concert on Sunday, Marcy 26, 2017 at the Metropolian Opera House in New York City, located at Broadway and 64th Street in Manhattan. The event takes place at 4pm and is a Gala Fundraiser for the group.

HaZamir is a network of 35 teen choral chapters across North America and Israel, involving over 400 teen singers in a highly structured music and education program. Through the medium of Jewish choral music, HaZamir, directed by Vivian Lazar, treats teens to a fun and nurturing community, inclusive of all levels of Jewish observance, geography, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. HaZamir builds an inclusive and positively identified community of young Jews and instills a lifelong commitment to Jewish culture, the Jewish people and the State of Israel. …
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Classical or Jewish art music, Front Page, Uncategorized

Triangle Fire an opera by Leonard Lehman in NYC

You may be interested in attending a performance of a new one-act opera, Triangle Fire, with music by Leonard Lehrman and a libretto by Ellen Frankel.  It’s being performed Saturday, March 25, 2017, at 8:00 pm – $10 suggested donation; no one turned away

at 8 PM
at New York University, Room 220, 32 Waverly Place (at the corner of University Place).

The opera, a Puffin Foundation commission, commemorates the fire that broke out at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory on March 25, 1911, killing 146 garment workers, most of them young Jewish and Italian women, recently arrived from Europe.  It was one of the worst industrial accidents in American history.

For further information: www.tinyurl.com/TriangleFire-Opera

About the Creators
Composer: Leonard Lehrman‘s previous works include  A Requiem for Hiroshima (with Lee Baxandall), E.G.: A Musical Portrait of Emma Goldman (with Karen Ruoff Kramer), and Sacco and Vanzetti (with Marc Blitzstein).…
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Classes & Courses, Front Page, WHERE: Europe

Ensemble Lucidarium Summer Jewish Renaissance Music

Here’s some information about a tuition-free course Ensemble Lucidarium
will be giving in Venice this Summer. It’s an opportunity to make music and learn about the Italian cantorial tradition and Jewish Renaissance music while living in the city itself, and
will feature lectures various aspects of Venetian culture, an in-depth
guided visit to the Ghetto and Jewish Cemetery and a traditional Italian
Shabbat service.  There will be a workshop on old Jewish song, and you can
even try your hand at traditional Italian percussion…

“The Music of the Merchant:  Summer course in Venetian Renaissance and Italian Jewish Music”

July 24 – 30, 2017,

Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Isola San Giorgio Maggiore,
Venice, Italy.
Ensemble Lucidarium
Enrico Fink: Italian cantorial tradition, Jewish song, voice
Avery Gosfield: instrumental ensemble, Jewish song, recorder, pipe and tabor
Gloria Moretti: vocal ensemble, voice
Francis Biggi: instrumental ensemble, mixed ensemble, plucked strings
Massimiliano Dragoni: traditional and early percussion, hammer dulcimer

Workshops on: repertoire linked to carnival and the Commedia dell’Arte;
the reconstruction of Jewish song in the 16th century; the Italian Jewish
tradition.…
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Artists Bands & Performers, Front Page

Nefesh Mountain

Jewish Bluegrass.  Last week a nice article appeared in the Forward about Nefesh Mountain and other “Americana” styles of music mixing with Jewish music.  http://forward.com/schmooze/359812/the-unexpected-smash-success-of-jewish-bluegrass-music/

There’s lots more music out there. Here’s a great YouTube of Nefesh Mountain singing their own version “Hinei Ma Tov.”  Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXmb-rAJ1vc
Books, Cantillation / Nusach, Front Page, Uncategorized, WHERE: USA_NY

Rabbi Jeffrey Summit’s “Singing God’s Words” at Jewish Music Forum

On Monday, February 13, 2017 at 7pm, Rabbi Jeffrey A. Summit, Ph.D. will speak about his new book, Singing God’s Words: The Performance of Biblical Chant in Contemporary Judaism (Oxford University Press, 2016).

This book is the first in-depth study of the meaning and experience of chanting Torah among contemporary American Jews, describing how this ritual is shaped by such forces as digital technology, feminism and contemporary views of spirituality.

Rabbi Summit will be joined by discussants Dr. Mark Slobin, Winslow-Kaplan Professor of Music Emeritus at Weleyan University and Cantor Richard Cohn, Director, Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.

Center for Jewish History | 15 West 16th Street | New York, NY 10011

This program is co-sponsored by the American Jewish Historical Society.

…
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Front Page, Lectures, WHERE: USA_NY

Graduate Seminar on Topics in Jewish Music at YIVO

Graduate Seminar on Topics in Jewish Music
Taught by Dr. Neil Levin, Visiting Professor-in-Residence

This eight session graduate seminar, YIVO’s first such seminar in music, will embrace an array of topics within the wider spectrum of Jewish Studies related to the music of Jewish experience or connection—secular-cultural as well as sacred-liturgical aspects—according to the interests and pursuits of the participants.

This seminar is open to graduate students within any department at all colleges, universities or conservatories. It is not restricted to those within music departments per se, but also open to those pursuing Jewish Studies in general—especially history, literature, theatre, liturgy, or other sub-fields of Jewish Studies—who may have special interest in related music in terms of context and interdisciplinary consideration.

With prior approval, undergraduate (college, university, or conservatory) students may also be permitted to participate—both those with an interest in a particular area of Jewishly-related music and those who may be pursuing related term papers or projects.…
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Concerts, Front Page, Klezmer

Seth Kibel Quartet in Baltimore

Wednesday, December 28, 2016 — Annual Channukah Concert with the Seth Kibel Quartet
409 N. Charles Street
Baltimore, MD  21201
8 to 10 pm
Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for students.  You can get them at the door, or better yet, order them online here.
For this show, I’ve got a fantastic band — Sean Lane on piano, Simone Baron on accordion, and Ed Goldstein on tuba.  And maybe a special guest or two!
CD Releases, Concerts, Front Page, WHERE: USA_NY, Workshops

New York Klezmer Series Lenka Lichtenberg & Fray

Lenka Lichtenberg & Fray appears in NYC   Dec. 6, 2016
Jalopy Theater and School of Music!! 315 Columbia Street Brooklyn, New York 11231
phone 718.395.3214 www.jalopy.biz
Workshop 6:30-8:00pm ($25)
Concert at 8:30pm ($15)

Come celebrate her new album Yiddish Journey

Toronto based, Czech born Lenka Lichtenberg singer, composer, songwriter, and chazanit. She has produced numerous recordings based on the European experience, including Yiddish songs, and her CD Breathing Walls, where she visited many old synagogues in Czech Republic, and joint projects with Yair Dalal.

Artists Bands & Performers, CD Releases, Front Page, Women in Jewish Music

Holly Montgomery Releases Book of Our Tribe

Holly Montgomery, a singer-songwriter and bass player originally from Louisville, KY,  transplanted to L.A. and then again to Washington DC., has just released her EP, “Book of our Tribe” under the project name “Eve Rising”. The recording is available at: The iTunes link is: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/book-of-our-tribe-ep/id1166351100, but it also has a page on her music site: http://www.hollymontgomerymusic.com/eve-rising.

Holly has her own band HOLLY, which recorded 3 albums, played at the House of Blues.  She also played in a band called Big Planet that was awarded “Best Acoustic Band in Los Angeles by the National Academy of Songwriters. Holly relocated to DC, where she recorded two albums and wrote the theme songs for several major charities.

Her Jewish-themed music is completely modern, completely original, and in English.…
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Books, Front Page, Lectures, WHERE: USA_NY

“Klezmer: Music, History & Memory”

walterzevfeldman

“Klezmer: Music, History & Memory” presented by

The Jewish Music Forum: A project of the American Society for Jewish Music

Walter Zev Feldman, Visiting Professor of Music, NYU Abu Dhabi

Discussants: James Loeffler, Associate Professor of History, University of Virginia and

Glenn Dynner, Professor of Religion, Sarah Lawrence College

Wednesday, December 14th at 7pm

at The Center for Jewish History

15 West 16th Street, NY

Emerging in 16th-century Prague, the klezmer became a central cultural feature of the largest transnational Jewish community of modern times. This talk and roundtable discussion celebrates the recent publication of Feldman’s book, Klezmer: Music, History and Memory (OUP, 2016), the first comprehensive study of both the musical structure and the social history of the klezmer.

Walter Zev Feldman is a leading researcher in both Ottoman Turkish and Jewish music, and a performer on the klezmer dulcimer cimbal (tsimbl).

…
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Front Page, Lectures, WHERE: USA_NY

“Israel in Three Anthems” Talk at Jewish Music Forum

michaelfigueroa

The Jewish Music Forum of The AmericanSociety for Jewish Music

“Israel in Three Anthems”

Michael A. Figueroa, Assistant Professor of Music, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Discussant: Brigid Cohen, Assistant Professor of Music, NYU

Monday, November 28th at 7pm. at the Center for Jewish History

15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011. Tickets are free and all programs are open to the public. Please rsvp to: info@jewishmusicforum.org.

This talk discusses how three anthems—“Ha-Tikva,” “L’Internationale,” and “Yerushalayim shel Zahav”— have helped shaped Israeli society, analyzing these songs as performances of collectivity representing the multifaceted nature of Zionism and the shifting political landscape in Israel.

Michael A. Figueroa is an ethnomusicologist whose work resides at the intersection of music and political consciousness in Middle Eastern and African American contexts.

…
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Front Page, Obits

Reb Ben Zion Shenker Z’L

It is sad news to report the passing today, November 20, 2016, of Reb Ben Zion Shenker z”l. Reb Shenker was renowned as the composer of over a thousand songs in the chassidic tradition, at least 400 in the Modzitzer style. Shenker was born in Brooklyn in 1925. As a child, he participated in the synagogue choir led by cantor Joshua Samuel Weisser [Pilderwasser], then a leading cantor in country. In the late 1930s, Weisser aided his appearance on radio and helped set the stage for Shenker to study composition and music theory. While his parents were from nearby Lubin, Shenker became known for helping preserve the Modzitzer musical tradition of chassidic song after meeting the Modzitzer rebbe (Rabbi Saul Taub) in NY in 1940. He started transcribing many of the melodies sung by the rebbe and others in that community becoming essentially “musical secretary” for the dynasty. …
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General Music Resources

Archive of Digital Applications in Musicology (ADAM)

“The aim of ADAM is to preserve information about projects in digital musicology that were ground-breaking in their time but lack a substantial online presence. Projects end for a variety of reasons: discontinuation of funding, insurmountable changes of technology, or the retirement of a director. These projects remain stand-outs for the careful musical thinking that underlies them and the innovative approaches they introduced. For curated digital and hybrid editions, see EVE: Electronic and Virtual Editions.”

http://wiki.ccarh.org/wiki/Archive_of_Digital_Applications_in_Musicology_(ADAM)

General Music Resources

Music Library Association

“The Music Library Association is the professional association for music libraries and librarianship in the United States. Founded in 1931, it has an international membership of librarians, musicians, scholars, educators, and members of the book and music trades. Complementing the Association’s national and international activities are eleven regional chapters that carry out its programs on the local level. MLA publishes the journal Notes, the world’s leading journal in its field.”

http://www.musiclibraryassoc.org/

Concerts, Festivals, Front Page, WHERE: USA_California

Cabaret by the Bay San Rafael

cabaretbythebay-ldelson
Come in from the mishegos (insanity) outside, have a seat,

and refresh your neshomeh (soul) at

Cabaret by the Bay San Rafael

THIS SUNDAY, 5:00pm   November 20, 2016

Comedy, Yiddish song, Storytelling, Dancing, Klezmer Music, and More!
At the Osher Marin JCC, 200 N. San Pedro Road, San Rafael
Presented by KlezCalifornia, Osher Marin JCC, and New Yiddish Theater
  • Reb Irwin Keller, Master of Ceremonies
  • Veretski Pass (Cookie Segelstein, Joshua Horowitz, Stu Brotman), klezmer band
  • Jewlia Eisenberg with Jeremiah Lockwood, singers
  • Naomi Newman, performance artist 
  • Jake Marmer, poet 
  • Anthony Russell, singer 
  • Gerry Tenney, singer

This Cabaret celebrates the release of Gerry Tenney’s newest CD: “Gerry Tenney & California Klezmer: A Retrospective.”

Tickets:  $20 adult, $10 teen, free for ages 12 and under. More details here.

…
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Choral, WHERE: USA_NewEngland

Sacred Voices, Sacred Traditions

Fourth Boston Byzantine Music Festival

Saturday, November 12, 7:30 pm

First Church Cambridge,  11 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA

 Sacred Voices, Sacred Traditions
CAPPELLA CLAUSURA (Amelia LeClair, Director)
HOLY CROSS ST. ROMANOS THE MELODIST BYZANTINE CHOIR (Grammenos Karanos, Director)
KOL AREV (Lynn Torgove, Artistic Director, Amy Lieberman, Music Director)

Performers present the medieval, post-medieval, and contemporary liturgical and paraliturgical music of Christianity and Judaism, including works by the ninth-century Byzantine nun Kassia, the Renaissance lutenist Sulpitia Cesis, the German composer of Jewish liturgical music Louis Lewandowski, and the contemporary composers Joseph Ness and Arvo Pärt.

 KOL AREV will be joined by soloist Cantor Elías Rosemberg and violinist Yaeko Miranda Elmaleh, klezmer clarinetist Cantor Becky Khitrik, and accordionist Michael Mclaughlin.

Tickets: $25 • Students: $10 with valid ID

Limited box office sales on the day of performances: $30 per concert (check or credit card only).…
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Lectures, Uncategorized, WHERE: USA_NY

“Israel in Three Anthems” Lecture at CJH

Ha-Tikva, L’Internationale,
and Yerushalayim shel Zahav:

“Israel in Three Anthems”

A talk by Dr. Michael A. Figueroa, 

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Discussant: Dr. Brigid Cohen, Assistant Professor of Music, New York University

Monday, November 28, 2016 at 7pm.
Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th Street
New York, NY 10003

Admission is free. Please RSVP to info@jewishmusicforum.org

This presentation addresses three anthems that have helped shape Israeli society: “Ha-Tikva,” “L’Internationale,” and “Yerushalayim shel Zahav.” In light of three ideological facets represented by these songs—liberation, solidarity, and territoriality—Dr. Figueroa will discuss what constitutes an anthem in Jewish and Israeli history, theorizing a mode of performance he calls the “declamatory style,” in which vocal gestures that blur the distinction between speech and song portend the political value of musical performance.

…
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Choral, Festivals, WHERE: Europe

7th WORLD CHOIR FESTIVAL ON MUSICALS

7th WORLD CHOIR FESTIVAL ON MUSICALS

21st- 23rd April, 2017

THESSALONIKI, GREECE

Organization : Choir “KORAIS”

The “KORAIS” Choir has the pleasure to invite you in a Festival of joy that is going to take place on April 21-23, 2017 in Thessaloniki. This city of Northern Greece, well-known for its nice Mediterranean climate, open-hearted people and a long history that left behind a lot of ancient monuments, can promise you an unforgettable stay, full of exciting experiences.

Moreover, the love and support expressed by the numerous Musical Festival followers as well as the warm and friendly welcome of the Organization Committee create a unique atmosphere of enthusiasm that contributes to an unforgettable experience.

Key information about the Festival

The Festival is addressed to all types of choirs and vocal ensembles from all over the world.…
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Books, Concerts, Klezmer, Lectures, WHERE: USA_NY

Klezmer: Music, History and Memory Lecture & Music at NYPL

Klezmer: Music, History and Memory: Aesthetic and Cultural Dimensions
published by Oxford University Press, Fall 2016

Lecture and Musical program
Thursday, December 22 at 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM

Mid-Manhattan Library, New York Public Library (NYPL)

455 5th Ave, New York, New York 10016


A lecture and musical program with Dr. Walter Zev Feldman (author, cimbal) and Deborah Strauss (violin)

This event is free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis, and is generously sponsored by the Dorot Jewish Division in cooperation with Yiddish New York and the Center for Traditional Music and Dance.

https://www.nypl.org/events/programs/2016/12/22/klezmer-music-history-and-memory
From the NYPL announcement:

Emerging in 16th century Prague, the klezmer became a central cultural feature of the largest transnational Jewish community of modern times – the Ashkenazim of Eastern Europe.…
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Lectures, Uncategorized, Yiddish or Folk

TALK | “Breath in a Ram’s Horn: The Jewish Spirit in Classical Music,” with Daniel Asia

Sunday, October 30, 2016 2-3:30pm

Yiddish Book Center 1021 West Street Amherst, MA 01002

http://support.yiddishbookcenter.org/site/Calendar?id=7451&view=Detail

Composer, conductor, professor, and activist Daniel Asia talks about the origins of Yiddish song in Eastern European culture, its continuation on the American scene in the music of Yiddish composer Lazar Weiner, and its influence on Asia’s own award-winning music.

This event is free and open to the public.

Choral, Concerts, Front Page, WHERE: USA_NY, Yiddish or Folk

To Life, To Laugh, L’chaim! Concert by Jewish People’s Philharmonic Chorus

Sunday, September 25, 2016, 4:30 p.m.
at
Merkin Concert Hall
129 West 67 Street, New York City
To Life, To Laugh, L’chaim!
A Centennial Celebration in Song 
of the Classic Yiddish Writer

Sholem Aleichem 

performed by the
Jewish People’s Philharmonic Chorus / JPPC
Binyumen Schaechter, Conductor
Seth Weinstein, Pianist
with featured soloists
Cantor Joel Caplan
and
Temma Schaechter (of Di Shekhter-tekhter)
For more information and to order tickets:
To hear a sampling of JPPC YouTube videos:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=kK2qAVmPYjc
CD Releases, Uncategorized

Ensemble Me La Amargates Tu Releases new CD

Ensemble Me La Amargates Tu is excited and proud to announce their New CD “Scalerica de oro” which was launched on the 4th of September 2016,  at the International Jewish Day, in Geneva.  After working hard for two whole years, recording, editing, searching and exploring, Ensemble Me La Amargates Tu finally has the result!  The new CD is available for sale at web-site: www.mlat.org <http://www.mlat.org> .* There are some sample tracks that are from the CD so that you can enjoy the music and decide if you like it enough in order to order one!

Ensemble Me La Amargates Tu

Esteban Manzano– tenor

Doret Florentin– recorder

Tulio Rondón– viola da gamba

Dieter Hennings– guitar

Juan Martínez– percussion

Uncategorized

The Legacy of Robert Moevs

Event title: The Legacy of Robert Moevs; includes Elijah’s Chariot for string quartet and electronics from shofar sounds by Judith Shatin

Event date: Nov 13, 2016

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Location: Address: Shindell Choral Hall, 79 George St. City/Town: New Brunswick, NJ Country: US – United States State: NJ New Jersey Zip Code: 08901

This concert features Composition Teachers and Students at Rutgers University. Distinguished composer Robert Moevs, in whose honor the concert was conceived, was the first composition teacher of Judith Shatin, now William R. Kenan Professor of Music at the University of Virginia. In turn, her PhD advisee, Steven Kemper, is now Assistant Professor of Music at Rutgers University. This concert features music for string quartet, in Shatin’s case with electronics fashioned from recordings of Shofar calls, and shows the circle continuing.…
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Competitions/Special Events, Festivals, WHERE: Europe

International Jewish Music Festival

International Jewish Music Festival
Amsterdam, May 4-8, 2017
Uilenburger Synagogue / DeLaMar theater
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International Jewish Music Festival 2017
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IJMF 2017 Amsterdam
Amsterdam is hosting the 20th International Jewish Music Festival (IJMF) from the 4th until 8th of May 2017. IJMF will welcome over 100 musicians from all around the world playing everything from World music to Rap, from Classical to Klezmer.
The competition is for both ensembles and individual musicians, whose music contain Jewish elements.
Besides music, there will be lots of activities for young and old. 
 
On May 8th, the big final will be held in the Wim Sonneveld hall in DeLaMar Theater. Here, winners will be pronounced and prizes will be handed out. 
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International Concours
When it comes to Jewish music, IJMF is the only competition around the globe.
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Clubs, Klezmer

Seth Kibel Trio

Seth Kibel
Seth Kibel Trio

Thursday, September 1, 2016
Great Sage (vegan restaurant!)
5809 Clarksville Square Drive, Clarksville, MD  21029
443-535-9400
8 to 10 pm

No cover, but 1/2 price bottles of wine while we perform!
Seth Kibel, plus Sean Lane on piano, Bob Abbott on bass, and a special appearance from guest vocalist Julie Kurzava.  Maybe a few other guest appearances, as well!
Biographies, Obits

Andre Hajdu Z”L Dead at 84

Andre Hajdu, one of the leading lights of Israeli music, passed away in Israel, August 1, 2016. His funeral will be in Jerusalem. His music and his teaching affected generations of Israeli musicians and composers. Born in Hungary on March 5, 1932, Hajdu’s education started in Budapest. He studied with well known musicians, including Zoltan Kodaly for ethnomusicology. Hajdu grew up under the oppressive Soviet occupation and Communist regimes in Hungary. He escaped during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 to France. It was there he was able to study with some of the most renowned composers in the world, such as Darius Milhaud and Olivier Messiaen. He was also able to experience freedom of religion and follow his Jewish heritage. In 1966, with the encouragement of Israel Adler, Hajdu visited and settled in Jerusalem, Israel.…
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Awards, Classical or Jewish art music, Front Page, Uncategorized, WHERE: Canada, ,

WLAD MARHULETS is the inaugural winner of Azrieli Prize in Jewish Music

The Azrieli Music Project (AMP), a Canadian philanthropic organization, announced that composer Wlad Marhulets is the winner of the inaugural Azrieli Prize in Jewish Music for his Klezmer Clarinet Concerto. Marhulets, who submitted a completed orchestral work on a Jewish theme or subject – along with applicants from around the world – has been granted the second of two $50,000 prizes, which were offered for the first time by the Azrieli Foundation. In September 2015, the Azrieli Music Project announced that Brian Current was the winner of the inaugural Azrieli Commissioning Competition for Canadian composers. Marhulets’s 2009 concerto and Current’s newly created work, The Seven Heavenly Halls, will both be performed at the Azrieli Music Project Inaugural Concert by Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and Maestro Kent Nagano on Wednesday, October 19, 2016 at Maison symphonique de Montréal.…
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Classes & Courses, Front Page, WHERE: USA_NewEngland, Workshops,

HEBREW COLLEGE Prayer Leader Summer Institute

Sing.  Create.  Explore.

Interested in Jewish music and liturgy? Deepen your understanding and hone your musical skills. Week-long classes in June and July.

http://www.hebrewcollege.edu/SJM-summer-institute

“We’re delighted to offer this intensive music training to anyone with a love of Jewish liturgical music, who wants to hone their skills and add new ones to their repertoire,” said Cantor Brian Mayer, dean of the School of Jewish Music.

Classes will be taught by School of Jewish Music faculty, as well as guest instructors who are specialists in their fields.  Among the class offerings are:

  • Teaching and Leading Songs in Contemporary Synagogue Worship, with Cantor Jeff Klepper
  • Building Spiritual Communities, with Shir Yaakov Feit , singer, composer and specialist in Renewal-style repertoire
  • Niggun and Klezmer, with renowned Klezmer musician Rabbi Sruli Dresdner
  • Teaching Music, with singer/educator Ellen Allard
  • Sacred Drumming, with teacher/percussionist Mitch Gordon
  • Shabbat and Weekday Nusach, with Cantors Brian Mayer and Becky Wexler Khitrik CAN ‘14
  • Accompanied Repertoire for Shabbat, with guest instructors including Rabbi Jessica Kate Meyer HCRS ’14, Rav-Hazzan Neil Blumofe, Cantor Marcie Jonas CAN ’10, and Rabbi Ebn Leader

In addition to offering courses, the Prayer Leader Summer Institute will also offer An Evening of Klezmer Music with Sruli & Lisa on Tuesday June 28 at 7:30pm.…
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