Yiddish singer. Born Kishinev, Russia, around 1900. Died Paris, 1980. Recorded songs during the 1940s-1970s in Paris, Buenos Aires and Tel Aviv. At age 17 left Kishinev to study music in Jassy, Romania, where she married. Within a few years she moved to Rome, and then to Paris. In 1940, she and her husband emigrated to Haiti, and eventually to the US. In 1949, she moved back to Paris. Her husband died in 1950 in Haiti. She spoke nine languages fluently. She recorded Yiddish songs for a variety of commercial record companies.

American. Born: 1916. Died: 1981. Liturgical singer. Known as “Shaindele Di Chazanit”, due to her singing cantorial music. Her father was a chazan in Philadelphia. She sang liturgical music on the radio, at WPEN. She is often called the first woman chazan, but she never served in that capacity. Her papers are held in the Philadelphia Jewish Archive Center

Singer. Composer. Born in Jerusaelm in 1979, Ms. Gottlieb currently resides in NY. Her mother’s family traces Sephardic roots to 1492 in Jerusalem. She graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music in 2002. Her debut album CD “Internal-External” with her jazz sextet was chosen as best debut album of 2004 by All About Jazz. Her 10-segment song cycle setting of text from the Song of Songs, “Mayim Rabim” (2006) on Tzadik label received rave reviews in the press. The album also includes Michael Gottlieb- Voice; Deanna Neil and Michal Cohen- Background Vocals; Michael Winograd- Clarinet, Bass Clarinet; Anat Fort- Piano; Rufus Cappadocia- Five String Cello; Take Toriyama- Drums and Percussion; and Special Guest- Galeet Dardashti- Persian Trope.
http://www.ayeletrose.com/live/

American. accordionist. Play klezmer, Israeli, Jewish and Balkan music.

Choral and orchestra conductor. Nowakowsky specialist. Conductor, Los Angeles Jewish Symphony. (founded in 1994.) DMA, University of Southern California. MM,California State University, Northridge. Conductor, American Jewish Choral Society, 1981-1990. Assistant Professor at CSUN, 1986-1992. West Coast Music Director of David Nowakowsky Foundation, 1992-1998. Music Director of Valley Beth Shalom Synagogue in Encino, 1993 to present. Opening ceremonies of the 2001 Maccabi Games, Philadelphia, conductor. Biography on website:
http://www.lajewishsymphony.com/noreengreen.html

American. Flautist. Professor of Music at Mt Holyoke College. Graduated Oberlin and Yale. Pianist. Founder (1995)and dance leader of The Klezical Tradition band. Solo Flutist of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra New England and the Wall Street Chamber Players. She has a klezmer website: http://www.klezmerflute.com and a biography is available through Mt. Holyoke at:
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/music/profiles/greenbaum.html

Host of “Jewish Spectrum,” on KOPN-FM 89.5 radio in Columbia, MO. The show, aired on Sundays, has a broad spectrum of Jewish music, including a healthy dose of Klezmer.

Israeli born composer and teacher. Born Jaffa, 1900. Died Tel-Aviv, 1966.

American singer-songwriter from NYC, doing secular, folk, original and Jewish music. She performs and sings in English, Ladino and Yiddish. Robin received a 18 month grant to do music research on Sephardic music from the federal government nearly 25 years ago, and collected Sephardic music from various informants at the Sephardic Home for the Aged in Brooklyn, NY. She performs Sephardic songs at many venues around the US. She has 3 CDs, “AcousticNess” (2000), 11 original songs recorded in New Orleas; “Slow Burn”(1989LP; 1997CD with 12 original songs); and “Images of Women, Vol. 1″(2003), selections traditional folk and blues songs, all about women. Robin was a finalist at the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival (1989) in Texas, the premier songwriting festival in the country; has appeared all over at folk festivals and on TV talk shows; and toured worldwide for Martin Guitars.…
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A cantorial soloist and performer in Florida for over 18 years, Ms. Guthrie concertizes widely and has seven recordings. She writes many original works which are included in her CD’s. “Her concerts include liturgical music of the Jewish Kabbalists, Israeli and Yiddish folk tunes, musical stage and film works, and original songs, all of which she uniquely weaves together with history, storytelling, and song.” Her website is up-to-date and inclusive of booking and travel information, as well as a bio and CD’s, including some lyrics to her albums.
http://www.joyfulnoise.net/Joy.html

Israeli. Musicologist. Studied Musicology and Jewish Thought at Hebrew University, 1976-1991 Doctor of Philosophy, 1992 summa cum laude; Master of Arts 1985 summa cum laude Bachelor of Arts, 1980 (major also in Jewish Philosophy). Hebrew University, lecturer 1992-2000. Senior Lecturer 2000- to the present. Member of the Board of the Israeli Musicological Society 1992-4. Visiting Scholar, St. John s College, Oxford 1996-7. Chair of the Department of Musicology, the Hebrew University 2001-2004 Her published books include: Tuning the Mind: Connecting Aesthetic Theory to Cognitive Science, New Brunswick: NJ: Transaction 2002 (with Ruth Katz); The Arts in Mind: Pioneering Texts of a Coterie of British Men of Letters, New Brunswick: NJ: Transaction 2002 (with Ruth Katz);Arnold Schönbergs Kol Nidre: Versuch einer Begriffsbestimmung jüdischer Ästhetik in der Moderne, Schriftenreihe Ha’Atelier Collegium Berlin Heft 5:2002.…
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Israeli popular singer. b. Hadera September 20,1978. nee Sara Hodedtov to a family of musically talented brothers and sisters. Originally she played classical piano by ear without knowing how to read music. During her early teens, she cultivated learning several instruments, including organ, drums, guitar, darbuka and accordian. She entered the Hadera Youth band in high school, and through that met her current agent, who convinced her parents to cultivate her talents in music. Since 1995 she has made 10 albums, many of which have hit “platinum” sales in Israel and beyond. Her singing of “Light a candle”, written by Yoav Ginai and Svika Pick was chosen to represent Israel to the Eurovision contest in 2002. Her album “Ashlayot Metukot” was a triple platinum winner, and “Like Cinderella” reached quadruple platinum sales.…
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Israeli. Singer of Judeo-Spanish music. Ph.D. candidate, ethnomusicology at the Program on Ladino Folklore, Ladino Department, Bar-Ilan University. Research student at the Technical University of Istanbul-Conservatoire, Turkey (Vocal Department) where she studied folklore, classical Turkish music, and makam. Research interests: the song in Ladino in the contemporary stage. Research assistant at the Jewish Music Research Center at Hebrew University on the cataloging of the Ladino song collection at the National Sound Archive. Her first solo album, Yahudice: Urban Ladino Music from Istanbul, Izmir, Thessalonika and Jerusalem (Kalan, 2003), was released in Istanbul. Judith Cohen, has said of her CD: “excellent Hadass Pal-Yarden cd –one of the rare cases where I’ve barely ANY criticism!! except for her harmonized Moroccan version of the ballad “Landarico”, –which is at odds with the rest of her VERY fine, tradition-based interpretations throughout the cd — probably the best I’ve heard in the genre.”…
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American. Singer, songwriter, educator. mechanic. Born, Brooklyn, New York. Grew up Portland, Oregon. Graduate of Portland State University. Plays guitar, recorder, trumpet. Formerly worked as a music specialist for children in the Portland area, now her primary occupation is as a bicycle mechanic and bicycle transportation advocate/activist in Portland, Oregon. Continues to serve a local congregation as a music-leader. Her CD “City of Love” was released in 2003 and can be purchased at www.cdbaby.com .

American-born violist. Studied with Max Aronoff in Philadelphia. Graduated Yale University, (B.A.),studying with Raphael Hillyer; Juilliard (M.M.), with Paul Doktor. Emmigrated to Israel, 1983. Appeared as soloist with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, and Israel Philharmonic Orchestra which she joined in 1984. Chamber music performer. Participates in “Mafteach,” a Tel Aviv educational program. Performs internationally, including chamber music festivals such as the Marlboro Festival.

Australian. Singer/songwriter. Performs in Australia and Israel. Devorah made aliyah to Israel with her husband and children in the summer of 1998. Four albums, with a synthesis of modern styles blended with a Chassidic feel. She sings her original compositions. She explore lots of issues, religious and other values in a personal kind of way. She performs for all age groups and backgrounds. Devorah’s CD music, created for women and girls, is labeled simply, Devorah I, II, III and IV.
http://devorah-hasofer.com/

Ofra Haza webpage with Harmony Ridge Music. Site includes a catalog of her recordings, brief career biography and reviews.
http://www.rahul.net/hrmusic/discos/ohframe.html

Swedish-Jewish singer living in Uppsala, Sweden. Sings Jewish songs and klezmer in Yiddish, Hebrew, Hungarian Ladino and Swedish.

Robyn Helzner performs Ladino, Yiddish, Hebrew, Russian and English Jewish folk songs. She often tours as part of a trio.
http://www.helzner.com/

Born, February 25, 1890, near London where she died, November 25, 1965. Classical pianist. Educated at Royal Academy, graduating 1907. Appeared as soloist with Concertgebouw Orchestra as early as 1912, which started her intense career. During WWII, instituted concerts at London’s National Gallery and other public service work, for which she was honored with title Dame.

Israeli composer of popular songs. Nurit Hirsch wrote such tunes as “Oseh Shalom” and “Bashanah Haba’ah” which are so popular that they have become accepted almost as “folk”. She’s written nearly a thousand songs. Choral arrangements of her songs at:http://www.zamir.org/composers/HirschNurit.html

Vocalist, Cantor and composer. Founder and director of jazz a cappella ensemble “Vocolot” , a California Arts Council Touring Artist group. Active primarily in the Western United States. Her discography includes “Marcia Falks Blessings in Song” with Fran Avni,”Heart Beat” (2002), “Behold” (1997), “Roots and Wings” (1992), “Gather Round” (also songbook)(1989), “Skies Ablaze”, and “More than Luck and a Prayer”. Works at the Conservative congregation Temple Beth Shalom, San Leandro, CA as a cantor since 1988. Directed first Jewish Women’s International Chorus in Kiev (1994). Hirshhorn has also written songs that became part of a UAHC social justice recording, including “Circle Chant” and “Homeless Blues”.
Linda Hirshhorn webpage

American cantor. Guitarist. Based in M’Kor Shalom Synagogue in Cherry Hill, NJ. Grew up in Levittown, PA. B.S. in Music Education. Cantorial training at Gratz College.

Israeli composer born in 1917. Ms. Ingber, a composer, originally came from Vienna.

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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Born in Sarajevo in the former Yugoslavia, Ms. Jagoda now resides in Virginia. She is a composer, singer and folklorist in Judeo-Spanish, Ladino and Sephardic traditions. In 2002, Ms. Jagoda won the National Endowment of the Arts National Heritage Fellowship.
National Endowment Announcement
Celebrate Series on Flory Jagoda

American. Nee Andrea Jill Gersten. Pianist, composer, teacher, director. Born, Manhattan. Grew up in White Plains, NY. Graduated, B.A. in Composition from Mills College (1963), where she studied under the mentorship of Darius Milhaud; harmony and counterpoint with composer-performer, Morton Subotnick; and keyboard performance with Russian concert pianists Alexander Leibermann and Bernard Abramowitch. Jill was employed as a Faculty Associate at Lyric Opera Theatre in the Music Department at Arizona State University from 1969 to 1974, during which time she pursued graduate studies and earned a Master of Music Degree in Musical Theatre Direction. From 1975 to 1977, she was employed as a Visiting Faculty member in the Music Department at Scottsdale Community College where she taught a variety of music courses, and directed several musicals.…
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Born, 1920 in Germany. Wrote A Harvest of Jewish Song with Vevel Pasternak. Founded the Elaine Kaufman Cultural Center in New York.

American. Camp songleader and cantorial soloist. CD “Timeless”. Her website states: “Marcie earned her BA in Speech Communication from Ithaca College and her MA in Jewish Education from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. She has also studied at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel and at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, CT. Marcie has been playing guitar for over 30 years.”
http://www.marciemusic.com/

Israeli composer, primarily of small chamber works. Born in Haifa, Israel in 1972.Also known as Karen Jugend. Studied composition in Israel, Germany, France and Italy. Brief bio with photo at Israel Music Center, which has published her music.

Harpist. Specializes in the history of the harp. Judy Kadar was born in New York and attended the High School of Music and the Arts. She received the B.A. in Psychology and Music at New York University. She studied harp with Lucille Lawrence at the Mannes College of Music and the masters at Sarah Lawrence College. She has lived in Berlin, Germany since 1979. In 1984, she helped establish the Historical Harp Conference in conjunction with Amherst (MA) Early Music, serving as the first director. She’s continued to be active in organizations for historical harp playing and plays harps from concert harps to Psalter to Spanish baroque harp. She plays music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance as well as Yiddish and Jewish pieces. She also plays modern Jewish music.…
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Israeli composer who founded Israel Women Composers’ Forum (2000). Faculty at Levinsky College in Tel Aviv, Israel. Born in 1957. Studied music in Israel and in the United States. She has written many works for female voice. For more information, view a brief biography and list of publications from the Israel Music Center.
http://www.geocities.com/israelcomposers/kadima_hagar.htm

American. 1920s-1981. Pianist, arranger, and composer. Papers held at YIVO in New York. Also toured in Yiddish theater, such as mentioned in the article: “The Yiddish Theater in Omaha, 1919-1969” by Leo Greenbaum and Oliver Pollak, in Studies in Jewish Civilization, 9.

Violist. Born in Haifa, Israel. Studied viola with Zvi Rotenberg and Oeden Partos. Master degree, University of California, San Diego, 1973. Joined San Diego Symphony and La Jolla Chamber Orchestra. Joined Israel Chamber Ensemble in 1975 and Israel Philharmonic, 1978. Member, Tel Aviv String Quartet and Israel Piano Trio. Teaches in the KeyNote program of Israel Philharmonic. Frequently appears in IPO ensembles.

American. Vielle player. Born in 1961, and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. Degree in music from UC Berkeley. Studied vielle with Margriet Tindemans. Member for many years of Ensemble Alcatraz, Project Ars Nova, and Medieval Strings, and has also worked with Sequentia, Hesperion XX, the Boston Camerata, and the King s Noyse. She has performed and taught in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Israel, Morocco and Japan. Shira happily collaborated with singer/storyteller John Fleagle for fifteen years, and performs now with several new groups, including the medieval ensemble Fortune s Wheel, the new music group Ephemeros, the world music cover band Panacea, and also Trouz Bras, a band devoted to the dance music of Celtic Brittany. She is also the founder of Class V Music, an ensemble dedicated to performance on river rafting trips, and has performed and taught on the Colorado and Rogue rivers.…
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Lithuanian singer from a well-known theater family in Europe. Recorded songs from the Vilna ghetto. Preserved and collected songs from the ghettos and the DP camps and after. Sang A Yidish Kind. If someone has information regarding this singer, please contact JMWC. Thanks.

American. Conductor. Singing coach. Pianist. Teacher. BM from Chicago Musical College of Roosevelt University. MA in Choral conducting from DePaul University. Studied at Anshe Emet synagogue with Hazzan Moses J. Silverman. 1962-1997, served as Director of Music at Temple Beth Israel. 1984 to present, Artistic Director/Administrator of halevi Choral Society, the only proefessional ensemble in US devoted exclusively to Jewish choral repertoire. Founding member of the Guild of Temple Musicians, serving as President. Founder of the Guild Newsletter and editor for 11 years. Wrote monthly column for American organist Magazine. Selected jewish Chicagoan of the Year, 1996. Fellowship, Illinois Arts Council, 1999. Taught Jewish music for board of Jewish Education Music Institute; lectured at DePaul and Northwestern University; presented numerous lectures, workshops and seminars. Presented special concerts honoring major Jewish and Israeli musicians.…
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Singer. Tours widely. Website includes bio, recordings, merchandize and information about her tours.
http://www.joyfulnoise.net/JoyBio.html

aka Daniela Dor. Born in Hungary in 1912, Kaufman is a prolific songwriter.

Musical theatrical actress and mezzo-soprano. Native of New Jersey. Tours widely in two one-woman shows “My Grandmother, My Mother and Me”, which includes Jewish material, including Yiddish and Hebrew songs, and in “Broadway’s Fabulous Females”. She has often had roles in off-Broadway productions. Her website includes information about recent bookings and reviews.
http://www.ruthkaye.com/main2.html

Professor of Judaic Studies and Performance Studies at New York University, Dr. Kirshenblatt-Gimblett researches performance practice and has published on klezmer music and other topics of Jewish culture, as well as general American culture, aesthetics of everyday life, cookery and performance, “ethnography, world’s fairs, museum, theater and tourist productions.” From 1988 to 1992, she was President of the American Folklore Society. In 2001, she was at University of Pennsylvania as a fellow at the Center for Jewish Studies. She wrote such books as: Destination Culture: Tourism, Museums, and Heritage(1998) and Image Before My Eyes: A Photographic History of Jewish Life in Poland, 1864-1939 (1977) with Lucjan Dobroszycki.

American. Yiddish singer and music teacher. Born, Brooklyn, NY. Fran studied at Hebrew School of the Hebrew Educational Society, and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School. She received a BA degree in Education and Psychology from Brooklyn College in June 1947, and a Masters in Social Work from Boston University in May l953. She married Robert Kleiner in 1948. Fran started teaching Yiddish songs in camp settings. In the early 1950s, she worked for a time at Camp Kingswood, but moved to the Philadelphia area in 1953. Fran has been singing Yiddish songs for young and old alike, and has spent over 30 years teaching Yiddish, Hebrew, Jewish and folk music to students in Philadelphia. Fran’s website includes a bio, concert schedules and contact info.
http://www.franmusic.com/…
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American. Singer. Musician, educator, and performer, and Jewish-Bop sing-along music for children. Lives in New York. Grew up in Monroe, Louisiana at Temple B’nai Israel. Father, Rabbi David Kline. Attended Sarah Lawrence College. She writes: “My family infused every moment of life with Jewish celebration and love for all aspects of Judaism-special homemade foods, singing and dancing to Jewish music, exploring and reveling in all holidays, ethics, lessons learned through Jewish eyes. My father taught me meditation as a form of prayer at a very early age. My mother brought in each Shabbat with her beautiful candle-lighting and homemade challah and at bedtime my father sent me to sleep with sweet dreams of Shabbat angels. In all of my work, I strive toward the path of Oneness with ourselves, Oneness with God and the beauty of the world around us.” CD called “Sing Shabbat with Shira Kline”.…
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American Cantor. Vocal training in classical opera, University of Miami. Studied in Midreshet Yerushalayim in 1989. Master of Sacred Music and Diploma of Hazzan from the Cantorial School of the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1994. Currently works in Kehilat Shalom, in Montgomery County, MD. First cantor in Conservative pulpit in Baltimore. Featured as one of twelve “leading cantors of our time” in Chicago in 1997 at the Cantors Assembly. Executive Council of the Cantors Assembly from 2000-2002. Chair of the Cantors Assembly Seaboard Region since 1995. Website and CDs of music: Voice of the Lioness and also now working with Hazzan Emanuel Perlman, of Chizuk Amuno Congregation, in Baltimore, MD, as “Manny and Kim” with first CD, “Love is All Around,” released in 2002.

Born in Brooklyn, 1955, living in Jerusalem, Israel since 1978. Wrote the music and English lyrics for all the songs in the CD “Music from the Mountain: a Jewish Holiday Jam with the Soultune Singers”. (2000) which utilizes sounds of American country, klezmer, jazz, reggae and other styles. Available at www.cdbaby.com/soultune. 1st prize winner of the 5th AACI English Song Festival held in Jerusalem for her song “How do you get to Carnegie Hall (or who the heck is Gerard Bechar?)”. She won 3rd prize for song “Echoes of Memories” which was performed by Judith Paul Litov and Rachel Jaskow at the 4th AACI Festival held in Beersheva. At the 2001 Voices (English poets in Israel) Song Competition her song “Daughter Voices” won first prize (accompanied by Rachel Jaskow, Judith Litov and Naomi Attias).…
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