David Krakauer, clarinetist, is fast getting the reputation as one of the premier klezmer clarinetists. His virtuosity and brilliant creativity have been hailed in numerous reviews. His webpage includes a biography, discography and contact information.
http://www.trilliumproductions.com/dkhp.htm
The website of Wolf Krakowski promotes his recordings which incorporate Yiddish and modern musical elements. Musical samples are available at the site.
http://www.kamea.com/
Born in Connecticut. Violinist. Lives in Great Britain. Named United Kingdom’s Jewish Performer of the Year 1995. Her grandfather was a Cantor and two of her uncles were concert violinists. Graduate of the Eastman School of Music, where she was awarded the Performers Certificate for Exceptional Young Artists. Studied violin with Charles Castleman and chamber music with Zvi Zeitlin. Studied with Yfrah Neaman on the Advanced Solo Studies Course at the Guildhall School. Won the National Federation of Music Clubs First Prize, the Stillman Kelley Prize and the Artists International Young Artist award. In November 1999, her disc of the music of Josef Achron was released. In her latest CD, Miriam and British pianist Nicholas Durcan have recorded for Naxos the violin and piano music of the great 20th century Polish composer Karol Szymanowski.…
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Born, Nishny-Novgorod, 1883. Died, Moscow, April 22, 1951. Composer. Distinctive member of The Society for Jewish Folk Music in Moscow at the beginning of the twentieth century. Attended Moscow Conservatory starting around 1897, graduating 1908. Active in the modern music division of the Commission for Folklore, and also in the mid-1920s, wrote music for the Russian Jewish theaters, the Moscow Jewish State Theater and the The White Russian Jewish State Theater. His most important work, the symphonic cantata “Kaddish” for mixed chorus, tenor and orchestra (1921-22), thought lost for many years, was recently recovered in Russia. His music captures the “Hebraic” flavor, including Hebrew Caprice, The Night at the Old Market Place, Gazelles and Songs and Hebrew Sketches.
http://www.musica-judaica.com/akrejn_e.htm
Born in Beltz, Bessarabia. 21 October 1887. Died Cordoba, Argentia, 7 July 1956. Possibly the first women to bring Yiddish song to the concert stage in Russia, was known as an international balladist. Married Israel Heifetz and had one daughter, Toussia, 1917. Yiddish singer and opera star. She studied in Italy, and came to US. Operatic debut in La Boheme in 1902. Joined a group of intellectuals in Odessa with her husand and began to sing Yiddish songs. Due to the Russian revolution, escaped to Poland and then to America. Represented by Sol Hurok for her American debut at Carnegie Hall 29 October, 1922. Sang also in vaudeville Palace Theatre debut in 1927. “Mein Shtetle Belz” was written for her by Olshanetsky and Jacobs for the show “Song of the Ghetto.” Traveled throughout Canada and US on concert tours.…
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American. Born July 3, 1926 in New York City to eastern European Jewish parents. A prolific composer, he has an impressive output of work in all forms: 7 operas, 12 symphonies, 9 ballets, 7 string quartets, 10 concertos and hundreds of chamber works. His father Elias was a baker, and his mother Fanny had worked in the mills and factories of Kansas. The family settled in Brooklyn, forced on a constant move by the Depression. His father added singer and entertainer and his mother became a seamtress in NY. At 5 he started violin but gave it up. At ten he started clarinet in school. He became fascinated with composition and learned piano, allowing him to work as a young jazz musician in clubs and bars in the Coney Island area of Brooklyn.…
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Pianist. Israeli. Attended Rubin Academy of Music, Tel Aviv. Soloist with major orchestras in Israel, and also active in chamber music. In addition to performance works, Milka is a musicologist and editor, producing various programs of chamber music. Became pianist of Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in 1987.
Judi Lamble composes Jewish vocal, and especially choral, including a cappella choruses, soloists, and duets, with music based on liturgical and scriptural texts. Her compositions are classically-oriented, with contemporary or ethnic energy. Having sung with the Chicago Symphony Chorus for 8 years, she writes music with a special sensitivity to the vocalists she serves. Her compositions are regularly performed by the Temple Israel congregational choir in Minneapolis, MN. Her website has contact information for obtaining scores, and samples of her music. Lamble’s music can be appropriate for groups with varying degrees of sophistication. For more information about difficulty of pieces, contact the composer. Some of the religious texts she uses follow the Reform liturgy. She also includes links to other composer’s sites.
www.jewishvocalmusic.com…
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Born July 5, 1879, Warsaw, Poland. Died August 16, 1959, Lakeville, Connecticut. Harpsichordist, pianist, musicologist, composer. Specialist in 17th and 18th century keyboard music, (“old music”), especially using “authentic” instruments. She turned to using the harpsichord and wrote numerous articles promoting its use. Married Henri Lew in 1900, who died in 1919. Toured and taught harpsichord extensively. Contemporary composers began to write pieces for the harpsichord and this helped spark a revival of the instrument. During WWII, she migrated to the US in 1941. Landowska also composed works on Jewish themes.
American. Born November 8, 1945. Memphis, Tennessee. Composer, musicologist, pianist, and professor. Child prodigy. Distinguished and highly celebrated for over 100 musical compositions in a variety of genres. BA Queens College,1966; Artist Master Diploma, Long Island Institute of Music, 1966; MA Columbia, 1968; Professor of Composition at the University of Minnesota School of Music since 1992. Advocate of women in music as editor-in-chief of the books, The Musical Woman: An International Perspective in 3 volumes. Composition awards include “a Guggenheim Fellowship (1983-84); Maryland State Arts Council creative fellowship (1986-87); and commission grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (1982) and American Composers Forum (1993).” Zaimont’s website includes a biography, a searchable discography, searchable listing of compositions, awards and prizes, a bibliography and links to online feature articles.
American. Composer. b. Brooklyn, New York, April 6, 1968. Pianist since the age of five. “Studied composition with Ruth Schonthal at the Westchester Conservatory of Music, where she received the William Petchek Scholarship. For two summers she was a scholarship student at the Tanglewood Institute. She was graduated summa cum laude from the music department of Harvard University, where her teachers included Earl Kim, Leon Kirchner and Peter Lieberson. Lann won the New York Music Teachers Association ‘Herbert Zipper Prize,’ the New York Musicians Club ‘Bohemians Prize’ and the Harvard University ‘Hugh F. MacColl Prize.’ She directed the Harvard Group For New Music and was co-founder of the Harvard Group For Gender Studies In Music. She also produced and announced radio feature programs (WHRB, Cambridge) and worked as music director for productions at the American Repertory Theater.…
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Musicologist. Editor. Wrote, Stravinsky in the Theatre. Editor of Modern Music, “one of the most important magazines in the contemporary music world in the mid-20th century. Lederman featured Copland and his writings in Modern Music.” (from: http://www.music.mpr.org/features/0011_copland/figures.shtml). For many years she edited Copland’s writings. She also wrote The Life and Death of a Small Magazine (Modern Music, 1924-1945), 1983.
Composer, performer, librarian and archivist, and expert on the works of Marc Blitzstein, Leonard Lehrman lives and works on Long Island, New York. The artist page includes a biography, photos, a discography and a list of works.
http://ljlehrman.artists-in-residence.com
Clarinetist. Klezmer musician. Born Toledo, Ohio, 1958. Bachelor from Indiana University in Music and Philosophy. Studied klezmer music with Sid Beckerman. Helped found the Klezmatics in 1985. Performed with Joel Gray in the Borshtcapades, Theodore Bikel in Greeetings from Sholem Aleichem, with Klezmer Conservatory Band in Schlemiel the First and with Joshua Bell in The Red Violinsoundtrack. Helped found the Klezmer Mountain Boys interweaving klezmer and bluegrass. Currently resides in Astoria, New York. Ms. Leverett says of becoming involved in klezmer music: “Klezmer originally appealed to me because it’s great clarinet music, with a history of amazing clarinetists playing it. But I soon found it to be the music that resonates most truthfully for me. Classical music was too confining for me–I love to improvise, and klezmer is my soul music.” Her CD is “The Art of Klezmer Clarinet” (Traditional Crossroads).…
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Singer and actress. “Ruth Levin is a leading Israeli vocalist of Jewish music. Ms. Levin is the daughter of Leibu Levin, a well-known Yiddish composer and actor, with whom she performed in stage theater and concerts from a young age. Her programs consist mostly of Yiddish songs, many of which are written to the finest Yiddish poetry.”
http://www.monica-fallon.com/artists/ruth_levin.htm
American. Vocalist. Pianist. Began as a teenager in the Catskills. Studied with Yiddish singer Martha Schlamme. Attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Also co-authored a book, “My Father’s Story: A Child’s Introduction to the Holocaust.” Michele started out as a lawyer and practiced as an Assistant DA in NYC and Cambridge. Later she returned to her love of music, founding The Klezmer Connection, a simcha band, in 1996.
Canadian. nee Chertkow. “Operatically trained in Canada and England, Judith infuses cantorial music with the performance quality of classical Art Songs. With a Sephardic mother and Ashkenazi father, Judith grew up steeped in both Mediterranean and Eastern European Jewish culture and music as well as orthodox religious training.” She has a CDBaby listing for Threads of Blue. The album is “a recording of eighteen songs that weave together aspects of Jewish religion, languages, culture and traditions, touching milestones in the Jewish religious calendar and life cycle; Sabbath and High Holidays; love, marriage, birth, death; folk, liturgical and art songs in the hybrid Jewish tongues of Yiddish and Ladino as well as traditional Hebrew.”
http://cdbaby.com/cd/judithlevy
Yiddish singer living in Canada, Lenka has been involved with Yiddish music for years. Her arrangements are really quite unusual and satisfying. Lenka was raised in Prague, and her musical training included theater work and vocal training at the Prague Conservatory. Her album “Deep Inside,” which has received excellent reviews, is featured on the website. Many of the “lyrics deal with ‘Jewish’ topics: misunderstandings between observant/less observant Jews, the role of Yiddish, finding one’s Jewish identity, and issues from Israel.” Her Latest CD is “Peace Offerings.”
http://www.lenkalichtenberg.com/home.html
Jewish holiday songs for kids and educational workshop. “In the 70’s and 80’s Allan Lieberman sold advertising and then real estate. In the 1990’s he tossed away his briefcase and three-piece suit and picked up his guitar and began writing songs. Since then he has written over 200 tunes; everything from serious to satire; as well as songs for kids and the young at heart. He has entertained throughout the country for children, families and adults. Allan’s concerts are interactive, enthusiastic and FUN. He has produced four full length recordings and his most recent, It’s The Miracle, was honored by Parent’s Choice Magazinewith their prestigious Gold Award. Allan has travelled throughout the country, singing to children at pre-school camps as well as resident camps.”
http://www.allanlieberman.com/index.shtml…
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Aamerican. Vocalist and guitarist. Cantorial soloist. B.A. in English and Russian Literature, U. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1979. Additional work in Russian Language and Literature, U. of Chicago, IL. Founder, the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band, 1983. Cantorial soloist for ten years at the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation of Evanston, IL. Cantorial soloist Congregation Or Shalom, Vernon Hills, IL. High Holidays Cantorial Soloist for the U. of Michigan and U. of Wisconsin Reform services. Founded the Heavy Shtetl congregational klezmer band. Co-founded the Yiddish Arts Ensemble, a family repertory company.
http://www.klezmerband.com/bios.html
Currently based in Beit Shemesh, Israel, American-born guitarist and orthodox religious singer whose music is American folk and blues. His influences are Folk, Blues, Country. His first High School bands were influenced by Neil Young, Willy Nelson, Bob Dylan, Stevie Ray. He majored in Music at Skidmore College in upstate NY and started an original band, The Last Mavericks. Released Higher Ground CD in 2004. People can order the CD from Cdbaby –which is really a blues album with a “Jewish twist”. Lloyd is known worldwide as the lead guitar and harmonica player for the only Jewish Jam Band– Reva L’ Sheva. Some have compared his guitar playing to Eric Clapton. Lazer hosted the Tel Aviv Bluesfest and toured in Berlin in 2004. He then toured America and Canada in 2005.…
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Alex Lubet, professor of music at the University of Minnesota many works on Jewish themes. His website at the University includes contact information and a brief listing of some compositional highlights.
http://www.music.umn.edu/fac_rsch/bios/lubet.htm
Website promoting the compositions and cassettes of Bruce and Donna Adler. Jewish music that searches for spirituality done in a folk/bluegrass style. The Adlers are Reconstructionist and Reform rabbis.
http://w3.one.net/~bruad/index.html
Jon Madof is a musician exploring Jewish and Middle Eastern music through Rashanim, a group he founded in 2000. His website includes a biography, schedule of concerts for several groups Jon is involved with, a discography, and contact information.
http://www.jonmadof.com/
American. Born, 1928. composer. Several websites devoted to her music appear online.
Music of Ursula Mamlok
C Michael Reese wrote reviews and this biographical sketch: “Ursula Mamlok was born in 1928 in Berlin. Her Jewish family left Germany in 1941 and had to settle for Ecuador as the US quota for German immigrants had been capped. From there she submitted handwritten compositions to American Universities until she received a full scholarship from the Mannes College in New York. She studied with George Szell at Mannes, Roger Sessions (lessons during his weekly visits to New York) and later Vittorio Giannini at the Manhattan School of Music.”
The cantor of the Comunidad Israelita del Uruguay has a webpage dedicated to his teachers and a vitae. In Spanish and English. He includes audio clips of cantor and choir with enjoyable melodies and arrangements.
http://www.arroba.nu/jazan/
Dutch pianist and composer. Born February 19, 1888, Amsterdam. Died May 27, 1949, Laren, the Netherlands. She survived WWII by going into hiding, but also gave clandestine concerts presenting works by Jewish composers. Musicologist Dr. Melissa De Graaf has written a biographical sketch of Rosy Wertheim 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. This portrait of Rosy Wertheim is from the online exhibits of the Joods Historisch Museum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
The Dutch duo, Mariejan van Oort and Jacques Verheijen, have a website featuring their CD releases. In 1997 they released their first CD “Brikele” and recently have another CD “Benkschaft”. They have received very enthusiastic receptions by some of the major Yiddish performers.
http://www.demaatschap.net
MAX STERN, a composer living in Israel, has many materials that can be found through online sites. For those interested in finding some interesting music, you can follow the links below:
First, A composer’s biography about Max is available through the Israel Music Institute:
http://www.imi.org.il/Composer.aspx?id=b59f294d-4621-4944-b553-37d653e84834&Lang=E
Works List at IMI
Max Stern Works
Works Availablefor performance through IMI.
CD recordings at CD Baby (16 CDs):
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/MaxStern
Books (published by KTAV and available through Amazon.com:
Bible & Music: Influences of the Old Testament on Western Music. This book lists works based on Biblical themes and verses.
Bible & Music
Psalms & Music: Influences of the Psalms on Western Music. This book lists musical settings based on the Psalms. “Psalms have been set to music more than any other biblical texts.…
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A prolific composer based in Columbia, S.C. A graduate of Harvard, New England Conservatory of Music, and the University of South Carolina, Dr. Warshauer studied composition with Mario Davidovsky, Jacob Druckman, William Thomas McKinley, and Gordon Goodwin. She has received numerous awards from ASCAP as well as the America Music Center, Meet the Composer, and the South Carolina Arts Commission. She is the first recipient of the Art and Cultural Achievement Award from the Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina in 2000. Ms. Warshauer has composed numerous works for Jewish liturgy and on Jewish themes. Meira Warshauer s We Are Dreamers , for SATB chorus, clarinet, percussion and piano, was commissioned in honor of the 50th anniversary of the state of Israel. The text is Psalm 126, whose theme is the return of exiles to Zion.…
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American. Born, New York City. Grew up in Hewlett, Long Island, NY. Attended Eisner and Kutz camps (Reform). Attended Tulane University. Songlead at four other UAHC camps. Pursuing a Masters of Jewish Education (MJEd) and a Cantorial Arts Certificate at Hebrew College in Newton. CD/EP of original contemporary Jewish music, Rock With Ruach! with Josh Nelson of Yom Hadash.
http://www.meltzerworld.net/
American. Pianist and social worker. Born, May 20, 1920, San Francisco. Also lived in Australia and England. Died, January 1, 1981, London. Concertized widely with her brother, Yehudi Menuhin in her youth, and again in her later years. Had her first recital debut at 8 years old in 1928. Studied with Rudolf Serkin in Basel. Recordings won classical music prizes. Won Prix du Disque at age 12. Moved to Australia in the 1940s. She also worked tirelessly for deprived persons and families and also was an activist for peace and disarmament causes. President, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, 1977.
(1878-1943?)
Ottilie was an outstanding contralto and sang with Caruso (in Carmen and Aida). She sang in all the major opera houses of the day. Ottilie Metzger (she added the name of her second husband to her name) was particularly admired in Wagner parts, and sang several times at Bayreuth. At least one of her appearances in New York before the first world war was reviewed in the NYT. In 1934 Ottilie fled Germany and lived in Brussels. She was rounded up in 1942 and deported. Died in Auschwitz, probably in 1943.
Jewish song leader. American. Works in Chicago’s western suburbs, providing the music for Shabbat services, Family services, Tot Shabbat, Holiday services and programs, camps and retreats. Cindy is a graduate of the 1995 Synagogue Leadership Institute and the 1995 Rabbinic Aid program, both sponsored by the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. She is a 10 year veteran of Hava Nashira, the annual Song Leading and Music Conference held at Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.
http://home.xnet.com/~rtm/
Nee Ella Milch. Born 1954 In Haifa, Israel. Composer. Singer, pianist. Milch-Sheriff started as a child prodigy, writing her first compositions by the age of 12. While serving in the Israeli army, she continued to write and sing her songs. After army service, she returned to studies in composition under Prof. Tzvi Avni at the Rubin Academy of Music at the Tel-Aviv University where she graudated in composition. She studied vocal studies with Prof. Tamar Rachum and Dafna Cohen-Licht. Her output consists of opera, orchestral, chamber and vocal and popular music. Her works have had numerous performances in Israel and abroad. She is composer of chamber works such as: Duo for flute & Cello (1976) with recent pieces that include “A Crown they shall give unto You” for voice and orchestra based on Ladino-Flamenco folk music (premiered January 2005); “Woman in Paths” for voice and piano (premiered 2005); and “Good Night, Sweet ladies” for 3 singers, actress and orchestra (premiered 2004).…
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Guitarist. Rabbi. Singer songwriter. “Larry has produced three albums of new and original Jewish folk music: Bible & Beyond, On My Block, and Rats, Leviathans & Other Tails. Larry’s songs also appear on over a dozen albums, including NFTY at 50, an anthology of classic songs from the Reform Jewish youth movement; Havdalah Pajama by Judy Caplan Ginsburgh, winner of a Parents’ Choice award; and most recently, Celebrate Kids, the latest collection by Craig Taubman.” His song “Wherever You Go (There’s Always Someone Jewish!),” has been taught in schools around New England. Three of Larry’s songs are included in the new Shireinu songbook from Transcontinental Music. Taught guitar master classes at the CAJE Conference. Guitarist of Hamakor, Boston’s Israeli folk dance troupe. Founded the innovative Jewish band, Elijah Rock.…
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In French. This website gives a brief biography, discography, bibliography and a list of works.
http://www.france.diplomatie.fr/culture/france/musique/composit/milhaud.html
Mira Waksman-Kimiagaroof, a San Francisco-based artist, sings in Hebrew, although many compositions are Sephardic (Mediterranean and Middle Eastern) tunes that come from Uzbekistan, Turkey, Greece, Spain, Morocco and other Arabic countries. Her parents were of Uzbeki and Afghan heritage and she comes from a cantorial and family. She combines her Israeli musical influences blended with musics from others she works with. Mira’s website has a brief bio, features two recordings and press info. There are photos, but no labels.
http://www.mirasings.com
Alberto Mizrachi is now a world famous cantor and premiere interpreter of Jewish song. He’s often called the “Jewish Pavarotti”. He is cantor at Anshe Emet Synagogue in Chicago. He concertizes all over the world, sings in nine languages, and has appeared in most of the major venues of the world. He’s recorded with the Milken project, been on PBS, and appeared in large concert stages. I first met the cantor, (then known as Abraham Mizrachi), in Cincinnati, as a graduate student when he hired me to be a song leader in a part time job at a local temple where he was cantor. It was there he gave me a gift set of the Coopersmith books The Songs We Sing and The More Songs We Sing and said “here, learn these”.…
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Song collector, author, ethnomusicologist and librarian. Works at the YIVO Institute in New York and is the author of several important collections of Yiddish music, (the last two of them with her husband Joseph Mlotek), including: Mir Trogn a Gezang– The New Book of Yiddish Songs (1972), Perl fun Yidishn lid– Pearls of Yiddish Song (1988), Lider fun dor tsu dor:naye perl fun Yidishn Lid–Songs of Generations: New Pearls of Yiddish Songs (1990). Many of her papers are held by YIVO.
Russian Jewish composer (name also spelled Veprik). Born in Balta, near Odessa, June 1899. Died, Moscow, 13 October 1958. Born in the Ukraine, but grew up in Poland. Studied piano at Warsaw Conservatory until age 10. Studied composition in Leipzig with Janacek and Reger between 1909-1914. Studied piano with Dubasov in St. Petersburg Conservatory. Studied composition with Zhitomirsky from 1917-1920. Became a teacher 1923. Very active in the founding of the Society for Jewish Folk Music. In mid 1920s, composed several Jewish works, including Songs and Dances of the Ghetto, Hebrew Songs for Orchestra, and Kaddish. In March 1933, “Dances and Songs of the Ghetto” was performed in Carnegie Hall, New York conducted by Toscanini. During the Stalin regime, Weprik was sent to a Gulag.…
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Russian composer and performer. Born March 28, 1946 in Zlatoust, Chelyabinsk, Russia. Senior lecturer of the Magnitogorsk State Conservatory (MaGK). Graduated 1964 from Magnitogorsk Musical College in bayan and the piano. 1971 graduated from the Gorky (Nizhny Novgorod) Conservatory. Post-graduate study, 1995 from Nizhny Novgorod Conservatory. Since 1970, worked as educator of the Russian folk instruments section of the Magnitogorsk Musical College. Winner of diploma at the All-Russian Contest in Moscow at 2000, and winner of diploma at the international Contest of bayan-accordion-players “The Far East Cup” in Vladivostok, 2000. Founded the concert ensemble of Russian folk instruments «Rodnye Napevy» («The Native Tunes»)(1980). Also founded a chamber instrumental ensemble «Retro» (1991), the instrumental trio «Accordion-Retro» (1997), the instrumental duet «Expromt» (2000). As a composer, he has released more than 20 author’s collections since the 1980s.…
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Born: 1829 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Died: December 18, 1869. Descended from Sephardic Jews on his father’s side, Gottschalk is one of the intriguing figures on 19th century New Orleans lore. A biography about him with photos, discography and links to Gottschalk sites. The Library of Congress also has a sheet music collection online. Users should use the search box and type “Gottschalk” to view a list of scanned music.American Sheet Music
http://www.louismoreaugottschalk.com/Biography/biography.html
Benjamin Muller is the Chief Chazzan of the Jewish community of Antwerp, Belgium. His website has his personal history, links to a CD page which has excerpts of the music. You have to click on the small bars below the titles. (Each bar is it’s own set of play/pause/stop buttons.) He also has some interesting histories of the great cantors with small clips. A very intersting “right and wrong” nusach combinations pages (using the metaphor of stoplights for “right” and “wrong” combinations) is a small teaching tool.
http://www.benjaminmuller.com
Rahel Musleah was born in Calcutta, India, the seventh generation of a Calcutta Jewish family that traces its roots to 17th-century Baghdad. Through her multi-media song, story and slide programs, she shares her rare and intimate knowledge of this ancient community s history, customs and melodies. Ms Musleah is a graduate of Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. She is a member of the Authors Guild; the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Jewish Press Association. She sings with the Zamir Chorale and Shirah, the Jewish Community Chorus of the JCC on the Palisades, in Tenafly, NJ, both under the direction of Matthew Lazar. She has received awards for her writing from the American Jewish Press Association, the Society of Professional Journalists, the National Sephardi Literary Contest, the Society of National Association Publications, and the General Federation of Women s Clubs.…
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American. Born April 5, 1901. Died Jan. 17, 1991 in Chevy Chase, MD. Lyricist in the Yiddish theater. Wrote “My Son and I” that opened in 1960, a “musical play in English and Yiddish with book by Herman Yablokoff, music by Sholom Secunda and lyrics by Bella Mysell.” (NYTimes, Oct. 16, 1960).
Special thanks to Victor Berch, retired Brandeis University Special Collections Librarian for research on this entry.
American Singer and Blogger. Raised in upstate NY, attended Hampshire College and immigrated to Israel. Orthodox and Green, Sarah joined Atid Yarok (green future) at Merkaz Hamagshimim Haddassah. Sarah went on to finish a Master s degree in Non-Profit Management at Hebrew University. After finishing her degree she took a position with the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel. In 2003, Sarah married David Nadav and they lived together on The Moshav and then moved to Jerusalem where their son Shalom BenTzion was born. They currently live in LA. Her music mixes influences of Carlebach, hasidic, American folk, rock, and middle easterns sounds from Jerusalem and is put together on her first CD, “Sarah Dahlia” Music For the Middle of the Night. A lot of songs in English.…
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Singer for Azamra, a movement of the Breslov Chassidim. CD “Shirey Ahavah veEmunah: Songs of Love and Faith”. Website has biographical information, photos and sound bites. “The Azamra Institute is dedicated to the dissemination of Torah spirituality, healthcare and healing through educational programs, quality publications and Internet outreach. Founded in 1986 by Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum, the Azamra Institute is an independent non-profit organization incorporated in Israel, the U.S. and Canada.”
http://www.azamra.org/HTML/naftaly.htm
Superstar in Israel, Shuly Nathan’s sweet and crystal clear voice was recorded in one of the most famous songs of all: Naomi Shemer’s Jerusalem of Gold. Born in London, but arriving in Israel at age 2, Shuly Nathan’s albums are both in the folk and pop-Israeli idioms. Today her new CDs reveal a mature artist whose voice is as wonderful as ever. Her website contains a brief biography, some photos, links to her new albums on CD Baby, and contact information.
http://www.shuly-nathan.co.il/
Israeli composer living in the United States. Website has links to information about obtaining scores and recordings of the composer’s works. Brief biography included.
http://www.liornavok.com/
Dan Nichols and Eighteen. CD “It Was You”. Website features songsheets of the music, tour dates, photos, schedule, and a press kit.
http://www.jewishrock.com/index2.asp?lrf=10
Fan site for Israeli singer Noa with English, Spanish and Italian versions. Lots of photos, clips, CDs, links, discography and news.
http://noasite.net/
Fan site, Lots of pictures, bio, real audio files and ways to buy music.
http://www.hrmusic.com/discos/anframe.html
The website has information on over 40 years of the career of Esther Ofarim, one of Israel’s premier singers. Esther Ofarim was a sensation in the 1960s and 70s. She stopped concertizing for over a decade, but has since returned to the stage. She started singing in the Israëli National Theatre “Habimah”. She met, and later married, Abraham (Abi) Reichstat. After touring and recording widely in Europe and the US, winning several prizes as a duo, they later divorced. Esther continued on a solo career on the stage and on television, eventually moving back to Israel. Today she concertizes in Germany and in Israel, often accompanied by Yoni Rechter, piano. She is still remembered for winning the Israel Song Festival in 1961 with 2 songs. The website has some nice photos, reviews, and discography with sound bites.…
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The French government’s site on Jacques Offenbach with a brief biography, a list of works, a discography and a bibliography for further reading. In French.
http://www.france.diplomatie.fr/culture/france/musique/composit/offenbac.html
Betti Olivero, born in Tel Aviv in 1954, is one of few young women composers highly acclaimed throughout Israel, Europe and the US. She studied both in Israel and in the United States at Yale with Jacob Druckman. Ms. Olivero’s list of works shows skill and variety. She has written instrumental chamber works, symphonic works, for voice and chamber groups, puppet plays and for large string ensembles. A list of compositions, a brief bio and a discography has been gathered by the Israel Music Institute.
http://www.aquanet.co.il/vip/imi/bios/olivero.htm#Biographical notes
American-born Israeli clarinetist. Moved with her family to Israel at age four. Returned to US to study at New England Conservatory. There she won the chamber and the concerto competitions. She studied at Northwestern University near Chicago for a Masters, also winning many competitions. Orit has played with numerous orchestras and symphonies, and with many top soloists. Some of the highlight performances included appearances with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (Zubin Mehta conducting), Boston Philharmonic, San Francisco Sinfonietta, the Northwestern Symphony, Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra (Nayden Todorov conducting), Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Israel Chamber Orchestra, Israel Northern Symphony, Haifa. She serves as principal clarinetist with the Israel Northern Symphony of Haifa and also as a teacher with Music by the Red Sea – Israel Festival. Orbach has premiered works by major modern composers, including Krzystof Penderecki and Robert Starer.…
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American. Cantor. Born December 24, 1952, St. Louis, MO. She is the first woman invested as a cantor. Graduated 1975, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion-School of Sacred Music (HUC-SSM). Received the honorary DSM from HUC in 2000. From 1976 through 1988, served Temple Beth-El of Great Neck. From 1990 through 2002, served Temple Beth Am of Buffalo, NY. From 1996 to 1998, chaired the Joint Cantorial Placement Commission. In 2002, appointed as Placement Director of the American Conference of Cantors (ACC). She also served the American Conference of Cantors (ACC) as Secretary, Vice-President, as a Northeast regional representative, and several terms on the board of directors. Cantor Ostfeld edited the CAA newsletter, Shalshelet: The Chain, for two years.
American vocalist, guitarist, teacher and singer-songwriter residing in Sherman Oaks, California. Sings in Yiddish, Hebrew and English. Attended a Yiddish Kindershule. B.A. in French, UCLA. Worked for over thirty years as director of children’s music at Temple Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, California. Cantorial soloist at UCLA Hillel. Specializes in children’s music. Has recorded eight CDs of Jewish and children’s songs. Her albums include: Celebrate With Cindy Vol. 1 and 2; What a Happy Day; S’iz Yontev Kinder Lomir Zingin!; Chanukah a Singing Celebration; Shabbat Shalom; Zing with Cindy Paley; Yavo Shalom; A Singing Seder; Koleet: a Celebration of Jewish Folk Music.
http://www.cindypaley.com/
Ensembles “IL CIMENTO” is a professional Baroque ensemble from Germany, directed by Matthew Peaceman, that gives specialized performances of the extant Jewish music of the 17th and 18th Centuries. For example, Hoscha’na Rabbah in der Synagoge von Casale Monferrato 1733 in January, 2005, or Hoschan’ah Rabah in Casale Monferrato in 1732, Performed in the Choral Synagogue of Moscow in 2002. Matthew writes: “The cantata to Hoschan’ah Rabbah was an attempt of the Jewish community in Casale Monferrato, Piémont in the 1730’s to expand its own musical horizons within the Jewish context and at the same time to reach out to its non-Jewish neighbors by incorporating musical styles of the latter with the liturgical content of the former.” The ensemble has also played the Ester Oratorio by Lidarti.…
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“Israeli born. Received her B.A. in Piano Performance from the Chicago Music College and M.A. in Composition from Indiana School of Music in Bloomington, both degrees with Distinction. While a student she received the First Prize in the Molly Margolis Piano Competition in Chicago, as well as numerous scholarships and Distinctions. Among her teachers were Prof. Ludmila Lazar (Piano) and Prof. Fred Fox (Composition) Ms. Pelleg studied conducting with Henry Mazer, Associate conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Pelleg was awarded a conducting fellowship to the Aspen Music Festival, a scholarship to study with Frederick Prauznitz at Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hoplkins University in Baltimore, and a fellowship to a special master class with Max Rudolph at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. In addition, she participated in Master Classes with Sergiu Celibidacce in The Munich Philharmonic and Ghenadi Rhozdesvensky in Sienna.…
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American. Born May 4, 1930, New York. Currently serving on the board of the National Endowment of the Arts. Star of the Metropolitan Opera in New York where she sang over 500 times. She experienced tremendous success giving concerts and recitals with major orchestras, and master classes around the world. She married Robert Merrill, and later Bertram Fields, and had two children. Her memoir is Debut at the Met (1967). http://www.northwood.edu/dw/1989/peters.html
Yossi Piamenta performs hasidic music on electric guitar. His background and training appear to be in rock and jazz.
http://www.zstarr.com/piamenta/
Born, June 1, 1898, New York. (nee, Margaret Pyekoon.) Died, April 5, 1992, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Mega-star of the Yiddish stage and movies. Her papers are held at the American Jewish Historical Society in the Center for Jewish History. An online finding aid gives a brief biographical sketch about her wildly successful career, spanning over 70 years in theater, stage and film. One of her most famous appearances in the Yiddish film Yidl Mitn Fidl(1937). The YIVO Archives also has holdings of Picon.
http://www.cjh.org/academic/findingaids/AJHS/nhprc/MollyPiconb.html
American singer. Graduate of Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio. Specializes in the music of Spain and Sephardic Jews. Her albums include “Jewels of the Sephardim,” “Wings of Time” and “The Radiance of Faith.”
Israeli violinist. Born, 1975 in Moscow, Russia. Entered Tchaikovsky Central Music School. Immigrated to Israel 1990. Studied at Jerusalem Rubin Academy and Rubin Academy of Music in Tel Aviv. Member of young Israeli Philharmonic. Won first prize at Tel Aviv Academy chamber music competition, 1996. Appeared as soloist with Ra’anana Symphonette, Tel Aviv Academy Symphony, and Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Member of second violin section, Israel Philharmonic since 1996.
Canadian born. Cantor at Congregation Beth Yeshurun in Houston, Texas. A producer of a series of CDs for the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, and the Cantors Assembly, entitled “The Spirit Series.” Website includes information about his CD The Three Jewish Tenors, Live!.
http://www.davidpropis.com/biography.html
American. Born January 1, 1936 in New York City. Conductor, pianist. First woman appointed conductor to a metropolitan orchestra and first woman to conduct at Lincoln Center’s Philharmonic Hall. Also the first woman to conduct on a commercially recorded opera. (Massenet’s Le Cid, 1976) Ms. Rabin grew up in an Orthodox Jewish home. A child prodigy, she received a scholarship by age 5. She attended New York City High School of Music and Art. Later she studied at CCNY and conducting at Mannes College of Music. She also studied at the Hebrew Union College School of Sacred Music. Started vocal coaching and rehearsal accompanist at New York City Opera in 1957-(8). Then, in graduate school, studied conducting with Carl Bamberger and later with Joseph Rosenstock at the Metropolitan Opera.…
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Born May 23, 1893, Bialystok, Poland.(nee, Burchstein). Died September 28, 1963, Los Angeles, California. Soprano. Sang with the Chicago Opera and internationally in over 500 performances. Popular for her performances in Italian operas. Opened a school in the 1930s in Chicago with her husband, Giacomo Rimini. A webpage devoted to her has some wonderful photos and more about her opera performances. A biography has been written by Charles Mintzer called: “Rosa Raisa: A Biography of a Diva with Selections from Her Memoirs” published by Northeastern University Press.
http://www.cantabile-subito.de/Sopranos/Raisa__Rosa/hauptteil_raisa__rosa.html
and
http://www.operajaponica.org/reviews/books/rosaraisa.htm
A widely acclaimed composer and pianist who studied in Israel and the United States and now works internationally, including the US. Ms. Ran was born in Tel Aviv. While primarily a classical musician, Ms. Ran has written several works both on Jewish themes, including an opera The Dybbuk, and and works with Jewish musical content, including klezmer-influenced music and several liturgical settings. Ms. Ran won the Pulitzer Prize in 1991. Her music is published by Theodore Presser which has an excellent page dedicated to her music, her publications, her biography and a discography. It includes a photo.
http://www.presser.com/composers/ran.html
American. Born, Knoxville, Tennessee. Rabbi. Singer-songwriter. Geela-Rayzel Raphael is the co-creator of Shabbat Unplugged– a musical, rockin’ Shabbat service; sings with MIRAJ, an a cappella trio; and New Shalom, which offers lively interactive Shabbat services for synagogues and street performance. She has been writing songs for over 20 years. Her debut CD was Bible Babes a’ Beltin -strong songs of biblical women. In addition, she has recorded two CDs with MIRAJ. Her songs tend to be lifecycle ritual songs, ballads of Jewish women, and Hebrew/English liturgy. Rabbi Raphael is the daughter of Mitchell and Natalie Robinson. She received a BA from Indiana University in religious studies, and a Masters in Contemporary Jewish Studies from Brandeis University. Rayzel studied at Machon Pardes and the Melton Center for Jewish Education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.…
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A lyric soprano whose voice was often described as ravishing, Judith Raskin stressed purity of sound, clear diction, and the musical line. Born 21 June 1928, in New York, Judith grew up as an only child of teachers Harry A. Raskin and Lillian Mendelson Raskin. She studied both violin and piano as a child, but discovered singing, and sang in the glee club of Roosevelt High School in Yonkers. She studied voice with Anna Hamlin and acting with Ludwig Donath at Smith College, graduating 1949 with a BA, and along the way winning various scholarships and awards including the Harriet D. Barnum Award. Smith College later also awarded her an honorary MA in 1963. She won the Marian Anderson Scholarship for two years 1952 and 1953, and in 1956 won an award by the Musician s Club of New York.…
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A composer and singer. Most of her repertoire of more than six hundred romances and songs is composed on texts of the famous Russian classical poets, A. Akhmatova, N.Gumilyov, O. Mandelstam, M. Tsvetayeva, A. Blok, I. Severyanin, S.Yesenin and others. In Israel she has written music for symphony orchestras, choirs and chamber ensembles.
Born in Leningrad. (Now St. Petersburg). Composer and singer. Most of her repertoire of more than six hundred romances and songs is composed on texts of the famous Russian classical poets, A. Akhmatova, N.Gumilyov, O. Mandelstam, M. Tsvetayeva, A. Blok, I. Severyanin, S.Yesenin and others. In Israel she has written music for symphony orchestras, choirs and chamber ensembles. Works include “Requiem”, performed in 1989 at the Kremlin, Moscow; “The song of the Murdered Jewish People” on a poem by Itzhak Katzenelson; soundtrack for Kastner’s Trial”.…
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Born in Amsterdam. Daughter of Lin Jaldati. Singer. Specializes in Jewish song.
http://www.milch-und-honig.com/jalda_rebling.htm
