International Jewish Music Festival in Amsterdam

A quick reminder of what will be happening at the International
Jewish Music Festival from September 13 – 16, 2014. The festival directors want you to know about a special offer:

SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY!
Always wanted to make a flight over Amsterdam? If you support our
festival with a donation, our own pilot will take you up into the
sky! We enormously appreciate your help to realize our festival and
we can use every donation. But there is now another reason to help
us: until September 1st, KUNSTENISRAËL foundation will double any
amount donated to our voordekunst campagne (up to a maximum total of
€ 2500)! So every euro that you donate is worth three to us! Visit
http://cts.vresp.com/c/?InternationalJewishM/3ead79f654/dd0f152f70/12a8433f8e for
details and conditions.

What is happening in Amsterdam that weekend?
Preliminary competition rounds the 13th through the 15th, semifinals
on Monday the 15th, and the final round on Tuesday the 16th.

You can find descriptions of some of these events in this newsletter,
and more information at www.ijmf.org


On Sunday the 14th we are excited to welcome you to the Uilenburger
Synagogue from 10.00 to 19.00 where you will find many activities,
workshops, an Open Mic and a Jewish Culture market with all kinds of
food and drink. We will welcome you to our Uilenburg cafÉ where you
can enjoy lunch or a drink on our terrace in the courtyard. This
wonderful day will conclude with a special concert by the three
Chazzans, Gilad Nezer, David NaÏn and Sacha van Ravenswade, and
pianist Kimball Huijgens (17.45) Don’t miss it!

http://cts.vresp.com/c/?InternationalJewishM/3ead79f654/dd0f152f70/afbeb28835 . Some
events, such as the Open Mic, are free, and others require
tickets. Buy your tickets now at www.ijmf.org
http://cts.vresp.com/c/?InternationalJewishM/3ead79f654/dd0f152f70/bb43b0ec02 . Do
not hesitate to contact us with questions!

This year’s workshops include a children’s workshop, in which
children will make their own Jewish music, a choral sing along with
liturgical songs by Ilia Belianko (download the sheet music on our
website). Then we have a workshop of Klezmer with clarinetist and
jury member Christian Dawid, and a Yiddish song workshop with jury
member Shura Lipovsky.

In addition to the workshops, you are also invited to attend two
lectures in the Uilenburg CafÉ. One interactive lecture will explore
the Yiddish language spoken in Amsterdam from the 18th Century on.
The other lecture will focus on the history of the Shofar (a typical
Jewish instrument) and how it is being used in modern music.

Open Mic
The IJMF Open Mic will take place at the Uilenburger Synagogue from
13.30 to 15.15 on Sunday, 14 September. This is a joyous event and
free to the public. Anyone who plays Jewish music is welcome to
perform, provided they sign up first. You are not required to be
Jewish, and there is no selection process. We look forward to
welcoming you to an exciting and eclectic afternoon of performers and
music.

Calling All Musicians! Do you play an instrument and like to perform
Jewish music?
Sign up for our Open Mic, which will take place on Sunday, 14
September from 13.30 to 15.15 at the Uilenburger Synagogue! Please
email office@ijmf.org .

Competition
The dates the 2014 candidates will be playing have been finalized,
and you can find more information about them at www.ijmf.org –
http://cts.vresp.com/c/?InternationalJewishM/3ead79f654/dd0f152f70/8cfdd5df9c .

Preliminary Round A Saturday, 13 September at 19.00 Ariel Nahum &
Iyar Semel KbETCH! El Saffron, Alejandra Czarny ,Sarah Aroeste Limor
Oved
, Preliminary Round B Sunday, 14 September at 10.00 Nitsan Khen
Razel La Mythomanie Maureen Nehedar Quartetoukan Kerem Ensemble Faran
Ensemble Preliminary Round C Monday, 15 September at 10.00 The
Aurora Los Desterrados Magillah Yoed Sorek & Susanne Klovsky Meadow
Quartet Itzchak Horovitz
The two semifinals will be held on 15 September at 14.00 and 19.30.
We will announce the candidates who will play in these concerts on
Sunday evening and Monday afternoon.

Meet the Jury
Our jury is responsible for choosing IJMF’s winners and will be
present at all of the competition rounds. The five jury members come
from diverse backgrounds and include a conductor, singer,
clarinetist, composer, and a festival director. We are excited to
introduce them to you:

Jury chair Jules van Hessen is the permanent conductor of the
Phillips Symphony Orchestra and of the Dutch Theater Orchestra and is
a much sought after conductor in the Netherlands and abroad.

Shura Lipovsky is one of the world’s leading singers of Yiddish song.
She is active as a singer and member of the committee of
recommendation for Musicians without Borders. Shura teaches and gives
masterclasses and you can enjoy her workshop on Sunday September 14.

Christian Dawid is an internationally renowned clarinetist in world
music and beyond. He regularly works as an advisor to international
Jewish culture festivals, is a music teacher and has been invited to
Yiddish music festivals such as Yiddish Summer in Weimar, Klezkanada
and the Jewish Culture Festival in Cracow. He will give a workshop on
Sunday September 14.

Jeff Hamburg has been a successful composer based in the Netherlands
since 1978. Performances of his music in recent years include
premieres in the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam to BBC recordings and
commissions for Australian orchestras.

Claudia Floritz has planned, developed, and organized a wide range of
cultural events throughout her career. As artistic director of the
International Klezmer Festival in FÜrth, Germany, she has attended
IJMF before as a talent scout, presenting the FÜrth Klezmer Prize.
Many of our contestants have played at her festival after winning in
the IJMF competition.

We hope to meet you all at the festival. Make sure you get your
tickets at our online ticketshop (www.ijmf.org –
http://cts.vresp.com/c/?InternationalJewishM/3ead79f654/dd0f152f70/af8edea09d or
www.facebook.com/ijmfAmsterdam
http://cts.vresp.com/c/?InternationalJewishM/3ead79f654/dd0f152f70/90a301c091 ).