Women in Jewish Music

Foster, Andrea

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

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

Frankel, Judy

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

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

Friedman, Debbie

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gideon, Miriam

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

Gila Flam

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

Gila, Devora

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

Professional Singer/Recording Artist/Educator.She majored in Vocal Performance from the Indiana University School of Music. Ginsburgh “presents over 100 concerts a year in schools, libraries, community centers, museums and festivals throughout North America.” She has been a Louisiana State Roster Artist since 1988 and was named the Louisiana Professional Artist of the Year in 1999. “Judy is a three time Parents Choice Foundation Award winner and she has received a Seal of Approval from the National Parenting Center.” Ginsburgh created a new Jewish Early Childhood Music curriculum with CD called “My Jewish World” for the Union of Reform Judaism and Transcontinental Music.
http://www.judymusic.com/

Giora Schuster

NOTE: Giora Schuster was incorrectly identified in the International Encyclopedia of Women Composers, by Aaron I. Cohen, (New York: RR Bowker Co: 1981) p. 416, as female. Actually, Schuster is a male Israeli, born in Germany in 1915, He had an outpouring of music published in the 1960s, mostly chamber music. The JMWC is indepted to Dr. Yosef Goldenberg of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance for pointing out the error in the encyclopedia for us.

Gluck, Alma

Nee Riba Fiensohn. Opera Singer. Born Iasi, Romania, May 11, 1884. Immigrated to the US with her family around 1894. Her father Leon was a violinist and her mother Zara had a “beautiful singing voice,” although she never did any serious performing. Riba graduated from Hunter College and married Bernard Glick, an insurance executive many years her senior, in 1902. Although an unhappy marriage, Riba had a daughter, the author Marcia Davenport. In 1906, she began to study with Arturo Buzzi-Peccia, one of New York’s finest vocal instructors. Riba was signed to the Metropolitan Opera around 1909. When she signed with the Met, Riba took the stage name Alma Gluck with the encouragement of Arturo Toscanini. Her first stage appearance was as Sophie in Massenet’s Werther.…
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Goldstein, Sylvia

American. Composer, teacher and conductor and singer. Studied at Juilliard School of Music, Preparatory Division 1950 -1953, Cornell University 1953 -1955 (Dean’s List), Brandeis University 1955 -1957: B.A. in Music, cum laude, 1957, Phi Beta Kappa, 1997; Longy School of Music from 1955 -1958 and University of California, Berkeley 1960 to 1962: M.A. in Music, 1962. Currently Chair, Piano Department, Hartford Conservatory of Music where she teaches piano and theory. Also serves as temple music director, choir director for Greater Hartford Jewish Community Center, and music history instructor at local colleges. Member of CT State Music Teachers Association, The Music Club of Hartford, The Women Cantors Network and the Guild of Temple Musicians. Her Jewish sacred works include cantorial music for Shabbat, psalms, healing, weddings, nigunim, and general songs on Jewish subjects.…
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Gorby, Sarah

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.

Gornish, Jean

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

Gottlieb, Ayelet Rose

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/

Green, Noreen

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

Greenbaum, Adrianne

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

Greenfeld, Judy

Cantor Judy Greenfeld is the founder and spiritual leader of the Nachshon Minyan (www.nachshonminyan.org) in Encino, California. Cantor Judy Greenfeld did her undergraduate work at the University of Arizona and received her ordination as well as a Master s Degree in Jewish Sacred Music from the Academy for Jewish Religion, California (www.ajrca.org), a pluralistic rabbinical and cantorial seminary based in Los Angeles. Cantor Greenfeld is the co-author (with Dr. Tamar Frankiel) of two books, Minding the Temple of the Soul and Entering the Temple of Dreamswhich detail a new approach to Jewish prayer through movement and meditation. She has lectured and taught movement and prayer at retreats and synagogues around the United States. One of the highlights of Cantor Greenfeld’s work with the Nachshon Minyan includes authoring a prayer book which reflects a blending of Conservative and Reform traditions.…
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Greenstein, Robin

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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Guthrie, Joy Katzen

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

HaCohen, Ruth (Pinczower)

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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Hadad, Sarit

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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Hadass Pal-Yarden

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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Hamon, Beth

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 .

Hartman, Miriam

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.

Hasofer, Devorah

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/

Hess, Myra

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.

Hirschhorn, Natasha (Jitomirskaia)

“Cantor Natasha (Jitomirskaia) Hirschhorn first became interested in Jewish music during her studies at the Gnesin Music College in Moscow. After graduating from college with Honors Diploma in musicology, piano and composition, she continued her education at the Kiev State Conservatory. Deepening her involvement in Judaism, Natasha also collaborated with the Kiev Jewish Youth Musical Theater as pianist, singer, and, later, its music director. The success of their four-women-show performances throughout Ukraine was embittered by the hostility both from the anti-Semitic Ukrainian authorities and the ultra-Orthodox rabbis. In 1992 Natasha’s quest for a more comprehensive Jewish education has brought her to Washington, D.C., where for three years she studied privately with cantors and rabbis from the area, including Cantors Sue Roemerand Sharon Steinberg. In May 1999 Natasha has completed her studies at the Academy for Jewish Religion, the only non-denominational Rabbinic and Cantorial Seminary, and was ordained as Hazzan and Teacher in Israel.…
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Hirshhorn, Linda

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

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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Irma (Reinhart) Cohon, Angie

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

American. Pianist. Born September 7, 1890 in New York. Died May 25, 1984. Daughter of Max M. and Emma I. Schwarcz. Attended Institute of Musical Art (which later became the Julliard School of Music). Married the composer, Frederick Jacobi, Jr. (1891-1952) on May 29, 1917. SErved on the Music committee of the People’s Music League along with her husband. Active in the New York Committee for Young Audiences and was a fellow of the Morgan Library. Irene Jacobi was a tireless promoter of her husband’s music. She concertized in the US and Europe as a pianist, often performing her husband’s works. According to her Obit in NYT May 30, 1984, she organized a concert of her husband’s works at Carnegie Hall in 1972, (at age 82) and died at age 93.…
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Jill Higgins, Andrea

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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Jonas, Marcie

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/

Kadar, Judy

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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Kam, Rachel

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.

Kammen, Shira

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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Karzen, Judith H.

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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Katchko Gray, Cantor Deborah

American cantor. Currently serves Temple Shearith Israel, Ridgefield, CT. Newest CDs are Jewish Soul andSacred Spirit. Cantor Katchko states: “As a fourth generation cantor and the second female in a conservative pulpit (1981), I am passionate about sharing the love of Jewish music I grew up with. In l982 I founded the Women Cantors’ Network to share that love with others- we have grown to over 300 members with annual conferences, newsletters, online discussions, and web site: www.womencantors.net. In addition, I credit my mentor, Prof. Elie Wiesel, for instilling in me a profound love of Jewish culture and sense of responsibility in sharing it. As a mother of four sons and full time cantor since l981, I have tried to instill a sense of Jewish pride and love of music in everything I do.” Cantor Katchko has a discography which includes In Celebration of Israel Independence Day on cassette; Spirited and Soulful on cassette; Jewish Soul, a CD; (also available digitally online) andKinderSongs, a CD.…
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Katz, Ruth

Israeli. Musicologist. Professor Emeritus of Musicology, The Hebrew University. Author with Dalia Cohen ofPalestinian Arab Music: A Maqam Tradition in Practice. This project “presents the results of a major research effort to determine the parameters of the stylistic variability of Arab folk music in Israel.” She is also author of The Lachmann Problem: An Unsung Chapter in Comparative Musicology and many other books and articles over a long career. She also completed, along with Carl Dahlhaus, a four volume series Contemplating Music: Source Readings in the Aesthetics of Music for Pendragon Press– Vol. I: Substance (1987); Vol. II: Import (1989); Vol. III: Essence (1992) and Vol. IV: Community of Discourse (1994). “Her research interest include stylistic vs. paradigmatic change in the history of music; aesthetics of music and other arts; non-European musical traditions; musicological and ethno-musicological methods; theory and history of notation and music and cognition.”…
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Kaufman, Kay Shelemay

Professor of Music at Harvard University, Dr. Shelemay has written on many topics of Jewish interest including Let Jasmine Rain Down (1998) and Music, Ritual, and Falasha History” (1986) and A Song of Longing: an Ethiopian Journey (1991). She was also editor for Studies in Jewish Musical Traditions: Insights from the Harvard Collection of Judaica Sound Recordings. Cambridge, MA: Harvard College Library, 2001. A website at Harvard tells of the project: Student Series. Dr. Shelemay received her B.M., M.A., and Ph.D. in Musicology from the University of Michigan. She is a past president of the Society for Ethnomusicology and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Shelemay has written a textbook called Soundscapes: Exploring Music in a Changing World (2001).…
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Kaye, Ruth

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

Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Barbara

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.

Klein, Betty

American-born, Israeli singer, guitarist, pianist harpist, accordionist and music therapist. She studied with Martha Schlamme at Mannes College, graduated with a BS from Boston University, MS from Columbia University and continued studies at Hunter College and Montclair State College. She performed throughout the New York area until moving to Israel. She participated in the Akko Music Festival, Folk Festival at Horshat Tal and the Llangollen Eisteddfod, Wales in 1990 where she won 2nd prize in the solo folk singing competition. Ms. Klein has appeared on the BBC, Belgian TV and radio programs and on Israeli TV and radio. Her Ladino and Yiddish concerts have been broadcast as well as recorded in albums. She has performed extensively in Europe in both Jewish and general venues, including festivals, universities, and the Vatican.…
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Kleiner, Fran

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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