Pharaoh's Daughter
Saturday, March 10, 8:00pm
Pharaoh's Daughter
In their West Coast debut, this hot world music sextet, featuring Basya Schechter, combines Moroccan rhythms, Turkish melodies and Indian tabla music with the songs of her Orthodox Jewish upbringing in Brooklyn.
Sponsored by the Mickelson/Brody Family Foundation
Sunday, March 11, 11:30am & 2:00pm
Written in 1938 by Czech compos er Hans Krˇsa, Brundib ˇr is a folktale opera perfor med 55 times at the concent ration camp of Theresienstadt. The story's defiant message - where good triumphs over evil - gave the young performers and their audiences courage and hope.
Featuring members of the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra and sung in English by students of The Crowden School, the program will be introduced by Joel ben Izzy and special guest Ela Weissberger, Theresienstadt survivor and original cast member. For children 9 and older. One hour program.
Sponsored by an anonymous donor in honor of Ursula Sherman, and Leonard Merrill Kurz
Monday, March 12, 7:30pm
The Jews of Africa Lecture with
Jay Sand
Performer and African music researcher Jay Sand presents his fascinating field work on the music of several little-known Jewish communities including the Abayudaya of Uganda, the Rusape of Zimbabwe, and the House of Israel of Ghana. Presentation includes live and recorded examples and a slide show.
Sponsored by American Jewish World Service.
Tuesday, March 13, 2:00pm & 7:30pm
Cantor RamŰn Tasat
Music of the Italian, Turkish and Spanish
Jews
With his magnificent tenor voice, renowned Argentine Cantor RamŰn
Tasat reflects the rich history and varied nuances of Sephardic music.
Accompanied by his own guitar and by pianist Natasha Jitomirskaia, he
will perform classically arranged folk songs from the Eastern Sephardic
tradition, late 19th century liturgical music from Livorno,
Italy, and contemporary arrangements of traditional Ladino songs from
the Balkans.
Sponsored by the Sophie & Arthur Brody Family Foundation.
Wednesday, March 14, 7:30pm
Artistic Director, Sylvie Braitman
Uplifting, passionate music was composed in the Czech concentration camp
of Theresienstadt, where many of Europe's most gifted musicians were imprisoned.
The inmates used their creative endeavors as tools of resistance, even
as the Nazis exploited them through concerts staged to persuade the world
that rumors of a Holocaust were unfounded.
Showcasing inspired vocal, chamber, cabaret and opera music by composers including Gideon Klein and Viktor Ullmann, performers include Sylvie Braitman, Benjamin Simon & A Tempo Chamber Ensemble, and actress Betty Grandis. Students of The Crowden School and Theresienstadt survivor Ela Weissberger will sing the finale from Brundibˇr.
Sponsored by Moses & Susan Libitzky. In association with A Traveling Jewish Theatre.
Thursday, March 15, 7:30pm
Za'atar
Performance & Community Jam
Bring your instruments and voices for a lively evening of entertainment and learning about the vibrant music of Jewish Mizrahi and Sephardic cultures. Berkeley-based Za'atar will first perform, and then lead a community workshop/jam session, open to participants and listeners alike.
Saturday, March 17, 8:00pm
In a rare collaborative concert, internationally acclaimed performers Yair Dalal and Hamza El Din showcase traditional and contemporary compositions rooted in their rich and diverse cultures.
Born of Iraqi parents, Israeli musician Yair Dalal (oud, violin, voice) devotes his talent to reinvigorating Eastern Jewish musical traditions in Israel and abolishing ideological barriers between Jews and Arabs. He was a featured performer at the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize Gala Concert honoring the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat.
Hamza
El Din (oud, tar, voice) combines the subtleties of Arabic music with
the indigenous music of his native Nubia in southern Egypt. Known as the
father of modern Nubian music, Hamza has collaborated with prestigious
and diverse artists worldwide, from the Paris Opera Ballet to the Kronos
Quartet. Special guest artists Joan Jeanrenaud (cello) and Salaheddin
Takesh (percussion).
Co-sponsored by the UC Berkeley Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Ivri-NASAWI/Levantine Center, and the Anisman/Sherman Family in honor of Ursula Sherman.