Israeli Extravaganza in San Francisco

Saturday, February 9th 7:00 - 9:30 p.m.
Congregation Beth Israel-Judea
625 Brotherhood Way,
near Highway 280 and Lake Merced,
San Francisco 94132-2992
***FREE ADMISSION***FREE PARKING***ALL AGES WELCOME***

Enjoy live Israeli folk music with Achi Ben Shalom, leader of the band Adama, who is also musical director of the Nigunim choral ensemble and the East Bay Jewish Folk Chorus. Guided Israeli folk dance instruction will be provided by Bruce Bierman, artistic director of the Jewish Dance Theatre. Lyrics to the songs in the first set will be projected onto a screen so non-dancers can sing along if they like.

In the second music set, experience the new sound of young Israeli music as performed by the popular Israeli Band Kol Creation, with Lior Ben-Hur and Yaniv Assouline. You can have a natural henna tattoo applied by Darcy, of the Henna Lounge, and there will be refreshments, informational tables, Israeli-made items for sale, and a big raffle drawing at the end of the evening.

This event in honor of Israel @ 60 is co-sponsored by the Consulate General of Israel, San Francisco Hillel, the Israel Center of the Jewish Community Federation, TZAVTA, the Jewish Community Relations Council, JIMENA, B nai B rith and BBYO. Everyone - young and old, dancers or not -- is encouraged to attend. Schmooze, tap your feet to the music, eat, dance, drink and have a great time at the biggest community bash we ve had in a long time!

For more information, contact Sonya Hicks, Chair of Adult Education at Congregation Beth Israel-Judea (415)678-0327 or go to www.bij.org

PHP release new CD Hodu

The band PHP just released their debut album "HODU" with Sameach music. Check out PHPJams.com The website features pictures, sound bites and there's video to download. The band is not sure what PHP stands for, -- but in analog-land it might be called a pretty hot platter.

Fifth Annual Klezmer Concert at Town and Village Synagogue

There'll be dancing in the aisles at the Fifth Annual Klezmer Concert at Town and Village Synagogue with the Strauss/Warschauer Duo, Columbia Klezmer Band, the Temple Beth Israel Intergenerational Klezmer Band, and the Workmen's Circle Klezmer Ensemble!
Sunday February 3, 2008 at 3 PM

Manhattan-Cooper Post 1 Jewish War Veterans of the U.S.A. presents its Fifth-Annual Klezmer Concert featuring the internationally acclaimed Strauss/Warschauer Duo, the Columbia University Klezmer Band, the Temple Beth Israel Intergenerational Klezmer Band and the Workmen's Circle Klezmer Workshop!
3 p.m. Sunday, February 3
Doors open at 2:45 p.m.
One dollar per person donation requested
Town & Village Synagogue 334 East 14th Street (near First Avenue)
For more information please contact: (212) 477-3131

A Time for Peace in LA

What: A Time for Peace - An Inspirational evening of sacred Sufi music from the Turkish and Pakistani traditions and devotional music from the Moroccan-Jewish and Yemenite-Jewish music heritages.

Who: The Yuval Ron Ensemble, featuring Najwa Gibran, vocal soloist, with appearance by Whirling Dervish of the Melevi Order- Aziz.

Where: Islamic Center of Southern California 434 S. Vermont Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90021. The Location of the Concert is a sacred space! The public is asked to attend dressed in a manner, which is respectful and appropriate for a place of worship.

When: Sunday, February 17, 2008 at 7:30pm

Money: tickets are $20 at the door, no advanced sales.

Info: Tel: 310-415-6747 info@yuvalronmusic.com or Calendar page at www.yuvalronmusic.com

The Yuval Ron Ensemble unites the sacred musical traditions of Judaism, Sufism (Islamic mystical tradition) and the Christian Armenian Church into an unusual musical celebration. Bringing together artists from Arabic, Jewish and Christian ancestry the Yuval Ron Ensemble is dedicated to fostering an understanding of Middle Eastern cultures and religions

In 2002 and 2005, the ensemble was featured at the World Festival of Sacred Music in Los Angeles and was honored to be the first American-based Middle Eastern Ensemble to perform at an International Peace Festival 05 in South Korea. In addition, the Ensemble was chosen by the Mid-Atlantic Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts to represent the United States and its cultural diversity at the International Folk Music Festival in Lublin, Poland in 2005. In 2006 the Ensemble was the first to introduce the music of the Middle East to Chihuahua, Mexico at the International Chihuahua Festival.

Composer and Oud master Yuval Ron works across different media and styles, actively seeking new forms of interchange and collaboration between musicians and other artists. His compositions have served as soundtracks for television programs and films such as Oliver Twist (UPN Network) and To Life (a CBS special), to dance works with the innovative dancer/choreographer Oguri (with music from these collaborations recorded on two CDs, In Between the Heartbeat and In The Shadows), to concert works for chorus, orchestra, and cello. He has also served as an impresario, helping to organize concerts at the UCLA Hammer Museum highlighting the diversity of musical styles to be found in the Los Angeles area.

But for many, Yuval is known for his deeply moving pan-Middle Eastern music. This group at once unites the music and peoples of the Middle East, incorporating elements of Armenian, Levantine, Arabic, Bedouin, Sephardic, and other stylings to create a fusion that is at once deeply traditional and still boldly innovative. His recordings include One and One Truth (with renowned Turkish Sufi musician Omar Faruk Tekbilek), Under the Olive Tree: Sacred Music of the Middle East, featuring the spectacular young Arabic singer, Najwa Gibran and Tree of Life also featuring Najwa Gibran.

Aziz is a authentic Sufi Dervish. and a member of the Mevlana Sufi Order both in Turkey and the US. He was born in the Us for parents who were Sufis and he followed the Sufi path since his childhood. He has studied with the leaders of the Mevlavi order in Kunia and Istanbul in Turkey and with the head of the US Sufi Mevlana order in Northern California. He is a master whirler who performed with The Yuval Ron Ensemble in the World Festival of Sacred Music in LA in 2002 and in many other concerts in the US, most recently in the concert Sacred Soul in LA For Aziz, Sufi Whirling and Whirling as a way of life, are a way of worship and a way of Prayer.

Southern California Choral Symposium and Concert

Sunday, March 9th, 2008
Symposium: 3:00 p.m.
Concert: 7:00 p.m.

Presentations and discussion by leading Los Angeles scholars and clergy exploring the significance of Angels in contemporary civilization – followed by a concert featuring music inspired by Angels through the ages.

The evening Concert (7:00 p.m.) conducted by Dr. Nick Strimple, Director of Music at BHPC and member of the faculty of The Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California, will feature the Choral Society of Southern California, the LA Zimriyah Chorale and the BHPC Chancel Choir. Noted vocal soloists include baritone Cale Olson, mezzo-soprano Catherine Cooper, and Cantor Ira Bigeleisen. Music for the extraordinary evening are works inspired by Angels in classical and contemporary compositions by Handel, Tchaikovsky, Rothblum, Isaacson and Strimple.

Beverly Hills Presbyterian Church
505 N. Rodeo Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210.

Cost of the Symposium is $25.00 which includes a Kosher Dairy dinner

Registration for the Symposium/Dinner must be made in advance by Friday, February 29, 2008.
Cost for the Concert at 7:00 p.m. is $10.00 with payment at the door
For reservations and more information call 818.623.1000

CELEBRATE WITH SONG 2008

Do you enjoy singing? Come and Celebrate...
Come and Sing 10 Centuries of Jewish Music
Join us for workshops and a concert at St John’s, Smith Square
Open to Intermediate and Experienced Choristers
Sponsored by the Zemel Choir and The Spiro Ark
Sunday 1st June 2008: Workshops and voice-training
Sunday 15th June 2008: Workshops and Concert
Price £30 (to include entry to concert)
Price £25 if booked before April 30th
To register, or for further information, call 020 8236 0317
(evenings), or email celebratewithsong@hotmail.com
Sponsored by the Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation And with the support of The Jewish Music Institute


Come and share with us in the joy of Jewish choral music. www.the-zemel-choir.org e-mail: celebratewithsong@hotmail.com www.spiroark.org The workshop leaders: ...read more.... Benjamin Wolf is Musical Director of the Zemel Choir. He has performed with the choir at major London venues, on tour in Europe and for the BBC. He regularly conducts a number of other choirs in and around London, as well as composing music for theatre and the concert hall. As a pianist he performs in both the UK and abroad. As an orchestral conductor he has performed for the BBC Proms, as well as conducting the Wallace En-semble - a young, professional chamber orchestra.

Malcolm Singer is Director of music at the Menuhin School, Professor of Composition at Guildhall School of Music and Drama and a former Musical Director of the Zemell Choir. He has worked with the BBC Singers and other professional ensembles.

Gareth Roberts is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music and former member of the BBC singers. He is a professor of singing at the Royal Academy of music, and former tutor at the City Lit. He has given masterclasses In the UK and abroad, and worked for the Royal Opera House and other institutions.

Background information on Celebrate With Song 2008

In the past ten centuries Jewish texts have been set to plainsong and polyphony, and used in motets, cantatas and oratorios, Jewish composers have written in styles ranging from the late-Renaissance to the contemporary. This music provides the focus for the Zemel Choir’s second ‘Celebrate with Song’ event in collaboration with The Spiro Ark. It will culminate in a concert at St John’s, Smith Square on June 15th 2008. This is a unique opportunity to celebrate our rich choral heritage. We welcome singers and audience members, Jews and non-Jews – anyone, in fact, with a love of music and a desire to experience music both old and new.

‘Celebrate with Song’ was launched in 2007 to enhance the profile of mixed-voice Jewish choral music. It is aimed at two groups of people: singers and audiences. We ex-tend an invitation to anyone with experience of choral singing (however limited) to come and sing with us. We will be holding workshops for groups of Intermediate and Advanced choral singers on the 1st of June and the morning of the 15th of June, and all these singers will participate in the grand concert on the 15th. Our workshops are led by experienced choral directors, and also feature an opportunity to brush up on vocal technique with a trained, professional vocal coach.

Audiences are invited to come to our concert on June 15th. For those who usually experience Jewish music in synagogue, this is an opportunity to hear something different. For those who love listening to choral music in the concert hall, but are a little tired of Bruckner, this is an opportunity to hear music by composers such as Rossi and Sulzer, Grossi and Bernstein. The concert will feature performances by the Zemel Choir and the choir of JFS, as well as special performances by our workshop participants. The 2007 ‘Celebrate with Song’ was met with great acclaim, from both audiences and partici-pants. Spurred on by this, we have arranged a second event for 2008.


The Spiro Ark
25-26 Enford Street
London W1H 1DW
Telephone 020 7723 9991
Email: education@spiroark.org

KLEZKANADA BRINGS KLEZMER TO MONTREAL'S 'ULTRA-HIP' NEIGHBOURHOOD

Montreal, QC - KlezKanada presents a World-Class Klezmer Concert and Dance Party. The event takes place Saturday, February 23, 2008 at 9pm at Kola Note (5240 Avenue du Parc, Montreal).
KlezKanada, Canada's largest organization dedicated to Yiddish/Jewish culture and the arts, brings an evening of music and dance to Montreal's historic Jewish neighbourhood. KlezKanada is known for exciting events that appeal to all ages and interests. The event is part of KlezKanada's Winter-Session, a weekend of workshops, cabarets, jam sessions and performances. This exciting evening features a line-up of internationally acclaimed klezmer musicians.

Doors will open at 8:30 pm, the show will commence at 9 pm. General admission tickets $20, student tickets $10. Available at the door. For sponsorship tickets, please call 514.993.2842. A partial tax receipt will be issued. For more information, contact Avia Moore by email at avia.moore@gmail.com or by phone 514.993.2842.

From Montreal to New York, from concert halls to nightclubs, these performers create a buzz wherever they appear. Grammy award-winning trumpeter Frank London is famous for his work with klezmer supergroups The Klezmatics and The Klezmer Brass Allstars. Renowned Yiddish singer Michael Alpert has been a pioneering figure in the renaissance of Klezmer and Yiddish music for the past 30 years. Cookie Segelstein and Josh Horowitz are founding members of Veretski Pass and loved for their virtuosic traditional style. The dynamic Strauss/Warschauer Duo features two of the most astonishing and popular performers and teachers in the international klezmer and Yiddish music scene. Special guests for the evening include cello visionary Matt Haimovitz, the first classical musician to play at NY's notorious CBGB club. Also Montreal's Shtreiml, New York's fastest rising young clarinet star Michael Winograd and more! Dancing will be led by Avia Moore and Michael Alpert. One show only, Saturday, February 23, 2008 at Kola Note, 5240 Avenue du Parc, Montreal.