Kay Shelemay wins Jaap Kunst Prize

An article written by Dr. Kay Kaufman Shelemay won the Jaap Kunst Prize of the Society for Ethnomusicology, which is given to: "The most significant article published by a member of the Society for Ethnomusicology in the previous year." The title of this article is "The Power of Silent Voices: Women in the Syrian Jewish Musical Tradition." It is published in a volume in the SOAS Musicology Series, edited by Laudan Nooshin, titled Music and the Play of Power in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia, 2009.

Dr. Shelemay is the G. Gordon Watts Professor of Music, a Professor of African and African American Studies and Ethnomusicology at Harvard University . She is a member of the Editorial Board of Musica Judaica and was the inaugural speaker for the first session of the Jewish Music Forum in 2004. According to the Harvard University site, Dr. Shelemay earned her degrees:
"B.M. (1970), M.A. (1972), and Ph.D. (1977), University of Michigan. She taught at Columbia University (1977-1982), New York University (1982-1990), and Wesleyan University (1990-1992), before joining the Harvard faculty in 1992. At Harvard, Shelemay has served as Chair of the Department of Music (1994-1999; acting chair, spring 2002; chair, spring 2005) and is active in interdisciplinary studies across several domains. A Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Academy for Jewish Research, she is a Past President of the Society for Ethnomusicology. A Congressional appointee to the Board of Trustees of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress since 2000, she was Chair of that Board from 2002-2004. She has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the Radcliffe Institute. Shelemay was named the Chair in Modern Culture at the John W. Kluge Center of the Library of Congress during August and September, 2007 and June, 2008."

In addition to longtime interests in musical ethnography and music and memory, Shelemay's current research is on Ethiopian music and musicians in their North American diaspora. Her monograph Music, Ritual, and Falasha History (1986, 1989) won the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award and the Prize of the International Musicological Society. In addition to the seven-volume collection Garland Readings in Ethnomusicology (1990) and A Song of Longing. An Ethiopian Journey (1991), Shelemay edited the three-volume Ethiopian Christian Liturgical Chant. An Anthology (1994, 1995, 1997, with Peter Jeffery). Other recent publications include Let Jasmine Rain Down. Song and Remembrance Among Syrian Jews (1998, finalist for the National Jewish Book Award) and Soundscapes. Exploring Music in a Changing World (2001, second edition 2006). She has co-edited Pain and Its Transformations. The Interface of Biology and Culture (with Sarah Coakley), published by Harvard University Press in 2007. Shelemay received an Award for Distinguished Teaching from the Columbia University School of General Studies in 1982, and in 2006 at Harvard, the Joseph R. Levenson Memorial Teaching Prize and the Phi Beta Kappa Teaching Prize.

Flory Jagoda article in Sephardic Horizons online

The journal Sephardic Horizons, Vol. 1, No. 2 Winter 2011 has an open access article about Flory Jagoda which is an interview by Rosine Nussenblatt. Flory Jagoda is a famous Sephardic singer from Bosnia who currently lives in Arlington, VA. Click the link to read the article
http://sephardichorizons.org/Volume1/Issue2/Articles_V1I2/Flory_Jagoda.html

NPR Reports what 700 Working Women Musicians Said

NPR ran a survey of 18 questions for working women who are musicians. They have links to all their answers about what it's like to be a woman musician today ... Here's the link to judge what's happening for yourself... http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2010/07/19/128621920/hey-ladies-700-working-musicians-tell-it-like-it-is

Association for Canadian Jewish Studies Call for Papers

The Association for Canadian Jewish Studies/L’Association des études juives canadiennes (ACJS /l'AÉJC) will be holding its 34th Annual Conference May 30-June 1, 2010 at Concordia University in Montreal as part of the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences. The conference provides a platform for original scholarly research in Canadian Jewish history, life and culture. Individuals are invited to send proposals for learned paper presentations in either English or French twenty minutes in length (approximately 2,000 words) that concern some aspect of the Canadian Jewish experience.

Potential presenters are asked to submit a paper proposal by Tuesday, January 5, 2010. The paper proposal should comprise a 400-word abstract formulated to clearly and concisely state the main argument of the scholarly paper and indicate how it will contribute to existing scholarship in the field of Canadian Jewish Studies. It should also include a bibliography of relevant sources. The abstract should be sent as a .doc or .rtf attachment, double-spaced in Times New Roman font, with the paper title clearly indicated at the top. The name, affiliation, address, telephone number and e-mail of the potential presenter as well as the title of the proposed paper should be located in the body of the e-mail only (and not in the attached abstract). University students are asked to send an accompanying letter of support from their academic advisor. All proposals will receive anonymous peer review, after which point communication with presenters will occur by mid-February of 2010.

All presenters must be current members of ACJS at the time that proposals are submitted (i.e. January 5, 2010). Proposals from individuals who are not current members of ACJS will not be reviewed. Membership information for ACJS can be found on our website: http://www.acjs-aejc.ca/membership.html

Partial financial support to defray travel and accommodation costs is available for presenters who have been members of the ACJS for at least one full calendar year prior to January 2010 (i.e. presenters must be in good standing for both 2009 and 2010 in order to be eligible for support). University students are exempt from this requirement, and are also eligible for additional top-up support. In all cases, because ACJS support funds are limited, presenters (including students) are expected to apply first to their host institutions for whatever funds may be available to them locally. Applications for financial support, which will be sent to eligible presenters along with the notice of acceptance of their paper proposal, will be due the first week of March, with results to be communicated by the end of March.

As the ACJS annual conference is part of the larger national conference body called the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, ACJS conference participants whose paper proposals have been accepted must register in advance for the Congress by paying the required fees for both the general Congress registration and the ACJS conference registration. Early bird registration rates are available before April 1, 2010. Participants will receive details on registration from the Program Chair and are also invited to consult the Congress website for details: www.congress2010.ca. Please note that presentations from individuals who have not pre-registered for the Congress and ACJS Conference will not be included in our Preliminary Conference Program.

Please e-mail proposals to Prof. Rebecca Margolis, Program Chair, rmargoli@uottawa.ca

Hadassah Magazine Features Klezmer

A terrific picture by Jean Fruth of Cookie Segelstein, klezmer violinist, graces the front cover of Hadassah Magazine this month with a feature article on traditional klezmer music, written by George Robinson. There are lots of photos including Cookie, Josh Horowitz, Stu Brotman, Andy Statman, Alicia Svigals, Pete Rushefsky, Joel Rubin, Michael Winograd, Yale Strom, and others. George does a good job of explaining the branch of klezmer that focuses on traditional folk and how it differs from other groups. Cookie, Josh and Stu have a group called Veretzki Pass, which is an amazing group, especially to hear in person. It might be noted, as his article touches on the topic of sources, that we owe a debt of gratitude to klezmer musicians such as Josh Horowitz and Bob Cohen for years and years of dedicated research in Europe on recovering as much authentic music as possible. Josh has also transcribed some of his findings in a book which was briefly reviewed on this site Sephardisches Liederbuch (The Sephardic Songbook): 51 Judenspanische Lieder (51 Judeo-Spanish Songs) back in 2002. [ http://www.jmwc.org/jmwc_bookandscore_reviews.html. ] George also gives a "must haves" listing for this style of klezmer music in the article. To find out even more details about recordings and klezmer music and the musicians in this Hadassah Magazine feature, visit the Klezmershack. http://www.klezmershack.com, the world's premiere website devoted to klezmer music with over 12 years of materials, commentary and reviews of recordings, listings of bands, articles and just about anything one would like to know about klezmer music.

If you're not a member of Hadassah and don't get the magazine at home, you can find out about subscription inquiries to get a copy at 800 664-5646 or look at the Hadassah website at http://www.hadassah.org

Shma features Alicia Svigals article

Shma magazine online featured an article on the klezmer scene by Alicia Svigals. http://www.shma.com/dec_07/queen_klezmer.htm

Teapacks TONIGHT at OYHOO also article in Forward

They're on TONIGHT AT 8pm. Highline Ballroom · 08:00PM · Tickets: $30 NYC. Stop reading this, and get tickets here:
http://www.oyhoo.com/events/oyhoo-2007

Of interest: "Teapacks Push the Envelope" article in the Forward.
http://www.forward.com/articles/11806/

All About Women Cantors

The Journal of Synagogue Music Fall 2007 issue features articles celebrating 25 years of women as Conservative cantors. There are articles about, by, and for women and Jewish music in this issue (vol. 32) and will be of interest to many who may want to know more women and Jewish music. There are many excellent articles of interest, including a biographical sketch of Barbara Ostfeld by Bruce Ruben (readers are also invited to take a look at my article on Barbara in Encyclopedia Judaica), histories of women in the cantorate, a history of the Khazntes, (women who sang cantorial music albeit not in synagogue), issues of Kol Isha, and an especially interesting piece by Victor Tunkel on the music of the first women composer, Leonora Duarte (1610-1678). (I'm sure someone will want to take up that score, perform it and bring it to life.) There's also a wonderful article on the Songs of Naomi Shemer by Sam Weiss, an article about the piyyut craze of Mizrahi songs in Israel by Galeet Dardashti, and another on contemporary Ashkenazic synagogue music in Israel by Amalia Kedem..and several good reviews. The Journal of Synagogue Music is published by the Cantors Assembly.

DYB tells the story their way

This might not be the way some musicologists might tell the story, but those invested in this topic should read it.
Here's the pitch and how they tell it::

" What do Matisyahu, Blue Fringe, Klezmatics, Moshav Band, and Soul Farm all have in common?

Their direct connection to The Diaspora Yeshiva Band, the band that invented Jewish Rock!

The Diaspora Yeshiva Band¹s recordings signify, perhaps, the most influential change in modern Jewish music history. Here is an exclusive, fascinating and informative article about a history-making group, and the major fore-runners of today¹s Jewish music by one of the original founding members.

A fascinating article about the history of modern Jewish music and the influence of The Diaspora Yeshiva Band on most of today¹s Jewish music groups can be found by clicking on this link:
http://www.jewishmag.com/114mag/band/band.htm "

Nine Luminaries of Jewish Liturgical Song published by Klezmershack

Cantor Sam Weiss has published a series of articles called "Nine Luminaries of Jewish Liturgical Song" on the Klezmershack. This articles outline biographical sketches of some famous cantors along with song leaders --all together "the biographies tell the story of how the role of cantor in American public life has changed over the century, and of the new musical influences on the Shaliach Tsibur leading traditional prayers." http://www.klezmershack.com/articles/weiss_s/luminaries/

IndiePulse Article on Reboot Stereophonic

“The project is grounded in a belief that music creates conversations otherwise impossible in daily life,” says Katznelson. “The mission of the label is to trigger a new conversation about the present by listening anew to the Jewish past.” So quotes an article : online in indiepulse . We find out that the music holds the message. Reboot Stereophonic is a non-profit record label dedicated to finding all sorts of Jewish music from the past and interviewing the musicians examining "generational changes in identity, community and meaning." Part of the object of this project has been rereleases of of old recordings such as the Irving Field "Bagels and Bongos"

CALL FOR PAPERS: JEWISH CULTURAL STUDIES­PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

Inaugural volume in book series on Jewish Cultural Studies, edited by Simon J. Bronner, Distinguished University Professor, The Pennsylvania State University, USA

Publisher: Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, Oxford, UK

Format and Guidelines: 8,000-word essays in English, prepared electronically in Word, following Oxford Guide to Style (humanistic style with endnotes)
Deadline: May 1, 2006

Contact: Professor Simon J. Bronner, School of Humanities, The Pennsylvania State University, 777 West Harrisburg Pike, Middletown, PA 17057-4898, USA, sbronner@psu.edu

Papers are sought for an exciting new book series, JEWISH CULTURAL STUDIES, published by Littman Library of Jewish Civilization (see http://www.littman.co.uk). The inaugural volume will be on "Jewish Cultural Studies: Past, Present, and Future." The editorial board seeks contributions that explore Jewish culture as a subject of inquiry. Topics of interest for the volume include, but are not limited to, historiography of Jewish cultural studies with social psychological interpretations of figures and movements such as Yiddish nationalism, identity politics, and Jewish cultural revitalization; connections and breaks between cultural studies, religious studies, folklore and ethnology studies, and Jewish studies; uses of folklore and ethnology in the intellectual construction of Jewish culture in different countries and historic periods; models for interpreting emergent Jewish cultural movements in the twenty-first century; ideas of race, gender, and class in the perception and iconography of Jewish culture; relations between folk and popular culture, textual and visual culture, and domestic and public culture in conceptualization of Jewish culture.

The purpose of the series is to present thematic volumes interpreting Jewish cultures ethnographically and historically around the globe, and exploring the idea of Jewish culture as it has been constructed, symbolized, produced, communicated, and consumed in diverse contexts. Themes of volumes will be interdisciplinary, drawing particularly on research in folklore studies, anthropology, and cultural history and sociology. Future volumes being planned include themes of Jewish memorialization and museology, ritual and festival, consumerism and traditional culture, bodylore, and domestic Jewish life. The format of the volumes will be similar to the successful book series Polin, also published by Littman (see http://www.littman.co.uk/polin/). It typically contains 10 to 12 essays of 8000 words anchored by an introduction addressing the theme, and a section (usually 3 or 4 essays) called "New Views" of original research on Jewish studies not on the theme. Unlike many publications on Judaica studies, the Jewish cultural studies series will be exploring the secular as well as religious spheres, and the intersections of the two, with attention to the diversity of traditions and customs in the Jewish world—and particularly their significance and meaning. The publication is sponsored by the Jewish Folklore and Ethnology Section of the American Folklore Society in cooperation with the Council on the Anthropology of Jews and Judaism of the American Anthropological Association.

Essays will be peer-reviewed by an international editorial board, including:

Haya Bar-Itzhak, Haifa University, Israel
Dan Ben-Amos, University of Pennsylvania, USA
Matti Bunzl, University of Illinois, USA
Mikhail Chlenov, State Jewish Maimonides Academy, Russia
Sander Gilman, Emory University, USA
Harvey Goldberg, Hebrew University, Israel
Karl Grözinger, University of Potsdam, Germany
Ruth Ellen Gruber, Independent Scholar, Italy
Felicitas Heimann-Jellinek, Jewish Museum, Vienna, Austria
Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, New York University, USA
Mikel Koven, University of Wales, UK
Suzanne D. Rutland, University of Sydney, Australia
Joachim Schlör, University of Potsdam, Germany
Laurence Sigal, Museum of Jewish Art and History, Paris, France
Steven Siporin, Utah State University, USA
Edward van Voolen, Jewish Historical Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Jonathan Webber, University of Birmingham, UK
Jenna Weissman Joselit, Princeton University, USA

Littman Library of Jewish Civilization has been publishing books in Jewish studies since 1965 and has acquired a reputation as a leader in scholarly publishing in the field. Based in Oxford, England, Littman exhibits its publications in conferences all around the world and markets its books globally. Littman's books are published at a high standard of production, and prides itself on publishing works that are definitive and well written. Registered as a charitable foundation, profits from sales are reinvested into the production of new titles.

Members of the Jewish folklore and ethnology section of the American Folklore Society receive volumes as a benefit of membership. For more information, see http://www.afsnet.org/membership/membership.cfm

For more information, contact the editor Simon J. Bronner at sbronner@psu.edu.

Journal of Synagogue Music Fall 2005 Issue on Congregational Singing

We've just received the library issue of The Journal of Synagogue Music, published by the Cantor's Assembly and it looks like a particularly special issue: Vol. 30, No. 1, for Fall, 2005. There are theoretical articles by Samuel Rosenbaum, Max Wohlberg (excerpt from a talk from 1980), Geoffrey Goldberg, Akiva Zimmermann, Benjie Ellen Schiller and Boaz Tarsi, ... and that's just the first section. Better get your copy.

European Association for Jewish Culture Online

Review of the performances of new compositions commissioned by the European Association for Jewish Culture are in the latest edition of their Review bulletin available in pdf format. It includes 'Destination Unknown' by Adam Heidemann in Krakow, 'Stenclmusic' by Rachel Stott in London, 'Alphabet Music' by Giovanni Mancuso in Venice and others, as well as reports of new drama and films. A 16-page illustrated Review is available at: http://www.jewishcultureineurope.org/newsletter.htm

DONA FEST-2005 success in February

Polina Shepherd writes to us about the Dona-Fest just held in Moscow:

February 17-20 The Shalom Theater hosted a gala concert of the first Moscow International Festival-Seminar of Jewish music DONA FEST-2005.

The leading Jewish bands from Russia and the CIS countries, as well as European stars, clarinetist Merlin Shepherd, composer and choir leader Polina Achkinazi-Shepherd and violinist Mark Kovnatsky, took part in the festival.

European Klezmer stars and Russian and CIS leading Jewish bands, folk quartet Askenazim, The Kharkov Klezmer Band, Dona, Klezmasters, Arkady Gendler, Alina Ivakh, Psoi Korolenko, and many others took part in the gala concert. The book "The Yiddishkait Music" book was presented at the concert. The East European Jewish wedding music, Klezmer, was forgotten for a long time. It comes back to Russia today. "Such festivals accompanied by educational seminars letting music teachers share their experience were already held in Russia and the CIS. Now it is time to implement this project in Moscow," said Anatoly Pinsky, chairman of the DONA FEST-2005 organizing committee.

Neil Sedaka interview in Hadassah Magazine

Hadassah Magazine has an article about Neil Sedaka and his new Yiddish album and his upcoming concert at Carnegie Hall with the Klezmatics. http://www.hadassah.org/pageframe.asp?section=news&page=per.html&header=per&size=50 If you can't read this online, it's in available in the May, 2004 issue of Hadassah Magazine.

Jewish musicians from Poland

Ada Holtzman has begun a wonderful webpage dedicated to Jewish musicians from Poland before World War II.

Ada Holtzman has created a wonderful table of contents to the Isaachar Fater book (in Yiddish, Polish and Hebrew) "Jewish Musicians in Poland between the Two World Wars". There's a biography of Fater and several musicians taken from the book. She's translating chapters from the Hebrew version to English. The book was originally written in Yiddish. http://www.zchor.org/fater/musicians.htm http://www.zchor.org/fater/lexicon.htm

Hadassah Magazine on Jewish Fusion

Hadassah Magazine January 2004 issue has a great article this month called "Jewish fusion is Here" by Samantha Shapiro.... The lead reads "Imagine Molly Picon in a catsuit, Hallel with a bolero beat."

Hadassah Magazine, which is actually a really pretty good magazine for American Jewish arts these last number of years, discusses the new music trends... Tzadik label having now released 80 CDs, Golem, and Margo Leverett with the Klezmer Mountain Boys, Paul Shapiro, and Roberto Juan Rodriguez...(Great pic of Margot and group, and a full page pic of Roberto Juan Rodriguez with band). Mainstream media has caught on that there's really something pretty special going on in Jewish music. And let's put something into perspective: Zorn has produced about 80 albums of new Jewish music.... the Milken Archive will be releasing 50 albums of older Jewish American music. The star burst of creative energies in Jewish music is an expanding universe and growing by the hour... It's amazing, exciting, invigorating and wonderful. Stay tuned.