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![Since their emergence more than twenty-five years ago, the Klezmatics have raised the bar for Eastern
European Jewish music. Often called a“Jewish roots band,”the Klezmatics have performed in more than
twenty countries and released eleven albums to date—most recently Live at Town Hall, recorded in their
homebaseofNewYork.OntheirGrammy-winning2006albumWonderWheel,theysetadozenpreviously
unsung Woody Guthrie lyrics to music, widening their stylistic base by largely diverging from klezmer.
They have also been the subject of a feature-length documentary film, The Klezmatics: On Holy Ground.
The Klezmatics have collaborated with artists as varied as violinist Itzhak Perlman, Pulitzer prize-winning
playwright Tony Kushner and Israeli vocal icon Chava Alberstein, plus many others working within
multiple genres. Today, with three original members—Lorin Sklamberg (lead vocals, accordion, guitar,
piano), Frank London (trumpet, keyboards, vocals) and Paul Morrissett (bass, tsimbl, vocals)—still on
board, alongside longtime members Matt Darriau (kaval, clarinet, saxophone, vocals), David Licht
(percussion), and Lisa Gutkin (violin, vocals), as well as Richie Bashay (percussionist), the Klezmatics are
the most successful proponents of klezmer music performing today.
Although tradition is at their core, since the beginning the Klezmatics have expressed contemporary
sensibilities. Says Frank London,“Our coherent political and aesthetic Yiddish / klezmer music embraces
ourpoliticalvalues—supportinggayrights,workers’rights,humanrights,universalreligiousandspiritual
values through particular art forms.We eschew aspects ofYiddish/Jewish culture that are nostalgic, tacky,
kitschy, nationalistic and misogynistic. We have shown a way for people to embrace Yiddish culture on
their own terms as a living, breathing part of our world and its political and aesthetic landscape.”
“People are quite detached from their Jewish roots,”says Gutkin.“The Klezmatics fill an incredible void.”
Indeed, the Klezmatics have always been as much about community as music. Says Lorin Sklamberg,“The
energy and support we received from the local community fueled the band. . . it [has] allowed us the
freedom to be us.”
Adapted from text by JeffTamarkin
Thursday, March 5, 8 pm
The New Parish, 579 18th Street (at San Pablo), Oakland
OPENING NIGHT
THE KLEZMATICS](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/84baaf16-4926-48cb-822b-33f411b40ae3-150706231202-lva1-app6891/85/30JMF-ProgramBook-final-6-320.jpg)
30JMF-ProgramBook-final
- 1. Feb.26 -March 22,2015 Oakland |Berkeley|SF Kitka Veretski Pass The Klezmatics SteveWeintraub SwayMachinery Diwan Saz w/Yair Dalal Paul Hanson Ensemble Cantor Jack Mendelson Di Megileh of Itzik Manger and more! 30
- 2. Dear Friends: In April,1976, a small group of local musicians performed at the North Berkeley branch of the public library. They called themselves the Klezmorim and inadvertently launched the klezmer revival - a new genre of music conceived by young players who had begun searching for music their Eastern European Jewish forebears would have heard. These artists were making the music their own, feverishly weaving newfound musical threads through post-war American roots in folk and jazz, pop, rock n’roll, Balkan, and Middle Eastern tunes and beats. Ten years later, the Klezmorim were playing national and international tours, including Carnegie Hall. Back in Berkeley, a small group of people had founded a Jewish community center. One of the organizers, the late Ursula Sherman, had fled Nazi Germany with her family as a teenager. She considered a Jewish music festival as a way to bring people together. The newly acquired JCC building on Walnut Street with its wonderful courtyard was a perfect place. And in 1986, the first Jewish Music Festival in the United States was born, dovetailing on the energy, talents and personalities of the budding klezmer revival. In 1998 Ursula asked me to co-chair the Jewish Music Festival.We shared a similar appreciation forthepowerofmusictocelebratetherichvarietyofthehumanfamily.Wewantedtoshowcase unique music inspired by the Jewish experience, and we wanted to share the vitality of its expression with a broad audience. We both were also profoundly influenced by the American folk music revival – including the late Pete Seeger as well as Ronnie Gilbert of theWeavers, who we will honor Sunday March 8 at the Freight and Salvage on InternationalWomen’s Day, as part of the Kitka performance. While the Jewish Music Festival provided a stage for the increasing number of artists performing Jewish music, the Festival has also seen its role as providing access to this music for local musicians and students. For many years, we have brought artists into Bay Area schools, introducing young people to Jewish music from around the world – from Iraq and Israel to New Orleans and Moldova. Instrumental jams, master classes, workshops, an instrument petting zoo and public dance parties with instruction have also been an integral part of Festival programs. Since 2007, we have also commissioned new works by Bay Area musicians. This year, we have commissioned jazz bassoonist Paul Hanson, who will premiere Homecoming on Wednesday March 11, also at the Freight. It’s often said that it takes a village to raise someone right. I think it is no wonder that Berkeley was where the first Jewish music festival took place and that Berkeley and the Bay Area is home to so many talented artists. Our environment--natural and cultural--nurtures creativity. For the past thirty years, this community – the Jewish Community Center of the East Bay, our artists, donors, advertisers, volunteers, staff and colleagues, committees, and above all, you, our audience have fostered a milieu for Jewish music to thrive, and for its performance, in all its variety, to contribute to the cultural vitality of the Bay Area. It has been a great privilege to be part of this pathbreaking project. Enjoy our 30th anniversary season! Ellie Shapiro, Festival Director
- 3. DI MEGILEH ofITZIK MANGER with NewYiddishTheater February 26, 28, March 1, and 3, 8 pm; March 2 Matinee, 1:30 pm Jewish Community Center of the East Bay, 1414 Walnut Street, Berkeley THE KLEZMATICS Thursday, March 5, 8 pm The New Parish, 579 18th Street (at San Pablo), Oakland CANTOR JACK MENDELSON with FRANK LONDON, ANTHONY COLEMAN, GLENN HARTMAN and COOKIE SIEGELSTEIN Saturday, March 7, 8 pm Temple Sinai, 2808 Summit Street, Oakland KITKA, with a special tribute to RONNIE GILBERT CD RELEASE PARTY Sunday, March 8, 8 pm Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison Street, Berkeley SWAY MACHINERY CD RELEASE PARTY Tuesday, March 10, 8 pm Leo’s Music Club, 5447 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland PAUL HANSON’s HOMECOMING WORLD PREMIERE Commissioned by the 30th Jewish Music Festival Wednesday, March 11, 8 pm Freight and Salvage, 2020 Addison Street, Berkeley DIWAN SAZ WEST COAST PREMIERE Special Guests:YAIR DALAL and DROR SINAI Saturday, March 14, 8:30 pm First Congregational Church, 2501 Harrison Street, Oakland JEWISH MUSIC FESTIVAL FINALE and DANCE PARTY with the INSTANT KLEZMER MANDOLIN ORCHESTRA, INSTANT CHORUS of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, NIGUNIM COMMUNITY CHORUS and VERETSKI PASS Jewish Community Center of the East Bay, 1414 Walnut Street, Berkeley Sunday, March 22, 1pm - 6pm Schedule of Events WORKSHOPS Tuesday, March 17 – Thursday, March 19 (all times 7:30 pm) Jewish Community Center of the East Bay 1414 Walnut Street, Berkeley JEWISH DANCE MASTER STEVE WEINTRAUB Tuesday, March 17, 7:30 pm Raise the Roof with Jewish Moves, PART ONE Wednesday, March 18, 7:30 pm Make‘Em Dance (for musicians and bands) includes Joshua Horowitz, of Veretski Pass Thursday, March 19, 7:30 pm Raise the Roof with Jewish Moves, PART TWO RICHARD KAPLAN Saturday, January 24, 7:30 pm at the home of Allen and Hannah King, Berkeley RHOSLYN JONES, soprano SAM SIEGEL, countertenor TODD WEDGE, tenor Saturday, February 21, 7:30 pm at the home of Amanda Kirkwood, San Francisco LINDA HIRSCHHORN, GARY LAPOW, and BETSY ROSE Saturday, May 2, 7:30 pm at the home of Dan Siegel, Oakland Info at 510-684-5580 JMF HOUSE CONCERTS Produced by Dan Siegel
- 4. Related Events Shir Hashirimwith special guests from Diwan Saz Ashkenazi, Sephardi and Mizrahi musical liturgy Friday, March 13, 7:30 pm, Free JCC East Bay, 1414 Walnut Street, Berkeley Yair Dalal and Dror Sinai March 13, 8:00 pm. Free Temple Beth Sholom, 642 Dolores Avenue, San Leandro A Musical Shabbat Jewish Songlines | Judeo-Spanish andYiddish Music and Dance with Esti Kenan-Ofri and Michael Alpert Thursday March 19, 7:00 pm The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life 2121 Allston Way, Berkeley A unique encounter between two world-class interpreters of Jewish musical traditions from Central and Eastern Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. Jewish Music & Poetry Project Nanette McGuinness, Adaiha MacAdam-Somer and DaleTsang Sunday, April 19, 3 pm Center for New Music, 55 Taylor Street, San Francisco Tickets: $15 General, $10 Members, at the door only New songs to poetry by Gertrud Komar, Elsa Lasker-Schueler and more Sponsored in part by the Bernard Osher Jewish Philanthropies Foundation of the Jewish Community Endowment Fund, Gaia Fund, Guzik Foundation, Koret Foundation, Kurz Family Foundation, Milton and Sophie Meyer Fund, Claire Sherman and Ed Anisman, Walter and Elise Haas Fund and Ilene Weinreb WALTER & ELISE HAAS FUNDKurz Family Foundation The mission of the Jewish Music Festival is to present music that celebrates the Jewish experience and explores what it means to be Jewish in a multicultural world. The Festival produces creative and entertaining programs, challenges stereotypes and fosters engagement with the broader community. The Jewish Music Festival is a fiscally-sponsored project of the Jewish Community Center of the East Bay.
- 5. Based on Megileh-Lider(“Songs of the Megileh”) by Itzik Manger, with music by Dov Seltzer The Bay Area’s own NewYiddishTheater company reprises last year’s sellout run of the hitYiddish musical (fully supertitled in English) based on poetry by star Yiddish writer Itzik Manger, set to Israeli composer Dov Seltzer’s sparkling score, with new choral arrangements by Josh Horowitz. With one foot in 1930s Eastern Europe and the other in biblical Persia,“Di Megileh”recounts the Book of Esther through the eyes of Esther’s jilted lover, Fastrigoseh the tailor. From the prologue by Itzik Manger to his Megileh-Lider published in Warsaw in 1936: This Little Book Is Dedicated to My Brother, the Journeyman Tailor, Notte Manger, My Very Best Friend from My Earliest Childhood Days. ...In this little book is retold the lovely old story of Queen Ester, who, together with her uncle Mordekhay, set themselves energetically against wicked Haman, whom, finally, they vanquished. May their merit sustain us, now and forever, amen, selah. True, the story is told here a bit differently. The official authors of the Megileh, for example, have kept silent about the existence of such a significant figure as the tailor lad Fastrigoseh,thoughhisdespairingloveforQueenEsterandhisattempttoassassinateKingAkhashveyrush were crucial elements on several important occasions. The official chroniclers have kept silent even about thepiousoldMasterTailorFonfoseh... Thereaderwillconcludethat,evidently,theyhavefalsifiedhistorical truth. . . But they, the chroniclers, have been lying with stubbornly clenched teeth so long in the earth with theirbottomspointedtothestarsthatyoucancallthemanythingyoulike,untilthecomingoftheMessiah. The author of the Megileh Songs . . . spent years doing research in all sorts of archives, until he succeeded in finding the journeyman tailor Fastrigoseh and his old master, Fonfoseh. Was all that work worth it? The author thinks that it was. First of all, he corrected the injustice done by the ancient chroniclers to the two knights of the Society of Needle and Shears. And second: This work enabled him to approach the comedy of which he had been dreaming for a considerable number of years. February 26, 28, March 1, and 3, 8 pm; March 2 Matinee, 1:30 pm Jewish Community Center of the East Bay, 1414 Walnut Street, Berkeley DI MEGILEH of ITZIK MANGER with NEWYIDDISHTHEATER Bruce Bierman stage director & choreographer Laura Rosenberg music director Bruce Bierman, Laura Rosenberg, Laura Sheppard producers Chorus of Tailors Shoshana Dembitz, Alicia Dunbar, Len Fellman, Barbara Hollinger, Gilberto Melendez, Saralie Pennington, Ed Silberman, Mia Sosnik, Leslie Tenney, Noah Tenney and entire company Band Candy Sanderson violin Stuart Brotman double bass Barbara Borden percussion Jim Rebhan accordion Laura Rosenberg conductor Production Joshua Horowitz choral arrangements Marissa“Milo”Mitchell stage manager, costume supervisor & supertitles sequencer Bruce Bierman lighting design & operation Benji Marx sound technician Gerry TenneyYiddish translation & coaching Laura Rosenberg supertitles creation, after Gerry Tenney’s translation Cast (in order of appearance) Narrator Naomi Newman Akhashveyrush, the King Linda Hirschhorn Esther, the New Queen Heather Klein Vashti, the Queen Eliana Kissner Mordekhay, Esther’s Uncle Joel Fleisher Haman, a Court Advisor Josiah Polhemus Zeyresh, Haman’s Wife Laura Sheppard Fastrigoseh, a Tailor Berel Alexander Mother and Daughter Leni Siegel, Paloma George Fanfoseh, a Master Tailor Gerry Tenney Fastrigoseh’s Mother Evelie Såles Posch Funding to support reduced ticket prices for the matinee was provided by Susan Seeley Additional matinee subsidies were provided by New Yiddish Theater, JCC East Bay, 30th Jewish Music Festival New Yiddish Theater is a fiscally-sponsored project of KlezCalifornia 2015 Di Megileh of Itzik Manger logo © Donald
- 6. Since their emergencemore than twenty-five years ago, the Klezmatics have raised the bar for Eastern European Jewish music. Often called a“Jewish roots band,”the Klezmatics have performed in more than twenty countries and released eleven albums to date—most recently Live at Town Hall, recorded in their homebaseofNewYork.OntheirGrammy-winning2006albumWonderWheel,theysetadozenpreviously unsung Woody Guthrie lyrics to music, widening their stylistic base by largely diverging from klezmer. They have also been the subject of a feature-length documentary film, The Klezmatics: On Holy Ground. The Klezmatics have collaborated with artists as varied as violinist Itzhak Perlman, Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner and Israeli vocal icon Chava Alberstein, plus many others working within multiple genres. Today, with three original members—Lorin Sklamberg (lead vocals, accordion, guitar, piano), Frank London (trumpet, keyboards, vocals) and Paul Morrissett (bass, tsimbl, vocals)—still on board, alongside longtime members Matt Darriau (kaval, clarinet, saxophone, vocals), David Licht (percussion), and Lisa Gutkin (violin, vocals), as well as Richie Bashay (percussionist), the Klezmatics are the most successful proponents of klezmer music performing today. Although tradition is at their core, since the beginning the Klezmatics have expressed contemporary sensibilities. Says Frank London,“Our coherent political and aesthetic Yiddish / klezmer music embraces ourpoliticalvalues—supportinggayrights,workers’rights,humanrights,universalreligiousandspiritual values through particular art forms.We eschew aspects ofYiddish/Jewish culture that are nostalgic, tacky, kitschy, nationalistic and misogynistic. We have shown a way for people to embrace Yiddish culture on their own terms as a living, breathing part of our world and its political and aesthetic landscape.” “People are quite detached from their Jewish roots,”says Gutkin.“The Klezmatics fill an incredible void.” Indeed, the Klezmatics have always been as much about community as music. Says Lorin Sklamberg,“The energy and support we received from the local community fueled the band. . . it [has] allowed us the freedom to be us.” Adapted from text by JeffTamarkin Thursday, March 5, 8 pm The New Parish, 579 18th Street (at San Pablo), Oakland OPENING NIGHT THE KLEZMATICS
- 7. Cantor Jacob Ben-ZionMendelson is the subject of the film ACantor’s Tale directed by Erik Anjou. For more than twenty-five years he has taught at the Hebrew Union College School of Sacred Music, and at the Jewish Theological Seminary. In 2006, he sang the memorial prayer at the UN General Assembly, on the first international day to Commemorate Victims of the Holocaust. His CDs include Cantorial Recitatives by Legendary Masters, The Birthday of the World Parts I and II, A Taste of Eternity, narrated by Leonard Nimoy, Jewish Music and More, recorded with his wife, cantor Fredda Mendelson, Hazonos, called “…jazz album of the year” by Wired Magazine, recorded with Frank London and his son, Daniel Mendelson, and most recently, Further definitions of the Days of Awe, with the Afro Semitic Experience, also featuring his son Daniel. Recently retired from Temple Israel Center in White Plains, his current projects include The Cantor’s Couch—a one- man show, and a sequel to A Cantor’s Tale. Trumpeter/composer Frank London is a Grammy award winner for his work with the Klezmatics, His projects include the folk-opera A Night in the Old Marketplace (based on Y.L. Peretz’s Bay nakht oyfn altn mark) (JMF, 2008), Davenen for Pilobolus and the Klezmatics, Great Small Works’ The Memoirs Of Gluckel Of Hameln (with Adrienne Cooper) and Min Tanaka’s Romance. He created the Hungarian-New York collaboration Glass House Orchestra as a memorial to the 70th anniversary of the Holocaust in Hungary; their recording will be released this year. He received a Sundance Theater Lab residenciesy for Hatuey: Memory of Fire, his ‘Yiddish opera in a Cuban Nightclub’ with librettist Elise Thoron. He is currently preparing a special event for the 500th Anniversary of the building of the Ghetto in Venice, Italy; and is Artistic Director of KlezKanada; With the Klezmatics, he created Havana Nagila, a Cuban- klezmer extravaganza that sold outTown Hall, NY; and composed music for Letters to Afar, Peter Forgacs’s experimental film installation. Frank has performed with John Zorn, LL Cool J, Mel Torme, Lester Bowie’s Brass Fantasy, LaMonte Young, They Might Be Giants, David Byrne, Jane Siberry, Ben Folds 5, Mark Ribot, Karen O,Youssou N’dour, Maurice El Medioni, Itzhak Perlman and Gal Costa, and is featured on more than four hundred CDs. Anthony Coleman is a composer, improvising keyboardist, and teacher who joined the New England Conservatory faculty in 2006, returning to a school where he studied in the 1970s. He holds a Masters in Music from Yale. Commissioners and performers of his work include clarinetist David Krakauer (JMF 2004), accordionist Guy Klucevsek, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Kitchen House Blend (Lapidation, 2002), and Merkin Concert Hall (Flat Narrative, 2008). Other key works include the cycle by Night (1987–1992), a series of works inspired by Coleman’s experiences in (the ex-) Yugoslavia (CD Disco by Night, Avant 1993). His ensembles have recorded extensively for Tzadik and include the trio Sephardic Tinge. Coleman has also toured and recorded with John Zorn, Elliott Sharp, Marc Ribot, Shelley Hirsch, Roy Nathanson, and many others. Coleman has recorded thirteen CDs under his own name, and he has played on more than a hundred CDs. Accordionist Glenn Hartman has been playing music professionally since age fifteen. A founding member of the New Orleans Klezmer Allstars (JMF 2006). He grew up in Long Beach, California but at eighteen moved to New Orleans to study music at Tulane University. He received both a BFA and an MFA from Tulane. His Masters thesis was entitled “The Historical Development of Klezmer.” During Glenn’s years in New Orleans he played with many bands and musicians including Robbie Robertson, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, Leo Nocentelli, Big Chief Bo Dollis, Monk Boudreaux, John Popper, Alex McMurray, Washboard Chaz, and the legend, Jimbo Walsh. Hurricane Katrina forced Glenn to relocate to San Francisco with his family. He is currently playing withThe Ark, a Jewish music super group created by the Jewish Music Festival (JMF, 2008). He is also leading his own band – The Klezmer Playboys. Besides Klezmer, Glenn plays many types of folk music, rock, funk and jazz. Cookie Segelstein, violinist and violist received her Masters degree inViola fromTheYale School of Music in 1984. She is the founder and director ofVeretski Pass, a founding member of TheYoungers of Zion with Henry Sapoznik, and plays in Budowitz. She has also performed with Kapelye, the Klezmer Conservatory Band, and many others. She presents lecture demonstrations and workshops on klezmer fiddling all over the world, including Living Tradition’s Klezkamp, KlezCalifornia, KlezKanada, Yale University, University of Wisconsin in Madison, and others. She was featured on the ABC documentary,“A Sacred Noise”, heard on HBO’s“Sex and the City”, appears in the Miramax film,“Everybody’s Fine”starring Robert De Niro, and heard on several recordings with Veretski Pass, Budowitz, the Koch International label with Orchestra New England in The Orchestral Music of Charles Ives, and many others. Saturday, March 7, 8 pm Temple Sinai, 2808 Summit Street, Oakland HOZONOS: CANTOR JACK MENDELSON with FRANK LONDON, ANTHONY COLEMAN, GLENN HARTMAN and COOKIE SIEGELSTEIN
- 8. Kitka is anAmerican women’s vocal arts ensemble inspired by traditional songs and vocal techniques from Eastern Europe. The Oakland-based octet has earned international recognition for its distinctive sound, exploring a vast palette of ancient yet contemporary- sounding vocal effects. The ensemble’s earthy to ethereal timbres evoke an astonishing range of subtle to extreme inner states, instincts, and emotions. Kitka’s commitment to presenting traditional song as a living and evolving expressive art form has led to adventurous collaborations with some of the world’s most exciting indigenous musicians and contemporary composers ranging from Le Mystères des Voix Bulgares to Meredith Monk. Currently celebrating its 35th season, Kitka began as a grassroots group of amateur singers from diverse ethnic and musical backgrounds who shared a passion for the stunning dissonances, asymmetric rhythms, intricate ornamentation, and resonant strength of traditional Eastern European women’s vocal music. Since its informal beginnings, the group has evolved into an award-winning touring ensemble known for its artistry, versatility, and mastery of the demanding techniques of regional vocal styling, as well as for its innovative explorations in new music for women’s voices. Kitka’s wide-ranging performance, teaching, and recording activities have exposed millions to the haunting beauty of their unique repertoire. Kitka has released eleven critically acclaimed recordings. Their most recent CD, Eric Banks’ I Will Remember Everything give voices to the long-censored love poems of“Russia’s Sappho,” Sophia Parnok. (www.kitka.org) A frequently occurring symbolic word in Balkan women’s folksong lyrics, Kitka means “bouquet” in Bulgarian and Macedonian. Sunday, March 8, 8 pm The Freight And Salvage, 2020 Addison Street, Berkeley KITKA
- 9. 2015 JMF ShofarAward Ronnie Gilbert, Recipient Broadcast through an animal’s horn to climax High Holiday services, the blowing of the shofar evokes awe, wonder and mystery. These primal sound bursts resonate across space and time, binding the generations. Such is the power of music. In 2008, JMF inaugurated the Shofar Award by honoring trumpeter, composer and bandleader Frank London for his creativity, generosity of spirit and profound contribution to contemporary Jewish music. In 2010, Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett scholar and head curator of Polin: the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw received this award. This year, we honor singer, actor and community activist Ronnie Gilbert for dedicating her rich voice and background of Jewish values to the lifelong pursuit of social justice. From Ronnie Gilbert: I was about ten. It was Saturday morning. Mom poked me awake.“Get dressed, get dressed, we’re going downtown for something really special today, a big rally with a really wonderful singer.”Wonderful enough for me to miss my Saturday morning cowboy movie? I didn’t think so as we rode the subway to the Manhattan event, really a public meeting of the ILGWU, my factory worker mother’s union. At 37th Street and 7th Avenue hundreds of people stood jammed together listening to speeches delivered from a platform at the back of a truck. Squashed among dour-faced strangers listening to incomprehensible words, tears of disappointment and fury at my mother welled when she suddenly grabbed my arm and pointed up to the stage. “Look Ronnie, look! There’s Paul,” A very tall Black man was standing at the microphone, smiling. Grim expressions vanished, applause and cheers rocked the street; it was as if someone had sprayed a can of sunshine on the demonstration. Paul Robeson, singing star and actor, football hero and lawyer -accused in those first McCarthy days of being un- American - had come to sing for the adoring mostly Jewish at that time garment workers. When everyone finally hushed, he leaned down toward the microphone and in a voice so deep my own chest seemed to rumble, he began to speak,“Comrades, your people and mine . . .“ My mother fumbled for a handkerchief, as tears rolled down her cheek. News had been coming through of the persecution of Jews by the nazi death machines. Robeson sang: When Israel was in Egypt Land, let my people go Oppressed so hard they could not stand, let my people go . . . Resistance to oppression remained Robeson’s theme, whatever he sang, from Negro spirituals to Yiddish poetry: Zog nit keynmol az du gayst dem letzten veg, Vayl kumen vet noch undzer oysgebenkte shuh, Es vet a poyk tun undzer trot - mir zaynen do! (Ghetto Partisan Song) Don’t say it’s the end of the road The blood we spilled here feeds New courage, new vigor And tells the earth,“We are here.” A native New Yorker, Ronnie Gilbert was singing on the radio by age twelve. After performing in various choral and vocal groups, Ronnie joined forces with Pete Seeger, Lee Hays and Fred Hellerman to form The Weavers in 1947. The quartet, featuring Ronnie’s soaring contralto, exposed their listeners in the late Forties, Fifties and early Sixties to traditional and newly-written folk songs ranging from early“world”music (“Wimoweh,”“Tzena, Tzena, Tzena,”“Guantanamera”) to classic, comforting standards (“On Top of Old Smokey,”“Goodnight Irene,”“Kisses Sweeter than Wine”) to idealistic social comment (“This Land is Your Land,”“If I Had a Hammer”and“Wasn’t That a Time.” Despite the group’s commercial popularity (beginning with “Goodnight Irene,” their hit records sold in the millions of copies), the politically aware Weavers were blacklisted during the anti-Communist hysteria of the McCarthy era. With The Weavers unable to tour, Ronnie moved toward a solo career as singer and actor in the early Sixties, recording albums and appearing in plays off and on Broadway. She subsequently earned an M.A. in clinical psychology and worked as a therapist before returning to the theater. Drawn out of musical retirement by longtime devotee Holly Near for a series of 1983 concerts, Gilbert continued her musical partnership with Near and recorded three albums on Near’s record label (formerly Redwood Records) including a solo release, Spirit Is Free. Ronnie and Holly’s historic tour with Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seeger is preserved on Appleseed’s H.A.R.P: A Time to Sing. Her one-woman theater piece, Mother Jones was based on the life of the legendary American labor activist. Ronnie also wrote the lyrics and co-authored the musical play Legacy, inspired by StudsTerkel’s oral history ComingofAge. Ronnie performed an auto-biographical song/talk called “Ronnie Gilbert: A Radical Life with Songs” for cross-generational communities (JMF 2004). She continues her commitment to feminism and global peace activism through strong participation in the Women in Black network, challenging U.S. policy in the Middle East and around the world. Her memoir Ronnie Gilbert: A Radical Life in Song is scheduled for publication in the fall by University of California Press.
- 10. Commissioned by the30th Jewish Music Festival Sunday, March 8, 8 pm The Freight And Salvage, 2020 Addison Street, Berkeley THE PAUL HANSON ENSEMBLE PRESENTS HOMECOMING The composition is twelve songs built around the theme of post-modern homecoming-from a Berkeley-bred composer whose four years in Japan made him ponder his family’s Jewish and radical past. Each musician has opportunities to improvise within a chamber jazz setting, but Homecoming ultimately is one of the first large-scale Jewish pieces ever written for bassoon. The bassoon’s somewhat muted, old-world reedy quality lends itself to playing that style of music. Paul drew on archival tapes in his family’s possession, as his father was in the Klezmorim, the iconic Berkeley band that launched the international klezmer revival. Paul Hanson - An award-winning classical bassoonist and jazz saxophonist, Paul Hanson hasrewrittentherulebookandsetnewstandards for the bassoon, the most classical of woodwind instruments. Paul’s repertoire encompasses musical aspects of all modern styles of improvised music. As an improviser, he has recorded and/or performed with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Wayne Shorter, Medeski Martin & Wood, Patrice Rushen, Abraham Laboriel, Will Kennedy, Bob Weir’s RATDOG, Peter Erskine, Billy Childs, Billy Higgins, Ray Charles, Charlie Hunter, Dennis Chambers, T. Lavitz from Dixie Dregs, Jeff Sipe, Jonas Hellborg, Omar Sosa, Bob Moses, Kai Eckhardt, Peter Apfelbaum and the Hieroglyphics Ensemble, The Paul Dresher Ensemble, Davka, St. Joseph Ballet Company, The Klezmorim, Cirque Du Soleil, as jazz soloist with the Oakland East Bay Symphony Orchestra, as classical soloist with the Napa Symphony Orchestra (non-improvising) and many more. As a sax player, Paul has recorded and/or performed with Eddie Money, Boz Scaggs, The Temptations, Tower of Power, Kotoja, What It Is, Samba Ngo, Steve Smith,Tom Coster and others. He has toured throughout Europe, Japan and the States, in addition to his most recent stint for four years in Japan as a musician with Cirque de Soleil. As a performer/educator, Paul has performed and taught master classes at IDRS festivals from Rotterdam to Texas. “… Hanson produces a sound so full, lithe and flexible that it’s easy to forget the mind-boggling intricacies of the instrument that’s producing it. When he alters his sound electronically, the bassoon can take on eerie, jaggedly distorted or ethereal timbres. It’s hard to overstate just how unlikely a quest Hanson has undertaken in transforming the bassoon from a symphony orchestra instrument into a viable workhorse for extended solos.” -Andrew Gilbert, DOWNBEAT Magazine Moses Sedler - cello Moses has a background rooted in classical music, as well as improvisatory music, with influences of Indian classical music, and eastern European folk music. Moses studied composition at Cornish College of the Arts and north Indian classical music with Ali Akbar Khan. He has worked with Davka, Lines Ballet, The Picasso String Quartet, Kunst-Stoff, Janice Garrett and dancers, Kitka, and Open Eye Pictures. Jeff Denson - bass Jeff has played with emarkable musicians including Anthony Davis, Mark Dresser, Joe Lovano, Jane Ira Bloom, Kenny Werner, Dave Douglas, Bob Moses, Giacomo Gates, Howard Alden and many more. Jeff has recorded ten albums as leader/co-leader on Enja Records. Jeff is also a composer and full professor at The California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley. He has a Doctorate in Contemporary Music from the University of San Diego.
- 11. Alan Hall -percussion has performed and/or recorded artists such as Taylor Eigsti, Russell Ferrante, Billy Childs, Kenny Werner, Art Lande, Christian Jacob, Kit Walker, Tom Coster, Eddie Harris, Bob Sheppard, Paul McCandless, John Handy, Kai Eckhardt, Kenny Washington, Betty Buckley, Joyce Cooling, Victor Mendoza, Cirque du Soleil,Teatro Zinzanni San Francisco and many others. He teaches at Cal State University East Bay, the California Jazz Conservatory and UC Berkeley. Mads Tolling - internationally renowned violinist and composer, is a two-time Grammy Award- Winner; a former member of both Turtle Island Quartet and bassist Stanley Clarke’s band. Since 2007 Mads has led the Mads Tolling Quartet. “The Playmaker” released in the fall of 2009, features Stanley Clarke, Russell Ferrante & Stefon Harris. He has received rave reviews in Downbeat, Strings, Washington Post & SF Chronicle. He has performed with Chick Corea, Ramsey Lewis, Kenny Barron & Paquito D’Rivera. His composition Begejstring (“Excitement”) premiered with the Oakland East Bay Symphony in February, 2015. John Schott - guitar A unique guitarist and composer in contemporary Jewish music, John went to Cornish College of the Arts and studied with Thomasa Eckert, Janice Giteck, Jerry Granelli and Julian Priester. He has played with The Rova Sax Quartet, John Zorn,TomWaits, Ledisi, and Peter Apfelbaum, Ben Goldberg, The Paul Dresher Ensemble, Will Bernard and Charlie Hunter in T.J. Kirk, Carla Kihlstedt and others. His CDs can be found on New World Recordings, Tzadik, and other labels. 2001 – CD - Arkady Gendler: My Hometown Soroke, Yiddish Songs of the Ukraine, produced by Donald Brody, J. Lewicki and Ellie Shapiro 2006 – Jewish Fringes: Glimpsed from Afar, Paul Dresher, composer; El, Daniel David Feinsmith, Composer; Belliebig Fűllen, Amy X Neuburg, composer; Three Examples of Jewish Music and One Example of Non-Jewish, John Schott, composer 2007 – Musical Fortunes, Dan Cantrell, composer, co-commissioned by the Jewish Music Festival and Kitka 2007 – Film – Kitka & Davka in Concert: Old and New World Jewish Music, produced and written by Leonard Merrill Kurz, directed by Ashley James, co- sponsored by the Jewish Music Festival 2008 – The Ark presents Cyclical Rituals (part 1): Spring, Avi Avital, Mariana Sadovska, Aaron Alexander, Glenn Hartman, Jewlia Eisenberg, John Schott, Stuart Brotman and Jessica Ivry, composers; Frank London, composer and musical director 2009 – CD – Might Be: The Ark Ensemble, producer John Schott and the Ark Ensemble 2010 – Dan Plonsey’s Bar Mitzvah with Dandelion Dancetheater, composer Dan Plonsey, choreographer Eric Kupers 2011 – Ger Mandolin Orchestra, Mike Marshall, musical director, Avner Yonai, executive producer 2012 – Ben Goldberg’s Orphic Machine, Ben Goldberg, composer 2015 – Homecoming, Paul Hanson, composer JEWISH MUSIC FESTIVAL PRODUCTIONS AND COMMISSIONS
- 12. Sway Machinery’s soundis rooted in the personal history of bandleader Jeremiah Lockwood, whose education included singing in the choir of his grandfather, Cantor Jacob Konigsberg and over a decade of playing in the subways of New York City with Piedmont Blues legend Carolina Slim. Lockwood’s musical vision of worlds colliding has been aided and abetted by a stellar cast of band mates: drummer John Bollinger, of Barbez; alumnae of Antibalas, including trumpeter Jordan McLean, bass player Nikhil Yerawadekar and guitarist Timothy Allen. The band also includes Anthony Braxton and Arcade Fire sideman Matt Bauder on tenor saxophone. Past members have included bass saxophonist Colin Stetson, drummer Brian Chase, Israeli percussionist Tomer Tzur and saxophonist Stuart Bogie. In January of 2010, The Sway Machinery traveled to Mali to perform at the legendary Festival of the Desert. While in Africa, the group recorded its second full-length album, The House of Friendly Ghosts Vol.1, which came out on JDub Records in March, 2011. The record featured collaborations with luminaries of Malian music, including Vieux Farka Toure and Khaira Arby. In March 2015, Sway Machinery releases their third LP, Purity and Danger, on 3rd Generation Recordings. On this new album, the band delves into dialogue with ghosts and saints, juxtaposing songs about the subway and dead lovers with two hundred-year-old cantorial melodies performed for the first time in generations. Tuesday, March 10, 8 pm Leo’s Music Club, 5447 Telegraph Ave, Oakland SWAY MACHINERY CD Release Party
- 13. Saturday, March 14,8:30 pm First Congregational Church, 2501 Harrison Street, Oakland DIWAN SAZ WEST COAST PREMIERE Special Guests:YAIR DALAL and DROR SINAI Diwan Saz is a multicultural Jewish, Christian and Muslim ensemble based in northern Israel that performs ancient music from Central Asia, Turkey, Iran, and the Holy Land. The group marries two great traditions that coexist in the Galilee - that of Hebrew and Arab music. Yochai Barak, saz/baglama, musical director Born and raised in the Galilean village of Yodfat, Yohai was the founder and creator of Diwan Saz. Studying and traveling throughout Europe, Israel, and India, Yohai has learned from and performed with noted musicians like Ross Daly, Kelly Thoma, Kutla Khan and Mehmed Erenler. Yohai has transformed Diwan Saz from a small group of students and friends, into a gifted ensemble representing the music of the Middle East. Muhammad Gadir, vocalist A traditional and folk Arabic singer, only fourteen years of age,“Hamudi”as he is affectionately called, seems to possess the soul of an elder when he performs on-stage. Raised in the Bedouin Higarat tribe, in the Northern Galilee village of Bir El-Maksur, Muhammad grew up riding horses, tending sheep and goats, and absorbing the spirit and sounds of the Galilee. As the winner of the Arab Idol Competition, he has gained fame and notice for his ability to express the musical traditions of his people. His performances at the 2014 Sufi Festival, and Sacred Music Festival in Jerusalem are only the beginning of this special musician’s journey. Udi Ben Knaan, lira A multi-instrumentalist, producer, and musical explorer, Udi was educated in classical Western and Eastern music. Born in Beer Sheva, Udi began playing guitar at the age of fifteen and was a member of the Israeli world music group Sheva. He has studied the Varnasi sitar tradition in India with Govinda Go Swami. In Greece, he studied saz, lira, and Afghan rabbab with Ross Daly. He combines a special love of Turkish and Greek music with his ability to fuse traditional and modern music. Rabbi David Menahem, vocalist A paytan (singer of Jewish liturgical poetry), musician and composer, Rabbi Menachem grew up in the old neighborhoods of Jerusalem among paytanim and Kabbalists. From a young age he has performed with Iraqi musicians from Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA), the Arabic Orchestra, and with his cousin Hazzan Moshe Havusha, who taught him music and the Arabic Maqam. Performing in concerts and festivals both in Israel and abroad, he plays an active role in the revival of piyutim and Middle-Eastern music in Israel. He has recorded many previously forgotten piyutim passed on to him by his late grandfather Hacham Gorji Yair. He also teaches workshops in piyutim.
- 14. Rani Lorentz, bass Ranigrew up in a musical family and began performing throughout Israel as a bass player at the age of fifteen in his father’s band. He spent a year in South Africa studying the music of the continent and recorded an album dedicated to African music. In 2004, Rani toured the world with the group Sheva and in 2011, he toured India as part of an initiative of the Indian and Israeli embassies. Rani has performed and recorded with dozens of Israeli artists including Dayan Kaplan and Mark Eliyahu. Mumin Sesler, qanun Mumin Sesler was born in Edirne-Kesan, Turkey, where his father played clarinet, and his grandfather was a Zourna master. Mumin began to study music when he was twelve. He has studied the Turkish- Ottoman classical maqam traditions, as well as Israeli-mizrahit Jewish music, the music of the Mediterranean and Iran. Mumin established the Sesler Music Studio in 2000 in Istanbul. As a qanun and oud player, he has accompanied many famous singers such as IbrahimTatlises Sibel Can inTurkey as well as Yasmin Levy and George Dalaras. Eyal Luman, percussion Eyal received his first musical inspiration from his grandfather who was a famed pianist in the Czech Republic. After starting music study at age six at the Qiryat Atta Conservatory, he began performing with local musicians as a jazz and rock drummer. At seventeen, he began to learn Middle Eastern music and percussion. He studied for many years with the legendary Israeli percussionist Zohar Fresco (JMF 2012). Eyal was a founding member of the Israeli world music ensemble, Dahara. He has branched out into many other styles of world music including flamenco, and has performed with Esev Bar, Eti Ankri, and Shlomo Bar (JMF 2003). Tzipporah El-Rei, vocalist Born in 1982 and raised in Beer Sheva, Tzipporah studied several singing styles at the Academy of Eastern Music in Jerusalem. She focuses onTurkish singing of the Sufi-Baktashi style, performing with several ensembles that include Piyut, Ladino, Greek Rembetiko, and traditional Turkish music. She lives in the Judaen Desert where she receives much of her inspiration. Lubna Salameh, vocalist Born and raised in Haifa, Lubna demonstrated her singing abilities at a young age, performing in school and various vocal competitions. In 1997, Lubna joined the prestigious Arabic Orchestra of Nazareth as a lead singer. She has performed internationally in Europe, America, Jordan, Morocco and Palestine. Special Guests Yair Dalal, composer, violinist, oud player singer and a teacher. He has twelve albums representing Israeli, Jewish and Middle Eastern cultures fused through music. Dalal’s family came to Israel from Baghdad and his Iraqi roots are embedded in his musical work, as are his skills in both classical-European, jazz and Arabic music and his affinity for the desert and its inhabitants. He creates new Middle Eastern music by interweaving the traditions of Iraqi and Jewish Arabic music with a range of influences ranging from the Balkans to India. Dror Sinai, percussionist He is an international performer, educator, and performing artist, as well as the founder of Rhythm Fusion Inc. in Santa Cruz. In 2002, he received the Gail Rich Award for supporting the arts, and is a founding member of the World Music Committee for the Percussive Arts Society. Dror has performed as a solo artist and in many ensembles with other talented artists, including Omar Faruk Tekbilek (JMF, 2005), Yuval Ron (JMF, 2010), Alessandra Belloni.
- 15. Steve is ateacher, choreographer, and performer of Jewish dance, particularly Yiddish dance, the dance to klezmer music. Born on Governor’s Island, Bar Mitzvahed in the Bronx, and living now in Philadelphia, Steven Lee Weintraub received his dance training in Manhattan with Alvin Ailey and Erick Hawkins, among others. He is in international demand as a teacher of traditional Yiddish dance at festivals and workshops including Klezkamp, Klezkanada, and festivals in Krakow, Furth, Paris and London to name a few. Steven delights in introducing people to the figures, steps and stylings of the dances that belong to klezmer music. He has often been called the “Pied Piper of Yiddish Dance”; his years of experience leading and researching Yiddish dance allow him to quickly weave dancers and music together in astonishing ways. Tuesday, March 17 – Thursday, March 19 (all times 7:30 pm) Jewish Community Center of the East Bay, 1414 Walnut Street, Berkeley Tuesday, March 17, 7:30 pm Raise the Roof with Jewish Moves, PART ONE Learn steps, styles and stunts for lively circle and chain dances. Wednesday, March 18, 7:30 pm Make‘Em Dance (for musicians and bands) includes Joshua Horowitz of Veretski Pass Participants will split into two groups of players and dancers. Musicians learn correct tempos and feeling for each dance style. Astonishing insights into playing klezmer music guaranteed! Thursday, March 19, 7:30 pm Raise the Roof with Jewish Moves, PART TWO Yiddish barn dancing, including the Jewish square dance Sher, and a variety of social dances with ballroom roots. JEWISH DANCE MASTER STEVE WEINTRAUB
- 16. JEWISH MUSIC FESTIVALFINALE and DANCE PARTY with the INSTANT KLEZMER MANDOLIN ORCHESTRA, NIGUNIM COMMUNITY CHORUS, INSTANT CHORUS of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, and VERETSKI PASS Sunday, March 22, 1pm - 6pm Jewish Community Center of the East Bay, 1414 Walnut Street, Berkeley 1:00 – 1:30 pm Instant Klezmer Mandolin Orchestra 1:45 – 2:15 pm Nigunim Community Chorus 2:30 – 4:00 pm Pop-Up Chorus of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. All voices welcome! Get a head start: See following page for lyrics. Voice parts are at www.jewishmusicfestival.org. 4:15 – 6:00 pm Dance Party with Veretski Pass. All feet welcome! Instant Klezmer Mandolin Orchestra In the early twentieth century, among the many mandolin orchestras playing light classical and popular music in Europe and America were those emphasizing Jewish music. Carrying on this tradition, and named in recognition of its infrequent assembly, spontaneous musical arrangements, genre, instrumentation, and plethora of plinky pluckers, the Instant Klezmer Mandolin Orchestra features members of several of the Bay Area’s leading klezmer groups, and as well as mandolinists prominent in other genres, celebrity cameos, and innocent bystanders. The group originally formed to play at the San Francisco Festival of the Mandolins in 2005, returning several times. IKMO also performed in 2005, 2006, and 2007 at the Jewish Music Festival of the JCC East Bay Community Music Day in Berkeley, where it was acclaimed as the most populous group each year. Nigunim Community Chorus The chorus meets weekly at the JCC East Bay. Its repertoire includes traditional and contemporary songs in Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino and English, arranged for choral singing. Participants develop musical skills, enrich their knowledge of Jewish music while having a great time. Many members have been with the group for ten years or longer, and the group grows from year to year. New singers are welcome! Director: Achi Ben Shalom Meeting Mondays, 7:30 - 9:15, JCC East Bay, 1414 Walnut St., Berkeley For information about the new season contact Achi at mail@nigunim.org or call 510-528-8872. Hallelujah, lyrics and music by Leonard Cohen. Performance by YOU! Add your voice to the harmony! Join fellow fans of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah with a pop-up community sing. All singers welcome, but you can get a head start on learning your part by downloading the music from www. jewishmusicfestival.org . Conspiracy of Beards Artistic Director Daryl Henline wrote the arrangement and will lead us all to the height of song. (See next page for lyrics.) Composer and Arranger Daryl Henline focuses on writing music for voice. In 2013, he created Singing Ginsberg for the Contemporary Jewish Museum in conjunction with the exhibition of the photos of Allen Ginsberg. Other pieces include scores for Lotta’s Opera, Nights at the Circus, Nest and other productions. Daryl is the Director of Conspiracy of Beards, a thirty voice men’s choir devoted solely to the songs of Leonard Cohen. Veretski Pass Stuart Brotman, bass, basy (cello), tilinca and baraban, has been an accomplished performer, arranger and recording artist in the ethnic music field for over fifty years. He has been a moving force in the klezmer revival since its beginning, and has defined klezmer bass (“It’s a large instrument that plays really low and has an accent.”) Stu holds a B.A. in music with a concentration in Ethnomusicology from UCLA. He is featured in the films “Itzhak Perlman, in the Fiddler’s House” and “Song of the Lodz Ghetto, with the Music of Brave Old World.” He produced The Klezmorim’s Grammy nominated album, Metropolis, and has also recorded with Brave Old World, The Klezmorim, Kapelye, Andy Statman, the Klezmer Conservatory Band, Davka, The San Francisco Klezmer Experience, and Khevrisa. Joshua Horowitz, chromatic button accordion, cimbalom and piano, received his Masters degree in Composition and Music Theory from the Academy of Music in Graz, Austria, where he taught Music Theory and served as Research Fellow and Director of the Yiddish Music Research Project for eight years. He is the founder and director of the ensemble Budowitz, a founding member of Veretski Pass and has performed and recorded with Itzhak Perlman, The Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Theodore Bikel, Brave Old World, Frank London and Adrienne Cooper. Joshua taught Advanced Jazz Theory at Stanford University with the late saxophonist Stan Getz and is a regular teacher at Klezkamp, Klezmerquerue, Klezkanada, KlezCalifornia and the Klezmer Festival Fürth. His musicological work is featured in four books, including The Sephardic Songbook with Aron Saltiel and The Ultimate Klezmer, and he has written numerous articles on the counterpoint of J.S. Bach. He is the recipient of more than forty awards for his work as both composer and performer. Cookie Siegelstein, violin and viola (please see bio on JACK MENDELSON PAGE)
- 17. Hallelujah Lyrics Can beheard on the CD Live In London. Music and Lyrics by Leonard Cohen Now I’ve heard there was a secret chord That David played, and it pleased the Lord But you don’t really care for music, do you? It goes like this The fourth, the fifth The minor fall, the major lift The baffled king composing Hallelujah Hallelujah (4x) Your faith was strong but you needed proof You saw her bathing on the roof Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you She tied you To a kitchen chair She broke your throne, and she cut your hair And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah Hallelujah (4x) You say I took the name in vain I don’t even know the name But if I did, well really, what’s it to you? There’s a blaze of light In every word It doesn’t matter which you heard The holy or the broken Hallelujah Hallelujah (4x) I did my best, it wasn’t much I couldn’t feel, so I tried to touch I’ve told the truth, I didn’t come to fool you And even though It all went wrong I’ll stand before the Lord of Song With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah Hallelujah (17x) Published by © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
- 18. FESTIVAL STAFF &ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Festival Staff Community Outreach – Eli Fisher Graphic Design - Rhatura Bowden Hospitality – Marcia Brooks Legal Advisor – Tony Phillips Music Hospitality – Denah S. Bookstein Photographer – Lea Delson, Allan Stross Printer and Mail House - Autumn Press Publicity – Jean Shirk, Ellie Shapiro Technical Coordinator – Peter Bonos Videographer – Zachary Iannazzi Volunteer & Hospitality Coordinator – Renee Enteen Website: Peter Bonos, Peter Jacobson-LinkingArts, Ellie Shapiro, Director Peter Bonos, Production Coordinator Steering Committee Susan Seeley Maxim Schrogin Tony Phillips Arthur Goldman Shirley Issel Amy Tobin Artistic Advisors Michael Alpert Theodore Bikel (honorary) Yair Dalal Ari Davidow Ronnie Gilbert Barbara Kirshenblatt – Gimblett Joshua Kun Frank London Francesco Spagnolo Ramón Tasat Advisory Committee Denah Bookstein Dmitri Gaskin Arthur Goldman Paul Hamburg Emunah Hauser Glenn Hartman Mike Perlmutter Tony Phillips Ed Silberman Laura Sheppard Avner Yonai JCC East Bay Board of Directors John Ifcher, Vice President Alissa Reiter, Vice President Leah Greenblat, Secretary Andy Ganes, Treasurer Josh Langenthal, Immediate Past President Steven Douglas Julie Elis Nicki Gilbert Arthur Goldman Jana Good Daniel Haut Lee Marsh (Emeritus) Jay Momet Mark Moss Maxim Schrogin Michael Tannenbaum Natalie Zatkin Amy Tobin CEO, JCC East Bay Profound thanks to Autumn Press (Miguel Alson and staff), Ben Brinner, Downtown Berkeley Association, Suzan Berns, Judith Bloom, Shira Cion, Jonathan Curiel, Wendy Cohen and Frances Dinkelspiel (Berkeleyside), Jack and Ann Eastman, Susan Felix, Sue Fishkoff, Dan Pine and the staff of the “J”, Danielle Foreman, Norm Frankel, Renee Gaumond and the staff of Freight and Salvage, Andrew Gilbert, Allison Green, Nahum Guzik, Jesse Hamlin, Paul Hanson Trio – Paul Hanson, John Schott and Jeff Denson; Stephen Kent, Cantor Ilene Keys and the staff of Temple Sinai, Allen and Hannah King, Amanda Kirkwood, Leonard Kurz, Dolores Leavitt, Mark Lempert, Camille Menke, Luke Newton, Jason Perkins, Dawn Raymond and the staff of First Congregational Church (Oakland), Stephanie Rapp, Amy Roth and Robert Epstein, Mark Schlesinger and Christine Russell, Dan Siegel, Francesco Spagnolo, Erika Stalti, Dore Stein, Lisa Tabak, Kevin Vance, Ilene Weinreb, Avner Yonai Above and Beyond Goddess of Diligence and Good Spirit Renee Enteen A very special thanks to JCC East Bay CEO Amy Tobin and Chief Financial Officer Ron Feldman for their thoughtful guidance throughout the year, and to Peter Bonos, Lea Cohen, Conrad de Guzman, Ted Higgins, Julie Iny, Bruce King, Zachary Lee, Selena Martinez, Benji Marx, Andy Muchin, George Porter, Barbara Sutherland, Chuck Weis, Noosh Yazdi, and the entire staff and board of the JCC East Bay Volunteers - 2015: Aimee Waldman, Alex Hughes, Arinna Weisman, Barbara Kass, Barbara Lutz, Ben Steigler, Betty & Herb Nudelman, Bonnie Cooperstein, Carole Baden, Carol Suveda, Carolyn Mixon, Charles Falk, Cheryl Grusky-Stein, Dan Siegel, David Axel, Denah Bookstein, Diane Iglesias, Dorothea Dorenz, Dvora Gordon, Ed Silberman, Jan Herzog, Jerry Derblich, Joan Ominsky, Julia Gilden, Karen Cilman, Laura Finkler, Laurie Gould, Leah Rolnick-Brunstein, Mandy Bradt, Mel & Esther Mann, Mena Zaminsky, Mindy Bokser, Nancy Schneiderman, Neida Rosenthal, Polly Rosenthal, Rachelle Halpern, Rachel Taylor, Ron Landskroner, Rosie Gozali, Rosie Kaplan, Sam and Vivian Trotz, Steven Falk, Susan Goldstein, Steve Weitz, Susan Wittcoff, Tobie Lurie, Tree Gelb-Stuber, and Vina Cera In-Kind Donors: Most of our business donors have supported us for many years. Because of them our musicians from all over the world have felt welcomed and well-fed. Thanks to them, the Jewish Music Festival is renowned for its hospitality. Please patronize these generous members of our community. Alegio Chocolate Bakesale Betty’s Beauty’s Bagel Berkeley Bowl Berkeley Minicar Betty’s Oceanview Café Cheeseboard Collective Farmer Joe’s Marketplace Food Mill Grand Bakery Hagafen Wine Cellars Judy’s Breadsticks Juice Bar Collective Peet’s Coffee (Vine & Walnut Streets) Poulet Restaurant Safeway (Shattuck, Solano, College, Broadway and San Pablo) Saul’s Restaurant and Delicatessen Semifreddi’s Bakery Sweet Adeline Trader Joe’s (College, University) Voila Juices Zoe’s Cookies
- 19. JEWISH MUSIC FESTIVALSUPPORTERS* Presenting Sponsor Gaia Fund The Guzik Foundation Walter and Elise Haas Fund Koret Foundation Kurz Family Foundation Bernard Osher Jewish Philanthropies Foundation of the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund (SF) Claire Sherman and Ed Anisman Ilene Weinreb Concert Sponsor Milton and Sophie Meyer Fund Impresario East Bay Community Foundation, Fund for Artists Victor and Lorraine Honig Fund of the Common Counsel Foundation Shirley Issel Hannah Kranzberg Zellerbach Foundation Top Fiddle Berkeley Civic Arts Commission Irwin and Rita Blitt Susie Coliver, in honor of Ellie Shapiro’s return Randall Goldstein Fred Isaac Tony Phillips Maxim Schrogin Seeley Family Foundation Vincent Worms, c/o the Tides Foundation Avner Yonai High Note Judith Bloom Arthur and Carol Goldman Bruce and Julia Hartman, in honor of Glenn Hartman Dorothy and Lee Marsh The Israel and Mollie Myers Foundation, on behalf of Josh Langenthal and Dr. Diane Halberg Alexandra Wall / Sarah Wall Memorial Trust Peter and Deborah Wexler Music Maven Denny Abrams Ursula Betz Denah S. Bookstein Susan Cohen and Robert Youngs Benita Kline Deborah Lans Bernard Rubin Marjorie Wolf A Different Drummer Zachary Baker Sheila and Murray Baumgarten David and Rachel Biale David Saul Birnbaum Foundation David Brown and Arlene Immerman Jeffrey J. Carter, Attorney at Law Susan David Forrests Music, John Goebel Jane Ginsburg Sara Haber Carole Joffe Deborah Kaufman and Alan Snitow Rosalind Leighton Lois and Gary Marcus Pauline and Michael Marx Frank Olken Janis Plotkin James Rebhan and Barbara Hollinger Rachel Richman Gail and Tom Rosin Bernard Rubin Joel Rubinstein and Sylvia Sabel Gail Sara Susan Scott, in honor of Ellie Shapiro Lisa Tabak Dolores Taller Sabina Ubell Bill and Myrna Vidor Diane and Joshua Wirtschafter Chorus Afikomen Judaica Bookstore Diane and Edwin Bernbaum Denah Bookstein June Brumer Barbara Conheim (check – High Holidays) Shoshana Dembitz Lew Douglas Alisa Einwohner Leah Emdy Steven Falk Hal Feiger Anita Anna Feinstein Nancy Friedman Andrew and Lauren Elise Ganes Julia Gilden Paula and Eric Gillett Amy Goodman Jacob and Rena Harari John Holme Estie and Mark Hudes Kitty Kameon Gary Katz and Ilene Sakheim Katz Judy Kunofsky Jaime Levin David Moyal and Nicole Howard Frieda Pardo Jacob Picheny Jan Schreiber, Ph.D. Eve Seligman-Kennard Susan Swerdlow Dr. Stephen Tobias and Alice Webber Arnold Weinstein and Shelly Ress-Weinstein Olga Winkler *as of printing
- 20. In 2008, JMFbrought together nine leading artists on the Jewish world music scene. The Ark Project, directed by Frank London, of the Grammy-winning group the Klezmatics, became the finale at the Cracow Jewish Culture Festival (2008), and performed at Other Sounds Festival, Lublin, (2009); and the Art Pole Festival, Ukraine (2009). Now, you can take this music home Might Be, available in the lobby for $10. SUPPORT THE JEWISH MUSIC FESTIVAL and GIVE YOURSELF THE GIFT OF MUSIC AT THE SAME TIME!