New York: Aleppo-Syrian Jewish concert, Oct. 21

The American Sephardi Foundation will sponsor a concert of Syrian Jewish liturgical music, utilizing the Arabic maqam system for Hebrew poetry and prayers, on Thursday, October 21.

It begins at 6.30pm at the Center for Jewish History, 15 W. 16th St., New York City. See ticket details below.

Speaking and performing will be:

-- Mark Kligman, PhD, Professor of Jewish Musicology, will trace the development of this music which he explores in his book "Maqam and Liturgy: Ritual, Music and Aesthetics of Syrian Jews in Brooklyn."

-- Isaac J. Cabasso, Cantor of Congregation Beth Torah, a Syrian synagogue in Brooklyn, NY, will lend his 50 years of experience in Syrian Hazzanut to the conversation, and perform excerpts of the prayers in various maqams.

-- Musical accompaniment on the oud will be performed by Victor Esses, Cantor of Sephardic Synagogue, Brooklyn, NY.

-- Joseph Mosseri, Cantor and founder of the Hazzanut Forum, will discuss the resurgence of maqam music among the community's younger generation.

This program is presented in association with the American Society for Jewish Music

The concert will be held at the Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street. Tickets are $10 at the door; $5, ASF members. Reservations requested; send an email.

For more information, visit the ASF website.

New York: Unique Sephardic programs at the JCC

The Upper West Side Jewish Community Center's goal is to celebrate the diversity and richness of the Jewish people. The JCC has scheduled some unique programming - lectures, travel, food and music - to discover different facets of Jewish life from January-March 2010.

The JCC is located at 334 Amsterdam Avenue and 76th Street, New York City.

The Remarkable Saga of Spanish Jewry

New York University assistant professor/faculty fellow in teh religious studies program, Brigitte Sion was born in Switzerland to Sephardic parents. She will lead a six-session program on the history of Spanish Jewry's descendants - a history of secrecy, forced conversion, exile, dispersion, and endurance - and examine the contemporary state of the Sephardic community today. Sion will cover how they were received in other countries and how they flourished in diaspora. Also covered: language, literature, traditions and customs, evolution of Sephardic heritage in exile, contemporary phenomenon of "museumization" and Spain's relationship to its Jewish past.

Six Mondays, from January 25- March 8 (not on February 15). Fee: JCC members, $90; others, $110.

Far From Zion: In Search of a Global Jewish Community

7pm, Tuesday, February 23. Fee: JCC members, $7; others, $10.

Award-winning writer Charles London speaks about his new book that blends history, geography, politics and personal memoir. His global journey reveals Jewish communities living their faith in inspiring ways. His year-long quest to seek out these communities is both physical and spiritual. Co-sponsored with Be-chol Lashon.

Indian Jewish Purim Celebration

3pm, Sunday, February 28. Fee: JCC members, $25; others, $30.

Join Indian-Jewish Congregation of the USA (IJCUSA) president Romiel Daniel and other members of his community for a Purim celebration. Enjoy ethnic Indian and Israeli dancing with a Bollywood DJ. Dress up as a Purim character or not. Indian cuisine served. Co-sponsored with the IJCUSA).

Celebrating the Turkish Musical Tradition
2pm, Sunday, March 7, Mar 7. Fee: JCC members, $20; others, $25.

Turkish culture is reflected in its rich and diverse musical traditions. Join world-renowned musician Ahmet Erdogdular who will present songs by the 18th century Ottoman Jewish composer Tanburi Izek and interpret the singing style of Izak Algazi, an Ottoman Empire-era Istanbul synagogue cantor. The Jewish-Turkish tradition will be represented by Turkish-American linguist, actress/director and singer Daisy Sadaka Braverman who will sing songs in Ladino/Judeo-Spanish, a language unique to Sephardic Jews, especially those of Greece and Turkey. The afternoon includes Turkish desserts. Co-sponsored by The Turkish Cultural Center.

To register for one or all of these programs, go to the JCC site.

Los Angeles: Sephardic Choir concert, Dec. 10

If Ladino and Sephardic music are on your radar screen, don't miss this performance of the Kol Sephardic Choir, on Thursday, December 10.

The performance of Ladino and liturgical music begins at 6.30pm at the Will & Ariel Durant Branch Library 7140 Sunset Blvd, LA, CA 90046. For information, call 323-876-2741 or 310-557-1096.

The choir is billed as "an upbeat, unique and inspirational musical choir and ensemble comprised of a diversified group of singers from the community," and their repertoire is primarily Sephardic romanceros sung in Ladino and religious songs in Hebrew with Sephardic melodies.

It is the only Sephardic choir in California and has performed in synagogues and community centers through Los Angeles.

The director and founder is Raphael Ortasse; the music director and conductor is Avliav. The primary song arranger is Daud Perez. The group has produced a Ladino song CD and should be distributed soon. A second CD will include liturgical religious songs in Hebrew.

The goal of Kol Sephardic Choir is to disseminate the culture of the Sephardic Jews originating in Spain prior to the 1492 Expulsion and later in the Balkan countries, such as Turkey, Greece, Italy, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, North Africa and in Israel.

View the group's interesting website (read pages on Sephardic history, music, genealogy links and more) here.

New York: Cuban Jewish Festival, June 20

Celebrate Cuban Jewish Life with an evening of music, dance, video and art on Saturday, June 20. Doors open at 7pm at the 92nd Y Tribeca, 200 Hudson Street, New York City.

The evening is in support of the Cuba Jewish Music Library (CJML)Project. The grassroots effort was founded by Ladino singer Sarah Aroeste and composer/percussionist Roberto Rodriguez. The goal is to help build Jewish music libraries across Cuba. For more details, click here. A part of the night's proceeds go towards the CJML.

The evening is also in partnership with Be'chol Lashon (In Every Tongue) and Judios Latinos of New York.

Rodriguez and Tzadik Records which will release their new album - Timba Talmud - the music is Cuban-Jewish fusion sound performed by a Son Monuno and Guaracha which "meet the Jewish tradition in a beautiful and sensitive collection of Latin Klezmer." For more, click here.

Listen to his versions of Cuban/Latin Klezmer with clips from the new album here. Listen to La Hora, Mambo Kitsch, Danzonete Emanuel, The Son of 2nd Avenue, Timba Talmud. His other albums are there as well. Try the Turkish-Bulgarish, Wolfie's Corner, Paseo del Prado and others.

If you can listen to these clips without getting up and dancing, are you sure you have a pulse?

Aroeste and Rodriguez will perform and premiere their original Cuban-Sephardic music project with guests. There will be a salsa presentation and dance party by Franck Muhel, an art ext exhibit by Cuban painter Javier Gonzalez Gallos, documentary screenings and more surprises.

Tickets are $15 advance, $18 at the door; click here for details.

New York: Sephardic music concert, March 7

New Yorkers are in for a treat with the Spirit of Sepharad concert, with Gerard Edery, concert set for 8pm, Saturday, March 7.


The Caravan Ensemble group includes:

Gerard Edery
Moroccan-born singer and guitarist; winner, Sephardic Musical Heritage Award
Amir Vahab
Iranian master vocalist of Persian folk and sacred music
Glen Velez
World-renowned, three-time Grammy Award-winning master drummer, composer
Ara Dinkjian
Foremost Armenian oud virtuoso
Barbara Martinez
Flamenco star dancer, singer and actress
Peninnah Schram
Internationally acclaimed storyteller

A soul-stirring program, The Spirit of Sepharad traces the unique migration of the Sephardim from medieval Spain, across North Africa, to the Middle East and beyond. Combining music, dance, narration and illuminating projections, this dynamic mixed-media performance brings to life all the rich cultural strains of the Sephardic Diaspora.

Featuring an array of virtuoso musicians from multiple disciplines, the CARAVAN ensemble traces the surprising and exotic musical synergies between Christians, Arabs and Jews from Medieval Spain to the present.

This program includes songs and instrumental music of secular and liturgical origin from Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Algeria, Greece, Syria, Turkey, Ancient Persia, The Balkans, Israel and Kurdistan (then, as now, part of Iran, Turkey and Iraq).

Tickets $35 Senior $33 Multi-Show $30 Student $20

The venue is the Queens Theatre (Claire Shulman Playhouse), in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. For tickets, click here; ($35, senior $33, student $20).