CAL PERFORMANCES PRESENTS

Sunday, December 5, 2010, 3pm Zellerbach Hall Pomegranates & Figs A Feast of Jewish Music

PROGRAM

Teslim Kaila Flexer violin, tarhui Gari Hegedus oud, mandocello, divan saz, violin, frame drum

Special Guests of Teslim Shira Kammen violin, viola Julian Smedley violin Susu Pampanin frame drum, riqq, doumbek Caleb O’Reilly vocals, cello

Sqwonk Jeff Anderle bass clarinet Jonathan Russell bass clarinet

INTERMISSION

North End Klezmer Project Ben Mink guitar, violin, mandolin Daniel Koulack double bass, guitar, banjo Nicolai Prisacar accordion Myron Schultz clarinet Victor Schultz violin

Finale All of the above!

Credits Paul Knight House Sound Engineer Kaila Flexer Artistic Director Catherine Rose Crowther & Sara Glaser Pomegranates & Figs Logo Design

Cal Performances’ 2010–2011 season is sponsored by Wells Fargo.

CAL PERFORMANCES 27 PROGRAM NOTES PROGRAM NOTES

A Feast of Jewish Music thing as one “Jewish music” that characterized all Jews living in the far-flung corners of the Earth, o d a y , t h e t h o r n y q u e s t i o n of what and that Jews sang and played a host of musical Tmakes music “Jewish” is often avoided (and traditions, almost all transmitted orally, which feared) by scholars, musicologists and cultural shared their traits more with the host non-Jewish As many of you know, I have been program- historians alike, but it does occasionally spark cultures than among themselves. This diversity ming Jewish music in the Bay Area for a long heated discussions on email lists and gathers the preoccupied Jewish intellectuals, whom in the time, and nothing pleases me more than to bring attention of bloggers worldwide. It is indeed a midst of the Romantic and nationalistic fervors together inspired performers. question with a thousand possible answers, and of 19th-century Europe were instead trying to Tonight, we include two wonderful groups. one that generates additional questions, which in prove, once and for all, the unity and distinctive- Sqwonk is a duo of bass clarinets (what an instru- turn end up blending and overlapping with one ness (and thus the intrinsic value) of Judaism. The ment!). They are young, gifted, curious, quirky another. Invariably, the answers fail to consider study of Jewish music by Jews themselves was and open-minded musicians. the world of sounds, and instead raise issues con- therefore initially aimed at creating a place for The North End Klezmer Project is a new cerning the many Jewish identities and cultures Jewish musical culture, and not just for its sup- group from Winnipeg formed by the founders that surround us. posedly ancient Hebraic construct, within the of Finjan, who performed for Klezmer Mania! on However, it was not so in the past, when canons of Western cultural history. This preoccu- this very stage several years ago. This is a fantas- European scholars—Christian and Jewish— pation, and especially the rise of Zionism, led to a tic new ensemble that has just released a debut shaped the modern notion of Jewish music, and progressive focus on the diversity of the oral tra- CD. Their sound is fresh and yet familiar. We are in a way almost invented it. The first interest in dition and on the importance of non-European thrilled to have them here. the musical world of the Jews—and especially Jewish cultures. During intermission, go! Have a nosh (snack) in what Jews sang in their place of worship, the In 1907, when Abraham Zvi Idelsohn in the mezzanine. Kibbitz (visit) with your friends synagogue—arose since the 16th century among (1882–1938), the founder of modern Jewish mu- e l c o m e t o pomegranates & f i g s ! a little. And then join us for the second half. Christian humanists, to whom we owe the very sicological research, moved to Palestine, he was W We’re so glad you came. notion of musica hebraeorum (in Latin, “music of confronted with an overwhelming variety of We hope that you are enjoying the holiday season. the Hebrews”). These scholars, who immediately Jewish oral traditions, which included liturgi- Our children are growing up, technology won’t Happy Hanukah! Fargin zikh (enjoy)! understood that the music of the Jews had long cal music, folksongs and instrumental practice leave us alone. As our lives speed up, sometimes been transmitted by way of oral tradition, hoped by Jews originating from Eastern, Central and to a blur, it’s nice to spend an evening enjoying Kaila Flexer to find within Jewish liturgy the traces of Hebraic Southern Europe, the Balkans, North Africa, the live music together. antiquity, and thus the roots of Christianity itself. Middle East, the Arabian Peninsula and Central Whether you’ve been following us from the Instead, what they found was a universe of diverse Asia. Already, then, the Eurocentric dichotomy days of Klezmer Mania! or are joining us for the sounds (a “” of a sort) generated by between Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jewish musi- first time, we are honored that you chose to spend Special thanks to Lucy Flexer-Marshall and Abe the fact that Jews had lived in Diaspora for many cal worlds was proving insufficient: Arab music, tonight with us. and Bobbie Flexer. centuries. In the fourth volume of his Bibliotheca its modes (or maqamat) and aesthetic sensibili- Five years ago, Gari Hegedus and I formed Magna Rabbinica (Rome, 1693), Father Giulio ties were equally essential to Jewish musical his- the duo Teslim. Since then, we have recorded, Rugs on loan from Claremont Rug Company’s Bartolocci listed three different ways in which tory and required a whole new consideration. performed and written much music together. Claremont II: Outstanding original vintage and the Jews of his times chanted the Torah (the Throughout the 20th century, Idelsohn’s quest We’re thrilled to be joined tonight by a number of antique art carpets for the home. Hebrew Bible), and provided musical transcrip- for the unifying traits in this panoply of sounds special guests. When Teslim performs with these tions according to the “German,” “Spanish” and has morphed into a research field that combines talented friends, people have dubbed this larger Kaila Flexer photo by Cambria Lowe. “Italian” traditions, de facto stating the cultural musicology, ethnography and anthropology, and ensemble Teslim Extreme! differences between Jews who originated from that examines the variables of musical production ancient Palestine and those who lived in Central in the context of the cultures of the Jews in the Europe (also known as Ashkenazi Jews) or who global Diaspora. descended from the Iberian Jews who had been While the notion of “Jewish music” is clearly expelled from Spain and Portugal after 1492 a scholarly construct, the place of sounds and of (Sephardic Jews). Other Christian researchers musical practice within Jewish life is a fascinat- followed in this path, and by the 19th century, ing reality that presents itself in many different when Jewish scholars also became interested in guises. Since at least the beginning of the 20th the topic, it was very clear that there was no such century, Jewish music has existed in two parallel

28 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 29 PROGRAM NOTES PROGRAM NOTES arenas. On the one hand, it continues to be pro- that combine religious references and liturgical religious themes) like other folksong repertoires duced (and consumed) within the specific context Hebrew with nods to the international canons of in Jewish languages throughout the Diaspora, of communal Jewish life, and thus as part of syn- the “love song” repertoire. including Judeo-Arabic and Judeo-Spanish. agogue liturgy and life-cycle events, throughout The Jewish musical genres that have been the Beginning with the 19th century, however, the globe. The Holocaust and the creation of the center of artistic and cultural revivals are klezmer Yiddish songs started to be written by Jewish State of have had a great impact on Jewish music and Yiddish and Judeo-Spanish (or Ladino) poets and both as theater songs—in musical traditions. The destruction of count- song. These genres are all prominently featured in the growing arena of Yiddish theater—and as art less European communities forever changed the tonight’s program through the interpretations of songs, and to involve a virtually endless variety soundscape of Europe, and the relocation of hun- outstanding performers. While music from their of musical styles, ranging from synagogue modes dreds of thousands of Jewish refugees from North repertoires is sometimes presented together, of- to tango, from Russian folk themes to . The Africa and the Middle East equally changed the ten on the grounds of their shared “Jewishness,” revival of klezmer music has bridged the distance soundscape of the Islamic world. Reconstructed they belong to very different soundscapes and between these two genres, and today Yiddish Jewish traditions were subsequently recreated in social contexts. songs (with all their aesthetic implications) are Israel and the United States, where new musical Klezmer music is the instrumental rep- often considered an integral part its repertoire. expressions, including secular musical cultures, ertoire of the Jewish professional instrumen- Similarly, the genesis of Judeo-Spanish songs is have progressively been shaped. talists (klezmorim or, in Yiddish, “vessels/ the result of many layers of music and text. Their On the other hand, Jewish musical tradi- tools of song”) of Eastern Europe, who tradition- lyrics are in Judeo-Spanish, a language developed tions have been the constant object of study ally accompanied Jewish weddings and other fes- by the Jews expelled from the Iberian Peninsula and reinterpretation by Jewish performers and tive occasions, and also earned a living by playing following the edict of 1492, promulgated by the composers, primarily since the diffusion of com- at the weddings of their non-Jewish neighbors. Kings of Spain. Some of these lyrics originate di- mercial sound recordings. Artistic involvement The klezmorim had to be fluent in a variety of rectly from medieval Spanish literary models, and has traditionally focused on Ashkenazi (i.e., East musical styles in order to please their highly include detailed references to Spanish historical European) traditions, but also, and possibly for multi-ethnic patrons, and their musical reper- events. Others were instead created later, as part a longer time, on Sephardic (i.e., “Iberian” and/ toires incorporated elements from Bulgarian, of the oral tradition of the Sephardic Jews living or “Mediterranean”) music. Early attempts to Rumanian, Hungarian, Polish and Ukrainian in the Ottoman Empire, where they found a new present the liturgical music of the Sephardic music, synagogue influences and globalized home after their expulsion. Their music varies Jews on stage date back to late 19th-century styles like the . Upon the mass immigration greatly, as it was created in the Balkans, in Greece, Italy, while the Jewish Society, ac- of Eastern European Jews to the Americas, the Turkey and Morocco, and it is often based on the tive in St. Petersburg between 1908 and 1918, klezmorim adapted to the changing taste of their Arab maqam system. Traditionally performed by focused on the klezmer (instrumental) music, and Jewish audience and incorporated elements of women with minimal instrumental accompani- the Hassidic and Yiddish song of the Ashkenazi swing and jazz into their sounds, until their mu- ment, that of Judeo-Spanish song is, however, a Jews. The fact that traditional Jewish music, per- sic became unappealing to the new generations of relatively recent musical repertoire (traceable to formed by professionally trained musicians, has American Jews. the late 19th century), which bears traces of the been prominently featured by the recording in- Since the early 1970s, the music of the melodies popularized by the global recording in- dustry has in turn influenced the practice within klezmorim became the object of a new revival dustry, and thus includes tangos and references communal life, and traditional performers have launched by musicians in Israel (Giora Feidman), to opera. The staged versions of these songs fre- increasingly attempted to sound more “like a (Walter Zev Feldman and Andy quently include based on the can- recording” by adopting the repertoires popular- Statman) and the San Francisco Bay Area (The ons of medieval, early and Mediterranean music, ized by their artistic counterparts. A symptomatic Klezmorim). These early revivalists became the in an attempt to bring Judeo-Spanish songs back by-product of the confluence between “tradition” source for a small “army” of followers, and their to an ancient, and often idealized, past. and “art” is the flourishing, in Israel first and then music has become a new “primary source.” By in the United States, of a new musical genre— the 1980s, klezmer music became a mass phe- labeled musiqah mizrachit (in Hebrew, “Oriental nomenon within the World Music market, and it Francesco Spagnolo music”) in Israel and “Mizrahi music” in the progressively incorporated Yiddish songs. Songs United States—which includes Arab (and thus, in Yiddish, which were not traditionally sung or Francesco Spagnolo, Ph.D., holds degrees in philoso- “Oriental”) modes, pop and rock arrangements, accompanied by klezmorim, had been created in phy and music from the University of Milan and the hints of a “world music” aesthetics, and lyrics traditional Jewish contexts (bridging secular and Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

30 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 31 ABOUT THE ARTISTS ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Teslim (tes-leem), Gari Hegedus (oud, divan saz, mandocello, vio- contagious. She has played with Ensemble deep resonances to raucous wails. Though meaning both “com- lin, frame drum) plays both bowed and plucked Alcatraz, Project Ars Nova, Medieval Strings, grounded in the classical tradition, Sqwonk plays mit” and “surrender” strings, including violin and viola, and a variety The King’s Noyse, harpist-storyteller Patrick Ball, music that draws on a wide range of influences, in Turkish, features of instruments from Greece and Turkey, includ- Kitka and the California Revels, and she is the from klezmer to heavy metal to to minimal- violinist Kaila Flexer, ing lauoto, oud, saz and hand drums. In addition founder of Class V Music, an ensemble dedicated ism to free improvisation, creating a repertoire a descendant of Polish to performing with Teslim, he works with many to performing on river-rafting trips. The strangest that is strikingly contemporary, yet broadly ac- klezmer musicians, group, including Stellamara, The Helladelics and place Ms. Kammen has played is in the elephant cessible to a wide audience. For more informa- and Gari Hegedus on Janam. Mr. Hegedus travels frequently to Greece pit of the Jerusalem Zoo. For more information, tion, visit www.sqwonk.com. (mostly plucked) strings, and Turkey to study and to collect instruments visit www.shirakammen.com. including oud, Turkish and for inspiration. He has studied with oud mas- An exponent of contemporary classical music, saz and mandocello. ter Naseer Shamma and has recorded and per- S u s u Pa mp a n i n ( frame Jeff Anderle (bass clarinet) performs with the bi- Formed in 2005, this formed with Ross Daly. Mr. Hegedus had been drum, riqq, doumbek) coastal ensemble Redshift and the bass clarinet potent duo performs playing fiddle and plucked stringed instruments was raised listening to quartet Edmund Welles, as well as Sqwonk. In ad- original and Sephardic music as well as tradition- for 15 years when he found out that his last name, music of the Middle dition, he performs regularly with other cutting- al and contemporary music from Greece and Hegedus, means “fiddler” in Hungarian. For East as a daughter of lo- edge groups in the Bay Area, including the Turkey. As composers, their original work reflects more information, visit www.garihegedus.com. cal belly dancer Amina. San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, their deep respect for traditional music. Teslim She began her studies of the Magik*Magik Orchestra, the Paul released its debut (self-titled) CD in 2008. Visit Not only is Julian Smedley Middle Eastern rhythms at age 12. She has re- Dresher Ensemble and the Del Sol String www.kailaflexer.com/teslim.htm. (violin) a wonderful jazz vio- corded and performed with many groups, includ- Quartet. Mr. Anderle is a co-founder of linist, arranger, producer ing Wild Mango, Light Rain, Keith Terry and Switchboard Music, an organization dedicated to Kaila Flexer (violin, tarhui, Artistic Director of and sound engineer, he is a Crosspulse, Stella Mara and the Vince Delgado supporting music that fuses different genres and Pomegranates & Figs) is a violinist, and mensch (Yiddish for a really Quintet. She has released two of her own record- styles of music through its annual marathon con- music educator. She founded Klezmer Mania!, a nice guy). Originally from ings, Susu and the Cairo Cats (Dancing Drums) cert and other activities. He also works for Clark much-loved annual Bay Area Jewish music event England, where he co- and Susu Pampanin: Hands of Time, as well as an Fobes, making clarinet and saxophone equip- presented for more than ten years (1989–2002). In founded the Bowles Brothers instructional DVD with Zeina Zahesha. For the ment, and is a Reiki master. addition to her work with Teslim, she has been at Band, he emigrated to the last five years, she has been on the faculty at the helm of bands such as Third Ear, Next Village United States in 1979. Women Drummer International’s “Born to Composer and clarinetist Jonathan Russell (bass and Kaila Flexer’s Fieldharmonik and has per- Mr. Smedley lives in Berkeley, where he has per- Drum” (Women’s Summer Drum Camp). She clarinet) is active in a wide variety of music, from formed with Club Foot Orchestra, Kitka Women’s formed and recorded with many groups, includ- performs at the San Francisco Ethnic Dance classical to experimental to klezmer to church Vocal Ensemble and Persian singer Hamed ing Kaila Flexer’s Third Ear, Clubfoot Orchestra, Festival and was a featured artist in 2010 at the music. He has received commissions from the Nikpay. As a music educator, Ms. Flexer works Dan Hicks, Paul Horn, Jim Kweskin, Mike Percussion Arts Festival in San Francisco. San Francisco Symphony, Empyrean Ensemble, with both adults and children. She has a thriving Wollenberg, the Hot Club of San Francisco, Duo Ms. Pampanin currently teaches at Zambaleta ADORNO Ensemble, Woodstock Chamber educational practice in her Oakland studio, where Gadjo and Café Americain, and with his singer- School of Music in San Francisco. She just re- Orchestra, Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra and she teaches violin, composition and improvisa- guitarist wife, Alison Odell. Recent projects in- turned from her third trip to Guatemala, where Imani Winds, and has collaborated with chore- tion. She holds workshops on Balkan and klezmer clude the “Some Enchanted Evening” perfor- she taught workshops, accompanied dance class- ographers Janice Garrett and Charles Moulton. music, improvisation and playing by ear around mance with the Residents and the orchestration es, and performed with Troupe Joweh R.A.W. In addition to his work with Sqwonk, he is a the country. One of her passions is encouraging of a klezmer tune, “Little Gouda,” for the San member of the Edmund Welles bass clarinet en- classical musicians to explore folk music and im- Francisco Symphony. The San Francisco- semble and co-director of the Switchboard Music provisation. She is the creator of The Music Deck, based bass clarinet Festival. Mr. Russell holds a B.A. in music from a teaching tool to help people learn to read music Multi-instrumentalist and vocalist duo Sqwonk ( J e ff Harvard University and an M.M. in music com- while having fun playing familiar games like Go Shira Kammen (violin, viola) is Anderle and Jon position from the San Francisco Conservatory of Fish and Crazy Eights. Ms. Flexer’s 11-year-old one of the leading early music per- Russell) is a dy- Music. He is currently a student in the Ph.D. pro- daughter, Lucy, keeps her in line and gives her formers in the world. This is not namic and adven- gram in composition at Princeton University. (often unsolicited but incisive) fashion advice on hyperbole. Not only that, she is one turous ensemble a regular basis. For more information, visit www of the most energetic people you devoted to explor- .kailaflexer.com. will ever meet. Her enthusiasm for ing the full expres- music and for life is positively sive range of the bass clarinet, from 32 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 33 ABOUT THE ARTISTS ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Caleb O’Reilly (vocals, cello) Born in New York City and raised in Winnipeg, performing credits include the California Wind is a 14-year-old freshman at multi-instrumentalist Daniel Koulack (double Orchestra, Ciocarlia, Next Village, Kaila Flexer’s the College Preparatory School bass, guitar, banjo) made his first appearance at Fieldharmonik and Third Ear. He serves as a re- in Oakland. He discovered the Winnipeg Folk Festival as a banjo wunderkind hearsal accompanist for the Sacramento Ballet. that he loved singing Jewish at age 13. Since then, he has been an unstoppable music at his Bar Mitzvah and musical force. As a bass player, Mr. Koulack has Myron Schultz (clarinet) was at the forefront has had the honor of chanting worked with a variety of jazz ensembles, played of the klezmer revival in North America, first as Torah at Kehilla Community for many theatrical productions, and recorded ex- leader of his own trio in Winnipeg and then as a Synagogue’s High Holy Day Services since then. tensively. He became the guitarist with Finjan in founder of the pioneering klezmer band, Finjan. Mr. O’Reilly has also studied cello for six years 1984 and toured and recorded four albums with He has performed with numerous chamber en- and currently plays in the Young People’s the group over the next 20 years. He has been a sembles, premiered many works by Canadian Symphony Orchestra. He is the lead singer in a member of From Both Ends of the Earth with composers, and worked with the Winnipeg rock band, The Uncomfortables, in which he also Marylyn Lerner and David Wall and recorded Symphony and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet or- plays electric cello and drums. When he’s not and toured with Ted Longbottom. He recorded chestras. Mr. Schultz has recorded and per- playing music, he enjoys spending time with his Camptown by Sid Robinovitch with the Winnipeg formed with many pop and jazz artists, notably twin sister, Mia, playing computer games with his Symphony. As a banjo player and composer, he k. d. lang, Chava Alberstein and Michal Cohen. friends, reading fantasy fiction, snowboarding has led his own band, the Knappen Street All-Star As a composer and arranger, he created and pro- and taking his puppy, Zoe, to the beach. Band, which was nominated for two Juno Awards. duced music for the Guy Maddin film, Saddest Music in the World and conducted the Melting Vancouver-based multi-instrumentalist Ben Pot Orchestra in a live CBC broadcast of music Mink (guitar, violin, mandolin) is highly regard- from the movie. ed for his work on both sides of the recording stu- dio. As a musician, his work covers the spectrum An active freelancer in New York City, Victor from string band to FM to Rush to k. d. lang, Schultz (violin) performs everything from and Feist. His production and writ- Classical to Broadway. He has played with several ing credits are equally diverse and notable: as a chamber groups and orchestras, including the multi-Grammy and Juno winner, he is one of the Little Orchestra Society, Riverside Symphony and leading creators of music in Canada. Among his Da Capo Chamber Players. He has recorded and many career highlights, one of his songs, “Turn performed with such pop and jazz artists as k. d. Me Round,” was featured in the closing ceremo- lang and Jenny Scheinman. Born in Winnipeg, nies at the 1986 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Mr. Schultz has commissioned and recorded nu- and in 1993 and 1994 he won Grammy and Juno merous works by Canadian composers and is a Born out of the North End of Winnipeg, Alberta, awards for the song “” (on k. d. founding member of the klezmer band Finjan, the North End Klezmer Project (NEKP) lang’s recording, Ingenue), which he co-wrote and which toured throughout North America in the presents an original spin on the klezmer tradi- produced. Mr. Mink enjoys exploring his own 1980s and 1990s and was recently featured in the tion. Daniel Koulack, Victor Schultz and Myron musical roots, including production work for Guy Maddin film,Saddest Music in the World. Schultz—members of the seminal Canadian Finjan, and Chava Alberstein and klezmer band, Finjan—created NEKP along with performing with NEKP. veteran musician, producer and klezmer aficiona- do Ben Mink and the extraordinary accordionist Nicolai Prisacar (accordion) was born and raised Nicolai Prisacar. The five perform a combination in Moldova, where received his master of arts de- of original material influenced by both tradi- gree in music and music education at the National tional and contemporary styles, and traditional Cultural Education College and the Moldavian material set with contemporary arrangements. National Conservatory. Mr. Prisacar worked as a The combination is an invigorating blend of old musician and conductor of the National Academic and new that respects the Eastern European roots Dance Company Zhok from 1966 to 1985. He of the music. Signed to Rounder Records, NEKP emigrated to the United States in 1995 and cur- released its debut CD in December 2009. rently resides in Northern California. His recent

34 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 35