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AMERICA- CULTURAL FOUNDATION “The Herd” (1932-2015),inmemoriam. byfamedIsraeliartist MenasheKadishman LEGACY PASSION EXCELLENCE ISRAEL >> CHAIRS IN MEMORIAM Isaac & Vera Stern

OFFICERS William A. Schwartz, CHAIRMAN Joseph E. Hollander, PRESIDENT Martin E. Karlinsky, VICE PRESIDENT Robert A. Immerman, VICE PRESIDENT Sandra Rothman, VICE PRESIDENT Stephanie Feldman, TREASURER Linda Schonfeld, SECRETARY

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Dear Friends: Sanford L. Batkin Diane Belfer This year I moved to Chairman of AICF, creating room for the Ann Bialkin next generation of leadership. Welcome to our new President, Melissa Dallal Joe Hollander! Our Board is expanding. Our members are Charlotte S. Hattenbach* excited to support the upcoming generation of Israeli artists. Ora Holin Julie Jacobs This year AICF lost one of its most valued and cherished Jane Stern Lebell leaders, Vera Stern. For over 40 years Vera devoted her life to Bradley Lubin AICF. Because of her leadership and generosity thousands of Helen Sax Potaznik artists are able to represent Israel to the world. Kristina Reiko Cooper Harvey Rothenberg To our artists − all of the 18,000+ we have supported − we Tamar Rudich encourage you to help support AICF. Join with our donors and Barbara Samuelson partners to sustain Israeli culture. Carol Starley* Joshua-Marc Tanenbaum Major donors – don’t fail us. We need you now. Would a little more hurt? AICF belongs to all of us. Let’s take care of it. *Chapter President Thank you, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR David Homan

MANAGING DIRECTOR William A. Schwartz Inbal Grinberg Chairman of the Board ARTS ADVISORY COMMITTEE Jacques d’Amboise Joseph Kalichstein Dina Recanati John Rubinstein Joan Miklin Silver Neil Simon JOIN US IN FUNDING EXCELLENCE Frances Sternhagen BY HELPING US REACH $1 MILLION IN ADDITIONAL GIVING TO SUPPORT SCHOLARSHIPS AND PROGRAMMING. AMERICA-ISRAEL www.aicf.org/donate CULTURAL FOUNDATION 1140 Broadway, Suite 304, NY, NY 10001 BOAZ VAADIA SCULPTOR Boaz Vaadia Sculpture Scholarship

WOLFGANG LAUFER Established in 2014 to ensure that a deserving CELLIST young Israeli sculptor Wolfgang Laufer will receive support to Memorial Cello pursue his/her career. Scholarship

Established in 2012 after Wolfi’s passing by his wife Marianna and friends to continue his legacy and support one of AICF’s top young cellists each year.

GENERATIONS GIVING BACK

ANAT EVEN-OR INBAL SEGEV ARTIST CELLIST “By supporting me as an “My husband and I are fortunate to be artist, AICF made me feel able to give back to the America-Israel that someone believes in Cultural Foundation. As a child, growing me, my dreams, and my up in a low-income single parent work. By giving back, I hope family, the yearly stipend from AICF to ensure that other young was an enormous help, and the yearly Israeli artists will get the auditions a great motivation. same financial and emotional Thank you AICF!” support I did. They need it and deserve it.” CITIZENS OF ISRAEL TAKING THE GLOBAL STAGE SHARON AZRIELI PEREZ / SOPRANO

Where did your passion for music and to be done a certain way—those hours singing come from? have to be spent in useful, focused, and We always had music at home. My dad correct practice. played everything from to Israeli folk music to , As someone who puts an emphasis on and my mum had a pretty voice. So the importance of investing in education, we were always singing. I was always how do you feel about arts and culture given the solos in the school’s choir. I and how do you see its place in our once forgot my lines in a performance education systems? and was mortified, but I did not give up Of course I lament that it is not given its and went on to be the school soloist for due and that our children are not taught most concerts. music. Music should be taught as if it was as basic as math and English. It is “Artists need love, How did you begin and when did you that important and necessary. realize you wanted to focus on music as emotional support, clean air, a career? What do you believe an artist needs to be and enough money that they When I was around 17 years old I able to develop and fulfill their potential? decided it was what I wanted, but Love, emotional support, clean air, and can focus on learning the my father didn’t want me to be a enough money that they can focus professional singer. As a result, I got a on learning the roles they need. Each roles they need” number of degrees, including Graphic minute of music—for a role in opera, for Design, and worked many years until I example—can take 10 hours to learn! So was accepted to The in you need patience with yourself and a As an opera singer, what drew you to . calm environment. shift to Cantorial and spiritual works in the past, and how do you balance those What type of music are you most As a performer known for maintaining two passions today? passionate about today? Who are some your close relationship to your Jewish It was necessary. I had undergone a very of the Israeli composers that inspire you? roots, and for performing world premieres bad divorce and had two young babies. I I am most passionate about the songs of for such distinguished composers as Ofer could not accept opera jobs that required 1948 and Esther Ofarim, because they are Ben-Amots and Tzvi Avni, what do you me to travel for six weeks at a time and the background of my childhood. There is feel about the power and presence of leave my babies or even schlep them optimism there and a love of Israel that Israeli and Jewish culture in and outside with me. I had to figure out how to is very pure. of Israel? support us—and my background in a I think it is important to bring Jewish Hebrew / religious elementary and high What do you think makes a musician music and to perform it to the world. school was a natural segue to singing excellent and distinguishes them from This is why I have created the Azrieli as a cantorial soloist. My first job was the rest? Music Prize. I am very proud that we will for the rabbi who had been the head of I think the saying is true that a great be creating two new works of Jewish Hebrew Union College! After that, I went musician practices 10,000 hours before music. The full information can be found to the Academy of Jewish Religion and I they become a master. However, it has on the Azrieli Foundation’s website. loved the job of being a Cantor. / WILLIAM A. SCHWARTZ AVIV AWARDEE

You’ve had numerous collaborations As for the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra with the finest Israeli musicians and with whom I have happily collaborated institutions such as , Daniel on various occasions... Well, those Barenboim, and the Israel Philharmonic were certainly special and even unique Orchestra. How were those experiences experiences. I have worked with such for you? conductors as Herbert von Karajan and With Isaac Stern I only collaborated Evgeny Svetlanov, to whom orchestra once: at the Verbier Festival, when musicians wouldn’t dare to say a word Stern, Natalia Gutman, and I prepared during rehearsals. By way of comparison, and performed a trio program which I’ll never forget when during one of my consisted of Beethoven’s Geister- rehearsals with the Israel Philharmonic Trio, Brahms’ C-Minor Trio, and something went wrong—and the Mendelssohn’s D-Minor Trio. Being the concertmaster of one of the string eldest and the most experienced one groups said to Maestro Zubin Mehta: among the three of us, Mr. Stern was “We were with you! You slowed down— the leading force in our group. His we slowed down!” Well... this shows that ideas were always right to the point, the State of Israel will definitely never totally convincing, and truly inspiring. become a dictatorship: that’s not the system for our people! “Mr. Stern’s ideas were With I have collaborated on several occasions, and Among your outstanding achievements, always right to the point, those were all experiences of a very high including two Grammy awards and two musical level. Besides, in addition to honorary doctorates, what would you say totally convincing, and being a wonderful musician in general, if you could speak to your younger self, Mr. Barenboim is also a great pianist when you were just starting out? truly inspiring” himself, which makes him a superb Nothing—because I wouldn’t have accompanist for pianists when he is listened anyway. leading the orchestra in piano concertos.

REVITAL NARODITSKI / DANCER

How did you begin to dance and why? performance clothes, take lessons, and How old were you? purchase my flight to the U.S. I won I started dancing when my neighbor who several scholarships at the competition, was a ballet teacher invited me to his one of them for the Houston Ballet school. I was seven. I did not want to where I studied for a year. dance initially, but I ended up going. I have been studying ballet since then and What do you need as an artist today, to modern dance since age 14. be able to continue working and growing? Now I need to study and stay focused You started studying karate with your on what I am doing, and to find the way father when you were four. How is it to to succeed. be a karate champion, and do you feel it enriches or influences your dancing or Why do you think it is important to vice versa? invest in art and culture in the world, and I started at such a young age because particularly in Israel? there was no one to stay home with It is very important to nurture the arts me. I did not imagine I would do this in Israel, as there are many talented seriously. When I was six, my dad people who need support. We need to enrolled me in a competition and I show how developed Israeli culture is, won 2nd place. Karate gave me good “It is very important and to motivate children to want to go coordination and better flexibility, and it into the arts. Art is a beautiful thing that developed my ability to remember series to nurture the arts in Israel, I believe is very important for people to of combinations. experience. as there are many talented How did you use the scholarship you Do you feel that being Israeli influences received? people who need support” your creativity? The scholarship enabled me to invest in The dance I choreographed, for example, my ballet training and prepare myself for relates to being a proud Jew, and I never a U.S. competition, to buy dance and forget the past of the Jewish people. LEGACY OF EXCELLENCE AICF’S RICH HISTORY

GLOBAL SOCIAL REACH CONNECTING THE WORLD TO ISRAEL

The Canada-Israel Cultural Foundation (CICF): Sister organization headquartered Linking Israeli in Toronto, Ontario. Access to artists living The Germany-Israel Cultural Foundation biographies, around the (GICF-AICF e.V.): Sister organization interviews, world to each headquarted in Berlin, Germany. and works other of art Highlighting GLOBAL IMPACT events of Israeli artists worldwide The America-Israel Cultural Foundation The Israeli Artist Network // רא״י - רשת האמנים הישראלית makes a vital contribution to the cultural foundation of Israel and strengthens Connecting Promoting the excellence of U.S.-Israel relations. Since 1939, most the world Israeli culture to culture of Israel’s finest artists, including Itzhak Perlman, Ohad Naharin, and Daniel Libeskind have received scholarships from AICF. More than 18,000 artists and 600 institutions have been funded Celebrating by AICF to date, putting Israel at the the global Discover forefront of the arts worldwide. Over our success of talent of AICF’s 76-year history, AICF has funded $150 thousands of emerging million to create scholarships, creative- artists artists excellence grants, and enrichment programs for emerging artists.

AICF is in a position to substantially The Israeli Artist Network gives artists the opportunity to improve Israel’s worldwide standing expose their work easily and quickly to broad audiences in the face of its critics. With your help, we can broaden our support of worldwide, and it provides art lovers with easy access to promising Israeli artists, performers, and institutions so that eventually no the richness and diversity of Israeli culture today. one deserving will be left behind. - David Homan, Executive Director, AICF AICF Artists have become internationally respected Architects, Animators, Graphic/Ceramic/ Plastic/Metal/Industrial/Fashion/Textile/Stage Designers, Multimedia Artists, Painters, Sculptors, Photographers, Ballet & Modern Dancers, Choreographers, Actors, Film & Theatre Directors, Editors, Writers, Arab Music Specialists, Performers of Early Music, Jazz & World Musicians, Singers, Flutists, Recorder Players, Clarinetists, Oboists, Bassoonists, French Hornists, Saxophonists, Trumpeters, Trombonists, Tubaists, Violinists, Violists, Cellists, Double Bassists, Pianists, Guitarists, Mandolinists, Lutists, Percussionists, Composers, Conductors, Instrument Makers, and Educators in all disciplines. America-Israel Cultural Foundation

1140 Broadway, Suite 304 New York, NY 10001 Tel: 1-212-557-1600 Fax: 1-212-557-1611 [email protected] www.aicf.org

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

Dear Friends,

It’s been a challenging year for those invested in Israel. Yet in spite of global turmoil, AICF celebrates 76 years of excellence. The America-Israel Cultural Foundation is a paramount resource for Israeli artists, both in Israel and worldwide. The enduring legacy of a people is its overall contribution to the world. No question, this is where Israel excels – in science, technology, and yes, the arts!

In 2015 AICF will make grants for artistic excellence to over 450 recipients, encompassing the fields of Music, Fine Arts, Theatre, and Dance. The number of recipients represents those that were singled out for excellence out of many hundreds of applicants. Our recipients and alumni perform all over the world and express Tikkun Olam in the world’s most universally shared modes of communication.

We thank all our supporters and ask you to continue investing in the maturation of Israel’s cultural landscape. This is truly something about which all k’lal Yisrael can kvell.

B’shalom,

Joseph E. Hollander President, AICF