It’s a sad fact of life that, for every soldier killed in a war, several more return home wounded. Many of these injured soldiers face a difficult transition back into civilian life — post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), lingering injuries and the tough adjustment from the regimented reality of the military to civilian life often leaves soldiers feeling lost and adrift.
Avi Avital plays the mandolin sitting center stage in a hard-back chair. He curls into himself, his face turned downward, and nestles the small stringed instrument on his lap. His intense concentration draws a listener in, whether he’s performing a piece composed by mandolin virtuoso Yasuo Kuwahara or by Israeli composer Avner Dorman.
Performers who cancel their concerts in Israel due to politics are \”real wimps,\” the rock band Deep Purple\’s drummer said. Ian Paice made the statement Wednesday at a news conference ahead of two scheduled concerts in Israel this weekend, Haaretz reported.
Some 700 children from southern Israeli communities that have been hit by rockets and missiles from Gaza were given free tickets to pop star Justin Bieber\’s concert. The tickets for Thursday\’s show in Tel Aviv, as well as transportation, are a gift of The Schusterman Foundation-Israel, The Morningstar Foundation and ROI Community of Young Jewish Innovators.
A group from Queens College won the inaugural Jewish collegiate a cappella competition and its $1,500 prize. Tizmoret was named the best of the nine groups from seven U.S. campuses competing last weekend in the Kol HaOlam National Jewish Collegiate A Capella Competition in Washington, D.C. Along with the monetary prize, the New York group won a consultation with JDub Records.
Veteran musician Matthew Lazar said in a recent interview that “singing in a choir is paradigmatic of community,” but a choir, as shown by the 18th annual HaZamir Festival and Gala Concert, also creates community. Held on March 27, the concert featured nearly 300 members of HaZamir, the International Jewish High School Choir — all teenagers from Los Angeles, Israel and elsewhere in the United States, representing “so many different walks of life,” said Lazar, founder and director of HaZamir’s parent organization, the Zamir Choral Foundation.
The Latino students at Franklin High School, located north of downtown Los Angeles, sat stone-faced in the school’s auditorium, waiting to find out what justified missing the period before lunch. Against the backdrop of an American flag and an Israeli flag, Israeli Consul General Jacob Dayan informed them that they would influence the fate of six Israeli singers. “You represent the country,” he announced to the students in late January.
Who was Akhnaten? For composer Philip Glass, this mysterious Egyptian pharaoh, said to be Queen Nefertiti’s husband and the father of King Tutankhamen, was a rebel-hero. In the 14th century B.C.E., Akhnaten defied tradition by attempting to forge a monotheistic religion, and even tried to change Egyptian artistic culture by moving the capital city and building a new one, Amarna, now a ruin.
Arranging a concert program is like planning a dinner, says Itzhak Perlman, calling from New York. First comes an appetizer, then the main course, and finally something to clear the palate.
A just-released video captures a bit of music history. It’s a rehearsal, but no ordinary rehearsal.
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