Jewish Songs and Dances: Music from the Archive of Lazare Saminsky

Wednesday Jun 21, 2017 7:00pm
Sidney Krum Young Artists Concert Series
The Sidney Krum Young Artists Concert Series is made possible by a generous gift from the Estate of Sidney Krum.

In partnership with Temple Emanu-El


Admission: $15
YIVO students & members: $10

Watch the video

View the evening’s program.


This concert explores the legacy of composer Lazare Saminsky. Born in Vale-Gotzulovo, Ukraine in 1882, Saminsky was one of the earliest members of the Society for Jewish Folk Music in St. Petersburg – a group of composers committed to forging a new national style of Jewish classical music infused with Jewish folk melodies and liturgical music. Saminsky immigrated to the United States in 1920 where he co-founded the League of Composers in 1923, and was the music director of Temple Emanu-El from 1924-1958. Saminsky’s oeuvre represents a broad cross section of Jewish music ranging from sacred to secular. His songs set texts in Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino, and more, and his music takes its inspiration from all around the Jewish world. This concert features some of Saminsky’s greatest compositions alongside composers of his new- and old-world coteries including Joel Engel, Joseph Achron, and Lyubov Streicher. Performances by Emanu-El’s Cantor Mo Glazman as well as Eliza Bagg, Brigid Coleridge, Julian Schwartz, and Marika Bournaki will feature a variety of songs and chamber music with violin, cello, and piano.


About the Performers

Photo by Nomi
Ellenson

Cantor Mo Glazman received his Bachelor of Science degree from McGill University and was awarded a Master of Sacred Music degree from the Hebrew Union College, Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music, from which he was ordained. For his thesis and recital he wrote, produced and starred in a musical based on the life and music of Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt. After his ordination, Cantor Glazman joined the Cantors’ Assembly and the American Conference of Cantors, of which he has been an active member. Cantor Glazman has appeared in concerts throughout Europe, Israel and North America. He was tenor soloist for Handel’s Israel in Egypt with the Westchester Chorale and Orchestra and a guest performer at the Jewish Cultural Festival of Berlin. He has concertized at Lincoln Center, Merkin Hall, the National Opera Center and Studio 54.

Dedicated to performing and developing new work, Brooklyn-based soprano Eliza Bagg has worked closely on projects with a number of prominent and emerging composers including John Zorn, Michael Gordon, Chris Cerrone, Judd Greenstein, Bill Britelle, Amy Beth Kirsten, Olga Bell, and Emily Hall, among others. Her '16-'17 season includes John Zorn's Commedia dell'Arte at the Guggenheim, Infinite Palette's presentation of electro-acoustic art songs by Bill Britelle, Missy Mazzoli, and Daniel Wohl at the Palm Springs Art Museum, Claire Chases's Density Project at The Kitchen, an excerpt from Michael Gordon's Van Gogh with the Bang on a Can All-Stars, a presentation of Hildegard Von Bingen chant at The Met Museum with Jacqueline Horner of Anonymous 4, and a performance of David Lang's Death Speaks, along with numerous collaborative projects with emerging composers and premieres of new works written specifically for her. Bagg has been noted for her unique sound and artistry, having had her "haunting vocals" compared by Pitchfork to "a lovelorn alien reaching out from the farthest reaches of the galaxy."

Brigid Coleridge is an Australian violinist and a current doctoral candidate at the City University of New York, studying with Daniel Phillips. She completed her Artist Diploma at the Royal College of Music, London, and she received her Master of Music Performance degree from RCM in 2013, following a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Music at the University of Melbourne, majoring in Music Performance, French Language and English Literature. Brigid is a frequent recitalist (including a recent performance at the Royal Albert Hall’s Elgar Room), and performs regularly with duo partner, pianist Lee Dionne (most recently touring Holland). Her appearances as concerto soloist have included the works of Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Mendelssohn and Shostakovich. Brigid is also a committed chamber musician, a recent highlight being repeat invitations to perform at the Yellow Barn Chamber Music Festival in Vermont, USA. She is a former recipient of the Welsford Smithers Travelling Scholarship from the University of Melbourne, as well as an Ian Potter Cultural Trust Award, and is a former prizewinner of the Dorcas McLean Violin Scholarship.

Born in Seattle into a musical family, cellist Julian Schwarz is already being recognized as a cellist destined to rank among the finest of the 21st century. Mr. Schwarz made his orchestral debut at the age of 11 playing the Saint-Saens Concerto No. 1 with the Seattle Symphony with his father, Gerard Schwarz, on the podium. Since then, he has appeared with the Seattle, San Diego, Puerto Rico, Columbus (OH), Syracuse, Virginia, Sarasota, Grand Rapids, Omaha, Wichita and Modesto symphonies among others, and performed recitals at the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico and in Palm Springs. He also appears regularly on the stage of Bargemusic in New York City playing chamber music and recitals with his regular recital partner, pianist Marika Bournaki. Mr. Schwarz’s recent and upcoming performance highlights include debuts with the Charlotte, Des Moines, West Virginia, Chicago Camerata, Toledo, Amarillo and Washington/Idaho symphonies, The Louisville Orchestra and Symphony Silicon Valley in San Jose; return engagements with the Hartford and Boca Raton symphonies and the Northwest Sinfonietta; and recitals in Palm Springs, Washington, DC, Pennsylvania and Nova Scotia. Internationally, he made his Australian debut with the Queensland Symphony in Brisbane as well as his debut in Hong Kong appearing at the Intimacy of Creativity Festival. He also returned to the Boca del Rio Orchestra in Veracruz, Mexico and made his debut with the Mexico City Philharmonic in June 2016.

Marika Bournaki is pianist committed to distinctive interpretations of standard repetroire, commissioning works by younger composers, and collaborating with artists from various fields. Marika was featured in the award-winning documentary, “I am not a rock star”, directed by Bobbi Jo Hart and featuring Marika, and her performances can be heard on Radio-Canada, Radio-France, BBC, WQXR in New York City, and Toronto’s Classical 96.3 FM. She has been featured on television networks such as ERT, TF1, France 2, CTV, Global, Radio-Canada, CBC, and Canal+. Marika holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Juilliard School of Music, in New York.