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[Live on Zoom] Sephardic Art Song: A Musical Legacy of the Sephardic Diaspora
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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. This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council. Co-sponsored by American Sephardi Federation (ASF) See registration details below. |
3:00pm EDT Lecture (Zoom)
Admission: Free | Registration is required.
4:00pm EDT Concert
Admission: Free | Registration not required.
The history and culture of Sephardic Jewry can be found in the rich repertoire of Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) folksongs. These folksongs reflect on Jewish traditions and stories as well as universal human themes such as love, death, and despair. In the 20th and 21st century Western classical composers such as Alberto Hemsi, Yehezkel Braun, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Joaquin Rodrigo, Wolf Simoni (Louis Saguer), Lazare Saminsky, Paul Ben-Haim, and others used these melodies to create a repertoire of Ladino Art Songs. These Art songs provided the composers a way to preserve the folksongs and, in many cases, an avenue through which they could reflect on their own heritage. The musical styles of these songs draw on diverse traditions ranging from Spanish, Greek, Balkan, and Turkish/Ottoman folk and classical traditions as well as Western classical music more broadly.
Join us for a lecture recital about this fascinating and little known repertoire led by mezzo-soprano and music scholar Lori Şen. Şen will discuss the history, language, and culture of the Sephardim, with a special focus on the elements and stylistic features of Sephardic music. The lecture will be followed by a recital of Sephardic songs for voice, piano, and guitar for which Şen will be joined by guitarist Jeremy Lyons and pianist Alexei Ulitin.
About the Participants
Turkish mezzo-soprano and music scholar Lori Şen is known for her versatility in many vocal genres, including opera, art song, musical theatre, and jazz, as well as for her teaching and research interests in vocal literature, voice pedagogy, and voice science. She regularly collaborates with musicians and composers across a variety of genres, and has performed in Turkey, Europe, and the United States. Lori’s more recent performances include solo recitals, jazz performances, Angelina/La Cenerentola with Opera NOVA, and she was featured as the alto soloist in the Mozart Requiem performance of the Symphony Orchestra of Northern Virginia (SONOVA) in their last season.
Lori recently completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Voice Performance at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her dissertation, Sephardic Art Song: A Musical Legacy of the Sephardic Disapora, explored the Sephardic Art Song repertoire from the Western classical perspective. Over the past year, she has introduced this repertoire to audiences through solo recitals, in addition to her lectures on the history, language, and culture of the Sephardim, and elements and stylistic features of Sephardic music. Recently, she presented her research at the 14th Barcelona Festival of Song in Barcelona, Spain, the 8th Annual Judeo-Spanish Symposium (UCLAdino) at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Yunus Emre Institute and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, both in Washington, D.C.
Lori received her Master of Music in Voice Performance and Pedagogy at Westminster Choir College, in Princeton, NJ, as a Fulbright grantee. She also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey, in addition to a Bachelor of Music degree in Voice and a Master of Education degree in Physics Education from Dokuz Eylül University in Izmir, Turkey. She currently teaches as Adjunct Voice Faculty at Frostburg State University and Peabody Preparatory of The Johns Hopkins University, and has an active performing and teaching schedule in the Washington, D.C. area.
A Baltimore citizen for the past decade, Jeremy Lyons began studying music from a young age. He began playing the guitar when he was five years old, and also started cello lessons soon after. Even prior to attending college he was regularly performing as a soloist and as a member of several orchestras and chamber ensembles. He received a BM in guitar performance (Summa Cum Laude) from the Florida State University, where he studied with Bruce Holzman, and holds a MM in Guitar Performance and Pedagogy, a MM in Musicology, and a DMA all from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University, where he studied with Manuel Barrueco.
While attending Florida State University, he also studied the viola da gamba with professor Pamela Andrews, the Renaissance lute with Anthony Rooley, and the gu-zheng (an ancient Chinese zither) with Haiqiong Deng. He was a member of the FSU Viols, the FSU Chinese Ensemble, and he regularly accompanied the FSU Early Music Ensembles, under the direction of Dr. Jeffery Kite-Powell. Jeremy also participated in the Early Music Ensembles at the Peabody Conservatory where he performed with the Peabody Renaissance Ensemble and the Peabody Consort, both directed by Mark Cudek, and the Peabody consort of Viols, directed by John Moran.
As a guitarist, Jeremy gives solo recitals and frequently appears with orchestras and chamber ensembles across the country. He also regularly performs with his duo partners Soprano, Lisa Perry, and Flutist, Stephanie Ray. Jeremy continues to perform on viola da gamba, lute, Baroque guitar, and often uses his electric guitar in combination with electronics for contemporary compositions. While maintaining an active performing career, Jeremy is a guitar instructor at Artist music education center in Perry Hall Maryland, and he also teaches guitar privately from his home in Baltimore.
Jeremy also delivers lectures concerning classical guitar history and the many influences that effect the repertoire of music available to the modern day guitarist. His research interests include pedagogical approaches to teaching the guitar, contemporary guitar literature, and the perception of a modern day guitarist as a musician.
An advocate for contemporary music, Jeremy regularly writes music, collaborates with other composers, and enthusiastically participates in music that connects to a variety of audience members. He is a member of two Baltimore-based contemporary music ensembles: Mind on Fire and the Pique Collective. These ensembles explore the many sounds, sensations, experiences, and possibilities that arise from a performance, held in a public space, that invites the audience to immediately react and interact with the show that they attend.
Alexei Ulitin is a post-doctoral scholar. A native of Kiev, Ukraine, Ulitin actively performs as a collaborativeartist and a soloist. He has worked as a member of the musical staff at several prestigious music festivals, including Aspen, Siena, andNorthern Lights. He was a recipient of a New Horizons Fellowship at Aspen Music Festival for three years (2013-15). Ulitin has served as an adjunct piano faculty member at Rowan University (New Jersey). He has won prizes in numerous competitions, including the 2014 Baltimore Music Club Competition (first prize), 2014 Wonderlic Piano Competition, 2013 Liszt-Garrison International Piano Competition, 2010 International Young Artist Piano Competition in Washington, D.C. (first prize), and 2010 Music Teachers National Association competition (Eastern Division Winner). He earned a Bachelor of Music from Rowan University, Master of Music from the National Music Academy of Ukraine (Kiev), and Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Maryland.