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SUZANNE CHESSLER
Special to The Jewish News
iolinist Itzhak Perlman
with four klezmer bands,
Zubin Mehta conducting
the Israel Philharmonic
Orchestra, percussionist Chen
Zimbalista and the Batsheva Dance
Company have been invited to Ann
Arbor to celebrate the 50th anniver-
sary of Istael.
The performers are part of a spe-
cial series, Contemporary Jewish
Cultural Expression in Israel,
planned by the University Musical
Society (UMS), and they will per-
form at various times throughout the
1997-98 season.
"We wanted to feature popular
performance styles in Israel and show
their diversity," said Michael
Kondziolka, UMS director of pro-
gramming. Kondziolka brainstormed
with members of the Jewish commu-
nity to select the entertainers.
Planners include Carol and Irving
Smokier, Ronald and Eileen Weiser,
Herb Amster, Leon and Heidi
Cohen and Maurice and Linda
Binkow.
"The UMS has had tremendous
support from the Jewish community
over the years, and this is a wonder-
ful way of tipping our hats,"
Kondziolka said. I've never been in
Israel, but I've seen all the acts."
Perlman, in a program called "A
Klezmer Summit," appears with the
Klezmatics, Brave
Old World, The
Klezmer
Conservatory Band
and the Andy
Statman Klezmer
Orchestra, moving
the show from tra-
ditional sounds to a
fusion of klezmer
and jazz.
The program is
based on the Emmy
Award-winning PBS
television special "In
the Fiddler's
House," the audio
recording of the
same name, and a second klezmer
music recording, Live in the Fiddler's
"
House.
"The show will bring a reinven-
tion of klezmer music to the concert
stage," Kondziolka said.
Suzanne Chessler is a Farmington
The Klezmatics, together for 11
years, combine klezmer with
today's most contemporary music
forms and often address social
issues through their recordings.
Brave Old World has four mem-
bers who began their klezmer
revival in 1989, combining the
classic sounds of klezmer with the
energy of jazz.
The Klezmer Conservatory
Band follows the traditions of
bands of the 1920s and '30s.
Founded in 1980, the group
brings Yiddish vocal and instru-
mental music to concert halls and
festivals and has made eight
recordings. The film Enemies, A
Love Story and the children's video
The Fool and the Flying Ship show-
case their music.
Statman, who plays the clarinet
and mandolin, has played for
more than 100 recordings and was
a pioneer of the klezmer revival of
the 1970s. A composer as well as
interpreter, he fuses tradition and
innovation.
"We have an ongoing relation-
ship with the Israel Philharmonic
Orchestra," said Kondziolka, who
points out that this season's con-
cert includes a new work by Israeli
composer R. Strauss as well as a
Beethoven piece.
The symphony, which celebrat-
ed its 60th anniversary last year,
counts more than half of its cur-
rent members as native-born
Batsheva Dance Company of Israel: 8
p.m. Saturday, March 21, and 4 p.m.
Sunday, March 22, at the Power
Center.
Israelis, who are largely
trained there. Also perform-
ing are musicians who have
emigrated from the United
States and Eastern Europe,
including more than 25 new
arrivals from the former
Soviet Union.
A legacy of Israel
Philharmonic training is
found in Zimbalista's music,
which features 40 drums,
cymbals, marimba and vibra-
phone. He also trained with
the New York Philharmonic.
Building on influences
from the classics, jazz, blues
and soft rock, Zimbalista
describes his style as "a reflec-
tion of the cultural and polit-
ical landscape of my country."
Besides appearing in Ann
Arbor, the percussionist trav-
els to other cities as part of
the Mid East/West Fest,
which offers cross-cultural
exchanges between Israeli and
American youngsters.
Earlier this season, the Fest
sponsored performances by
the Tnuatron Dance Theatre.
A different sense of dance
composition comes to Ann
Arbor with the Batsheva
Dance Company of Israel.
Founded by the Baroness
Bethsabee (Batsheva) de
Rothschild, the troupe has
had a close association with
Martha Graham.
Current choreographer
Ohad Naharin has built on
the Graham aesthetic to forge
originality with energy and
passion. Although he began
his training as a dancer with
Batsheva, he continued his
studies at Juilliard.
"The visit by Batsheva is
very special," Kondziolka
said. "The work is very pow-
erful, and there's an incredible
solo for a dancer and gerbil.
It's not just entertaining; it's
moving.
"The folk element is syn-
thesized into a contemporary,
expressive medium." ❑
Series tickets for the Jewish Culture
Series range from $63-$150. Depending
on the performance, individual ticket
prices range from $18 to $50. For more
information, call (800) 221-1229 or
(313) 764-2538.
niv6rsity.Musical Society
programs, visit the organi-
zation Web site at
www.ums.org.
A Cultural Celebration
The schedule for the series Contemporary
Jewish Cultural Expression in Israel is listed
below:
Itzhak Perlman and a Klezmer Summit:
8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2, in Hill Auditorium.
In conjunction with the performance,
Wesleyan University Professor of Music
Mark Slobin will present a lecture titled
"The Spirit of Yiddish Folklore: Then and
Now" 4 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2, in the
Kuenzel Room of the Michigan Union.
6. Neil Alexander, vocalist and leader of
the Ann Arbor-based Klezmer Fusion
3 Band, will be joined by mandolinist
Nan Nelson to provide live accompani-
ment. Admission is free.
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra con-
ducted b Zubin Mehta: 8 p.m.
Saturday,Ian. 10, in Hill Auditorium.
Chen Zimbalista: 8 p.m. Saturday,
Feb. 14, in Rackham Auditorium.
Top right: Conductor Zubin Mehta
leads the Israel Philharmonic.
Above: The Batsheva Dance
Company: Energy and passion.
64i-li'fridFeabout the
Hills-based freelance writer.
1997
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