125th ums suss Arts is Life a0 3/04 Celebrate St. Petersburg with Two Great Performances! St. Petersburg String Quartet Maxim Mogilevsky piano From Bereshit To Boombamella Fri 10/3 8 pm Rackham Auditorium "Among the Russian cultural treasures brought to light by the In Israel, New Age festivals — including one that marks the Days of Awe — increase in popularity. dismantling of the Iron Curtain is the St. Petersburg String Quartet...a solid foundation of collective vision and musical savvy." (New York Times) PROGRAM Desyatnikov Tracing Astor (2001) Shostakovich Piano Trio No. 2 in e minor, Op. 67 (1944) BARRY DAVIS Tchaikovsky String Quartet No. 3 in e-flat minor, Op. 30 (1876) Special to the Jewish News Sponsored by Ell Funded in part by the University of Michigan. Media Sponsors WGTE 91.3 FM and Michigan Radio. Kirov Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre Valery Gergiev • 10/6 Mon conductor 8 pm Pease Auditorium • Ypsilanti Valery Gergiev conducts the Kirov Orchestra of St. Petersburg in EMU's acoustically splendid Pease Auditorium as part of UMS's celebration of St. Petersburg's 300th anniversary. "Valery Gergiev is extraordinary — simply one of the most exciting podium talents in years." (San Francisco Examiner) PROGRAM C • Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture (1869) Shostakovich Symphony No. 9 in E-flat Major, Op. 70 (1945) Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade (1888) Supported by Friends of Beverley Geltner. Funded in part by the University of sas 40. Michigan. Media Sponsors WGTE 91.3 FM, Observer 8. Eccentric Newspapers, and Michigan Radio. Forest Health Services presentt the 125th Annual Choral Union Series. \V ERS/Tr C. urns 734.764.2538 www.ums.org outside the 734 area code, call toll-free 800 221-1229 Ticket Office Hours: M-F 9 am-I0 pm, Sat 10 am-1 pm These performances are part of the U-Fl Celebrating St. Petersburg Festival. For Festival information, please visit www.umich.edu/stpetersburg. st ay ine-tieccs, Sep L9e9,144."-te cC five .,eq/ ,'earpv, 044 ✓ iiteeitc- 1., cc GS c e.43-11 STORANTE 29410 Northwestern Hwy. Southfield Grand Opening - 248.356.6600 www.baccoristorante.com Kimono Sushi R_stce rcx 414 (Formerly Sapporo Restaurant) • Sushi, Sashimi, House Special Rolls, Noodles, Tempura, Teriyaki, Katsu, Rice, Korean Food 9/26 2003 L12 Under New Ownership LUNCH SPECIAL DINNER SPECIAL 15°/0 OFF 10°/0 OFF Expires 10/31/03 Expires 10/31/03 Dine In or Carry Out! j 761670 6635 Orchard Lake Rd. • W. Bloomfield • Tel: 248.737.3317 • Fax: 248.737.3026 of so many years ago, any- thing outside the mainstream of Israeli culture would have been treated — both by the media and the general public — with little more than fleeting curiosity. Israel is, after all, still a primarily traditional society that sticks tenaciously to its deep roots. Then, in 1997, New Age-style festivals starting springing up all over the coun- try. The Shantipi Festival, that took place that year on a small plot ofland near Pardess Hanna in the north of the coun- try, attracted a crowd of around 3,000 "alternative" faithfuls; most of the atten- dees had some Indian or Far Eastern backpacking in their CV, and had brought that spirit back home with them. Former Israel Air Force pilot Ronnie Tabachnik was one of thousands of young Israelis who went east on a pro- longed post-military service odyssey in search of new topographical and spiritu- al landscapes. Today, Tabachnik is the brains and heart behind two of Israel's leading annual New Age events — the Boombamella Festival, which takes place over the Passover period, and the Bereshit Festival, which occupies the cal- endar during Rosh Hashanah. "The Bereshit Festival — happening this year Sept. 25-28 along a 20-mile stretch of the Sea of Galilee — signifies the emergence of a new generation in Israeli society," says Tabachnik. "This is a generation that talks of tol- erance, peace, love and harmony, and music and nature. It is very much a New Age approach, like they have in the States. In a sense, the festival is a kind of annual gathering b of the movement in Israel." Tabachnik is also keen to note the reli- gious — albeit non-mainstream — ele- ment to the four-day event, which takes place when observant Jews are spending much of their time in synagogues around the country marking the start of the Days of Awe, the period of self- examination, repentance and prayer that Barry Davis is a freelance writer based in Israel. starts with Rosh Hashanah and con- cludes with Yom Kippur. "It's a sort of modern- day pilgrim- age. People come to take part in a tribal gath- ering," says Mosh Ben-Ari is among Tabachnick the performers at this of Bereshit. year's Bereshit Festival in The Israel. "tribe" has grown in incremental leaps and bounds over the past six years. About 4,000 people attended the first Bereshit Festival, held in an avocado grove near Pardess Hanna in 1998. Tabachnik expects this year's event to draw crowds of anywhere from 30,000 to 40,000. New Age has finally made the big time in Israel. "What started out as a marginal event is now broadcast live, in prime time, on [state TV] Channel One and on [national radio station] Galei Tsahal," Tabachnik says. "Everybody in Israel now knows about Bereshit, and the other festivals. It's not so much of an esoteric event anymore. These days, you get holistic villages, nudist camps and cultural events with Jews and Arabs all over the country. Bereshit's rise in the popularity stakes has, naturally, impacted on the festival's entertainment agenda. While the first gatherings mostly featured "alternative" artists known to few but the New Age scene cognoscenti, the festival now attracts some of the biggest stars in the country. Last year, in addition to staple New Age acts like Sheva and Gaya, festival goers grooved to the high energy out- put of rock megastars Shalom Hanokh and Yehuda Polliker. This year, the Bereshit program fea- tures bill toppers from the local rock, ethnic and Mediterranean music scene, such as Meir Banai, Shlomi Saranga and Mosh Ben-Ari. There also will be 11 non-Israeli bands among