The released recordings include
scenes from Kurt Weill's The Eternal
Road; Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco's
Sabbath Eve Service; songs of the
American Yiddish stage in new and
authentic orchestrations; klezmer-
inspired concertos and encores by
20th-century composers; a disc of
highlights from the entire series;
Jewish-themed compositions by
Leonard Bernstein, some never heard
before; and Darius Milhaud's Service
Sacre.
Some of the series' recordings will
be represented in performance at an
international conference and festival,
"Only in America: Jewish Music in a
Land of Freedom," running Nov. 7-
11 in New York City under the
sponsorship of the Jewish
Theoiogical Seminary and the
Milken Archive of American Jewish
Music.
Rare Repertoire
Although commissioned many years
ago for the Beth Abraham Youth
Chorale in Dayton, Ohio, Kalib's
works have been recorded for the
Archive by the Vienna Boys Choir,
the Vienna Chamber Orchestra and
Jerusalem cantor Naftali Herstik.
"It was thrilling to be invited to be
part of this project," Kalib says. "It's
been more thrilling to hear my music
on record."
"There was a feeling of building
bridges and creating something of last-
ing value to hear Cantor Kalib's works
on CD," says Paul Schwendener, chief
operational officer, director of mar-
keting and artists and repertoire
adviser for the entire Milken project.
"The choir, fascinated with the chal-
lenge of learning Hebrew for the
recordings, has incorporated some of
this music into its international tour-
ing repertoire.
"I used to live in Vienna, so I'm
quite aware of the dark history of the
city and the Jews. To see the love and
enthusiasm of the choir and orchestra
recording for a very small fee and
with so much heart makes us all feel
that what we're doing is not about
CDs and distribution.
"It's about rediscovering music,
making that music part of the main-
stream of cultural life and opening
people's ears and eyes to the fact that
the American Jewish experience has
created a rare bony of repertoire."
The nonprofit project, at a cost of
$17 million so far, began in 1990 at
the direction of Lowell Milken, chair-
man and co-founder (with his broth-
er, former junk-bond king Michael
Milken) of the Santa Monica, Calif.-
based Milken Family Foundation. It
was underwritten by the foundation,
which since its founding in 1982 has
given away some $500 million, pri-
marily for public school education
and medical research.
"I think the impact of this archive
will be felt a hundred years from
now," Lowell Milken says. "I see it as
the most long-lasting effort that the
Milken Foundation has ever under-
taken."
Ann Arbor Recordings
The foundation established an edito-
More than 60 speakers and 45 performing artists will perform and discuss
works by more than 50 cornpctsers during "Only in America: Jel,vish Music in
a Land of Freedom," a conference/festival that takes place Nov. 7-11 in New
York City. Thirty Detroiters, led by Beverly Baker, Anaruth Bernard and
Evelyn Kasle, will travel to New York to partake in the celebration of
American Jewish Music
Presented by the Jewish Theological Seminary and the Ivlilken Archive of
American Jewish Music in cooperation with the Juilliard School, Manhattan.
chool of Music, National Foundation for Jewish Culture, Commission on
ynagogue Music of Reform Judaism and the Zamir Choral Foundation, the
five-day offering will provide a comprehensive schedule of events that encom-
passes the enormous variety of music from the American Jewish experience.
World premiere performances, historic re-enactments, academic presenta-
tions, interactive workshops led by distinguished performers, composers and
scholars, and perforrriances of both liturgical and concert music by leading-
composers will be featured at various venues.
The conference/festival kicks off a year of programming at ITS commern
rating the 350th anniversary of American Jevvry.
For a complete schedule and to register for the entire conference, including
guaranteed tickets to concerts, visit www.lVfilkeriArchive.org. Call the Milken
Archive at (212) 866-7418 or email
or g
for further information about reoistration and events.
rial board headed by Dr. Neil Levin,
music historian, conductor and pro-
fessor at the Jewish Theological
Seminary of America. The board
established a goal of recording the
broadest possible spectrum of music,
and plans were made to engage a
variety of artists from around the
world.
"The repertoire was chosen by a
panel of leading musicians, musicolo-
gists, cantors and Judaic scholars,"
Levin says. "They selected works on
the basis of their inspiration by tradi-
tional Jewish melodies or modes, syn-
agogue or other liturgical function,
language, Jewish historical subject
matter, role in Jewish celebrations or
commemorations and content of texts
as well as their intrinsic musical
integrity."
The project avoids recording popu-
lar compositions without specific
Jewish connotations that have long
been a part of the musical main-
stream.
Hundreds of hours of recording ses-
sions have been held in more than 15
cities in the United States and Europe
with the most concentrated activity
during 1999, 2000 and 2001.
MUSICAL MARVEL
The international conference/festival "Only in America: Jewish Music in
Land of Freedom," running Nov. 7-11, in New York City, will showcase
presentation by Marsha Bryan Edelman, who will talk about her new book
and companion CD, Discovering Jewish Music (The Jewish
Publication Society; $40).
E,delman will reference the range of her text, which begins
with music in the Bible, moves on to liturgical and folk selec-
tions of the Diaspora and goes into music of the synagogue,
Yiddish and concert stages, and popular culture in America
and Israel. She also will explain the accompanying recording
that has excerpts from what is discussed in the text.
"Readers don't have to know anything about music to
understand what I cover," says Edelman, professor of music
and education at Gratz College in Melrose Park, Pa. "This
book is a product of all my years of study and teaching, and I
on page 64
thank.
riousvocal and instr p,
va
fr om
these experienC‘
The range of
L peOple in the
Sepharad to eonard Bernstein
"I've really been teaching this
Edelman, who received her doctO\P'
ed ucation from Columbia Univer
coordinator
or of the Jewish Mu id,
for the Advancement of Jewish si E
working on the book' or Oars
Marsha 6:141. ; Fkimaii
10/31
2003
63