Arts & Entertainment
Se herdic
•
Divahn: Galeet
Dardashti, Amy
Sue Barston,
Lauren DeAlbert
and Lila Sklar.
s.:
777:•
Musical quartet makes Michigan debut
at Adat Shalom Synagogue.
Suzanne Chessler
I Special to the Jewish News
G
aleet Dardashti has two
ways of celebrating the
ancient past and bring-
ing it into the context of today.
The first involves public atten-
tion during stage appearances
as a member of Divahn, an all-
women quartet that presents tra-
ditional Middle East music with
contemporary arrangements.
The second places her behind
the scenes and has to do with
her academic work in anthropol-
ogy. She is a doctoral candidate
writing her dissertation on the
politics of Middle East music in
Israel.
Both approaches come into
play as she appears Friday-
Saturday, March 17-18, at Adat
Shalom Synagogue. She leads
Friday evening activities at
a Sephardic-style Kabbalat
Shabbat service and speaks
on "The Musical Poetry of
Sephardic Worship" after a family
dinner. The next day, she joins
her quartet for the Purim Party
Plus, a fund-raising event.
The events are all part of the
periodic SYNergy Shabbat pro-
grams at the synagogue.
Spin On Tradition
"Our music mixes Middle
Eastern, North African and
Sephardic music:' says Dardashti,
32, the group founder who sings
and plays the guitar. "We take our
name from a word that means
collection of songs or poetry and
is common to Hebrew, Persian
and Arabic. Our songs include
Hebrew, Ladino and Persian lyr-
ics."
Dardashti formed her group,
which has changed members,
as a student at the University of
Texas, where her doctorate wotk
is based. Divahn, started in 2001,
now includes Lila Sklar on violin
and vocals, Amy Sue Barston on
cello and Lauren DeAlbert on
percussions.
Before they began appearing at
Jewish venues, they found work
performing at small clubs.
.Dardashti's musical interests
represent a lineage that includes
other singers. Her grandfather,
Yona Dardashti, was a classical
Persian singer in Iran before
moving to Israel. Her father,
Hazzan Farid Dardashti, motivat-
ed his family to tour the United
States and Canada as group per-
formers.
Galeet Dardashti, who also
works part time as a cantor,
regularly lectures and holds
workshops on her musical style
and academic interests.
"We will be performing music
from two CDs," says Dardashti,
who earned her bachelor's degree
in English and Jewish studies
at the University of Maryland
and got her master's degree in
anthropology at the University
of Texas. "Our first recording,
named after the group, is tradi-
tional with innovative arrange-
ments. Our second CD, which is
not completed, has some original
music."
Shared Culture
Group members want the mix of
their program to give a sense of
shared culture. They also want
to capitalize on the talents of
individual members.
Sklar, who specializes in
Balkan and Middle East styles,
studied with Sherry Kloss, assis-
tant to Jascha Heifetz. She has
worked with members of Cirque
Du Soleil, Quarta Dolce Quartet
and Gypsy Caravan and has
appeared at the Bumpershoot
Festival, Britt Festivals and
Carmel World Musical Festival.
Barston, who earned her
master's degree and teaches at
Juilliard, has worked at Carnegie
Hall and Haan Hall in Jerusalem.
.
Sephardic Spin on page 46
March 16 s 2006
43