AUGUST 19 • 2021 | 49

ACADEMIC SIDE
Although Dardashti start-
ed as a voice major at the 
University of Maryland, 
College Park, she decided 
to pursue a doctoral degree 
that would allow her to 
study music in a different 
context. 
“I could be the nerd 
that I am, get deep into 
research and continue my 
musical interests and stud-
ies,” explained Dardashti, 
married to a lawyer and the 
mother of two sons, ages 13 
and 10. 
“I was a graduate student 
at the University of Texas at 
Austin when I met a bunch 
of musicians who started 
Divahn, and I got more 
deeply into Middle Eastern 
music. The plan was to 
pursue an academic career 
with music on the side, 
but the music took over a 
little bit. I would go back 
and forth between being a 
musician and being an aca-
demic.”
After moving to New 
York, Dardashti served as 
an associate professor of 
Jewish music at the Jewish 
Theological Seminary and 
was the recipient of musical 
grants. One was for a proj-
ect called “The Naming,” 
which featured songs that 
represented women in the 
Middle East.
“In all of my work, the 
unifying strand is broad-
ening the concept of 
Jewishness, Jewish music 
and Jewish practice,” 
Dardashti said in echoing 
the intent of Global Voices. 
“North America is predom-
inantly Ashkenazi in Jewish 
practice, so people’s under-
standing of Judaism is very 
Western. An important goal 
in the public work I do is 
to broaden people’s under-
standing of what Jewishness 
sounds like.” 

Details 
Global Voices Weekend runs 
Friday-Saturday, Aug. 27-28, on 
the grounds of Temple Beth El 
in Bloomfield Township, where 
there will be a tent. Except for a 
possible catered lunch ($12) for 
the Saturday program, the events 
— 7 p.m. Friday, 1 and 7 p.m. 
Saturday — are free and open 
to the community. They also will 
be livestreamed. To order lunch, 
RSVP to nfortier@comcast.net. 
To stream, go to tbelive.org. 
(248) 851-1100. tbeonline.org.

Galeet Dardashti

COURTESY OF GALEET DARDASHTI