74 | SEPTEMBER 2 • 2021 

Another composition is 
“Triple Helix,
” a concerto for 
clarinet in three movements. It 
was commissioned by Carnegie 
Hall and Symphony Center 
Presents in Chicago.
The ensemble considers its 
attributes to include being very 
collaborative, open and free to 
create strong and memorable 
moments on stage. Tentet is a 
tongue-in-cheek title for the 
10 musicians. The appropriate 
name for a 10-piece ensemble 
would be dectet.

LIFELONG LOVE OF MUSIC
“I always knew I liked music,
” 
said Lev-Ari, who takes on inde-
pendent initiatives in composing 
and arranging and has worked 
on more than 1,000 projects for 
chamber and wind ensembles, 
big bands, orchestras and jazz 
combos. 
 “I grew up in a family where a 
career in the arts was not impos-
sible. My late father was an actor, 
so I knew I could have a family 
and be an artist. 
“I got serious about music 
when I went to high school. I 
didn’t need any prompting to 
practice, and I think that’s a sign 
that you can’t really do anything 
else. I spent my Israeli military 
service with the Israeli Defense 
Forces Orchestra.
”
While in the military for three 
years, he performed on piano 
and saxophone. Afterward, he 
earned a bachelor’s degree in 
jazz composition from the New 
England Conservatory of Music 
in Boston and decided to settle 
in New York because of the jazz 
opportunities.
With diverse interests, Lev-Ari 
established a record label, Anzic 
Records, with Anat Cohen, a 
friend since high school. The 
label releases their projects and 
the work of others. 

“The impetus to creating 
the label was to keep complete 
control and ownership over our 
music, which is both an artistic 
and a business goal,
” said Lev-
Ari, who occasionally performs 
for the congregation at B’nai 
Jeshurun in New York City. “I 
learned a lot about how business 
is operated and conducted, and 
that’s a net positive.
”
Another interest is studying 
the way music is perceived. He 
works with neuroscientist Beau 
Lotto, first paired in a perform-
ing arts program by presenter 
NationalSawdust+ in Brooklyn.
“The truth is the way we 
experience music has to do with 
environmental and biological 
aspects,
” Lev-Ari said. “One of 
the best examples is that musi-
cians know different halls of 
various sizes will have an effect 
on how fast or slow they play a 
piece. You tend to play a piece 
slower in a bigger hall where 
there’s a lot of reverberation.
”
While work slowed during the 
pandemic, Lev-Ari returned to 
piano performance digitally to 
accompany his wife, jazz singer 
Amy Cervini. The programs 
originated in their living room 
and may continue depending on 
how quickly they return to their 
usual commitments. 
Their favorite number was 
a version of “New York, New 
York,
” which they purposely did 
in a very different style from the 
upbeat approach made a hit by 
Frank Sinatra.
Two projects are moving Lev-
Ari away from the pandemic 
limitations. He is composing 
numbers for The Three Cohens 
— clarinetist and saxophonist 
Anat and her brothers, trum-
peter Avishai and soprano saxo-
phonist Yuval. He also is prepar-
ing a program for a German big 
band. 

continued from page 73

ARTS&LIFE
MUSIC

This new year as we dip apples in honey,
we refl
 ect with hope for sweetness
in the year to come.

Your generosity sweetens the experience
of Jewish students at MSU Hillel
and the Hillel Campus Alliance of Michigan

We wish our donors and friends
a year of good health, happiness and peace.

President Patrice Morris Phillips, The Board 
of Directors, Staff and Students of MSU Hillel 
and the Hillel Campus Alliance of Michigan

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