15 December 2009

A concert and panel discussion curated by Samuel R. Thomas as part of the annual Sephardic Music Festival – Sephardic Scholar Series.

Presented in collaboration with the American Sephardi Federation and Yeshiva University Museum. Co-sponsorsed by the Foundation for Iberian Music, the Institute for Sephardic Studies, AsefaMusic and Shemspeed.

Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th Street, NYC
Tuesday, December 15, 2009, 6:30pm
General Admission: $15/ $12 for ASF & YUMuseum members and students
Ticket includes both performances, panel discussion with the artists, entrance to Yeshiva University Museum and viewing the current ASF exhibit, The Jews of Spain.

Tickets @ www.smarttix.com; or 212.868.4444.
For more info: 212.294.8350 x2 or visit: www.americansephardifederation.org | www.sephardicmusicfestival.com

Aviva is a dynamic up-and-coming mezzo-soprano. Her debut album Songs For Carmen is sung in Ladino, a form of ancient Spanish spoken by the Jewish people of Spain. A fusion of Flamenco, Classical, Electronic, and Arabic music, Songs For Carmen, is inspired by the mythical Sephardic woman, made famous by George Bizet’s internationally acclaimed opera, Carmen.

Dan Nadel is a guitarist and composer whose style combines jazz, flamenco, and other influences. He is in-demand in New York’s music scene, both as a bandleader and as accompanist to some of its finest talent. Released in 2005, Dan Nadel’s debut album, Brooklyn Prayer, is a rich, introspective recording that explores the subtler cultures of New York’s most diverse borough. It received critical acclaim worldwide, and features some of the city’s brightest musical voices. His performance schedule includes concerts with his trio, AGADA, his collaborative duo project with opera singer Audrey (Aviva) Babcock, and shows with jazz vocalist Gabrielle Stravelli.

Samuel R. Thomas is a woodwindist/composer and bandleader of Asefa. His academic work centers on Sephardic studies, diaspora studies, musical traditions of the Middle East and North Africa, Jewish music research, jazz and popular musics of the non-Western world. Thomas is executive director of AsefaMusic, a non-profit organization dedicated to applied ethnomusicology as a means for cultural awareness and exchange.