2025.06.01 | Songs & Stories of Hope Program

PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY OF ORANGE COUNTY AND SOKA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER PRESENT

SONGS & STORIES OF HOPE

A FREE FAMILY CONCERT Sunday, June 1, 2025 | 11:00am Soka Performing Arts Center

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

PROGRAM & ARTISTS

As part of the Philharmonic Society’s presentation of Violins of Hope, this high-energy performance by Mostly Kosher and JAC Trio brings Klezmer music to life—blending centuries-old Jewish folk traditions with a modern flair. Perfect for kids ages 5-12, this 45-minute interactive concert will have the whole family clapping, dancing, and discovering music that tells stories of resilience, hope, and celebration.

Program will be announced from the stage All dates, times, artists, programs and prices are subject to change.

Photographing or recording this performance without permission is prohibited.

Kindly disable pagers, cellular phones and other audible devices.

MOSTLY KOSHER “Mostly Kosher is klezmer music to heal the soul!” - LA Weekly Mostly Kosher, the Los Angeles-based Klezmer/Rock band, radically reconstructs Judaic and American cultural music through ravenous klezmer beats and arresting Yiddish refrains. The acclaimed ensemble is a musical feast that explodes into a global food-fight of Jazz, Latin, Rock, and Folk. In response to the poetry and folk music of Judaic roots, their original voice resounds with themes of social justice, human dignity, and mutual understanding. Led by front man Leeav Sofer, one of Jewish Journal’s “30 under 30” most accomplished professionals in the Southern California Jewish diaspora, Mostly Kosher is comprised of some of the highest regarded Los Angeles musicians: violinist Janice Mautner Markham, drummer Eric Hagstrom, bassist Adam Levy, guitarist Nadav Peled and Ben Tevik on clarinet and sax, and keyboardist/vocalist Stephanie Meyers.

Mostly Kosher is a fixture at renowned California stages such as the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, Skirball Cultural Center, Torrance Center for the Arts, and Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center.

They have also graced the stage of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion for a live television broadcast to over half a million viewers in 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023.

The ensemble has headlined multiple summer festivals including the Silicon Valley Jewish Music Festival, Claremont Folk Festival and The Ashkenaz Festival in Toronto. Mostly Kosher had the honor of being the first Jewish music ensemble at the Disney parks with 2024 marking their 8th season performing during the 2-month long Festival of Holidays; and the band was credited for “stealing the Festival of Holidays Show” by the acclaimed Fresh Baked Disney podcast.

For the 2017 holiday season, Mostly Kosher added Epcot Center in Florida to their list of venues, becoming Disney’s first Jewish cultural ensemble with a holiday season performance schedule on both coasts.

Staying true to giving back to the community, Mostly Kosher is proud to be teaching artists for Urban Voices Project, performing and educating in underserved areas throughout Southern California.

Venues include prisons, community clinics and shelters serving men 2

and women suffering from homelessness. MK is also a mentor ensemble to the Jewish Youth Orchestra, a project of the Jewish Federation of San Gabriel Valley, offering performance opportunities and ongoing workshops for middle school and high school musicians.

The band’s self-titled debut album has won international acclaim by World Music Network, Songlines Magazine, and BBC Radio. The first track, Ikh Hob Dikh Tsufil Lib (I Love You Much Too Much), was recognized as one of World Music Network’s Top 6 Songs of 2014.

Mostly Kosher’s music videos have been garnering accolades on the film festival circuit, receiving two nominations at the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema and Best Music Video at the Glendale International Film Festival. 2021 marked the indie film debut of Mostly Kosher, as they are featured in the wedding scene of the feature film, The Accursed, starring Izabela Vidovic and Melora Walters. Mostly Kosher’s latest music video for “Vitebsk,” debuting at the Skirball Puppet Festival, has been featured at numerous film festivals throughout the USA, including the Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival November, 2024, and the Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival in February, 2025.

In 2022 Mostly Kosher was honored to be included in the flagship series, “Secret Chord,” a live concert taping sponsored by the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, and the Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. Mostly Kosher is in full swing with their 2024/2025 season with a schedule of concerts from Northern California to Midwest and East Coast Tours before returning home to their Disneyland residency. Tour venues and Festivals have included the Des Moines Center for Performing Arts, San Jose Jazz, Holland Michigan International Festival and Ferguson Center in Newport News, Virginia. 2024 wrapped up with a double bill with the Grammy-winning klezmer icons, The Klezmatics, at the Carpenter Center in Long Beach, California. This performance coincided with the release of their version of Woody Guthrie’s “Hanuka Dance,” featured on a new Hanukkah album from the Klezmatics. Mostly Kosher’s 2025/2026 season is already looking bright with a return to Palo Alto, CA, their debut at the Soka Performing Arts Center, and upcoming performances in Texas and the East Coast. The band is currently working on their much-anticipated Hanukkah album—stay tuned for more info!

ABOUT THE ARTISTS THE JAC TRIO JAC Trio is a virtuosic chamber group featuring violist Jennifer Wu, cellist Circe Díaz Gomero, and violinist Janice Mautner Markham. The trio is inspired by the juxtaposition of high energy syncopation and dark melancholy modes, joining forces to record and perform global music from every era. The JAC Trio is inspired by their diverse audiences and strives to bring a unique palate of their own experiences to the music.

Furthering their connections to community, the trio has performed for the Café Europa Holocaust survivors group and is developing new outreach programs for K-12 students.

A first for the trio in 2025 was a partnership with vocalist and multiinstrumentalist Leeav Sofer, the leader of the Klezmer-Rock ensemble, Mostly Kosher, for Disney’s Food and Wine Festival. The JAC Trio is looking ahead to upcoming projects featuring new compositions and innovative videos in the coming season, including a collaboration performance with Mostly Kosher at Soka Performing Arts Center for the Violins of Hope exhibition and event series in June 2025.

PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY OF ORANGE COUNTY Founded in 1954 as Orange County’s first music organization, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County presents national and international performances of the highest quality and provides dynamic and innovative music education programs for individuals of all ages to enhance the lives of Orange County audiences through music.

Since its inception, the Philharmonic Society has evolved and grown with the county’s changing landscape, presenting artists and orchestras who set the standard for artistic achievement from Itzhak Perlman, Gustavo Dudamel, Yo-Yo Ma, and Renée Fleming to the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and many others. In addition, the Philharmonic Society celebrates multi-disciplinary performances under its Eclectic Orange brand and embraces music from a wide range of countries with its World Music performances. Its celebrated concerts introduce children to classical music with creative and inspiring performances, instilling music appreciation for future generations.

master acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota, designer of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and Suntory Hall in Tokyo, among many others. We also have an intimate 350-seat Black Box Theatre that allows for multiple seating configurations including club seating with bistro tables.

More than 800 performances have taken place since the center’s dedication on May 27, 2011. The 2024-25 season marks our thirteenth season presenting first-class programming in our worldclass concert hall. We are continuing to expand our programming and outreach with the addition of a Children’s Concert Series, Blues Festival, and the only Great Pianists Series on the West Coast.

From classical and jazz to world and contemporary music, the Soka Performing Arts Center has become a prized space for artists and audiences alike.

We are proud to be the home of the Pacific Symphony Chamber Orchestra. Our Sundays @ Soka Series with Pacific Symphony continues to be one of our most popular series year after year.

Our presentations with other Orange County arts organizations have enabled us to reach further into our community to offer arts education and programming. Our partnership with the Philharmonic Society of Orange County includes our Philharmonic Society Series, which brings superlative artists to our stage. We also partner with Philharmonic Society for our Outreach Program, bringing over 7,000 school children to Soka Performing Arts Center to experience live performances with outstanding musicians.

With its world-class acoustics and first-class performances, Soka Performing Arts Center is one of the finest cultural jewels of Orange County.

The Philharmonic Society’s nationally recognized Youth Music Education Programs, offered free of charge, have engaged nearly seven million students through curriculum-based music education programs that aim to inspire, expand imaginations, and encourage learning at all levels. These programs are made possible by the Committees of the Philharmonic Society comprised of 500 volunteer members who provide more than 90,000 hours of in-kind service each year. As a key youth program, the exceptional Orange County Youth Symphony and String Ensemble provide top-tier training to the area’s most talented young musicians through multi-level ensemble instruction, leadership training, touring opportunities, challenging professional repertoire, and performances in world-class venues. The Philharmonic Society also promotes life-long learning by connecting with colleges and universities to conduct masterclasses and workshops and providing pre-concert lectures to introduce audiences to program selections.

SOKA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER Soka Performing Arts Center is located on the beautiful hilltop campus of Soka University of America in Aliso Viejo. Our facility includes the 1,032-seat Concert Hall featuring world-class acoustics designed by 3

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