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WA S H I N GTON M U S I C
FESTIVAL
JUNE 3–15, 2016
The Howard and Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation is the Major Sponsor of the Washington Jewish Music Festival
T I CK ETS PURCHASE TICKETS AT WJMF.ORG OR CALL 202.777.3241* DETAILS • Same Day Tickets are available for purchase 45 minutes before the event (subject to availability) • All events are General Admission • All ticket sales are final – no exchanges, no refunds. • Tickets and Passholders must check in no less than 15 minutes prior to the show start time to guarantee admittance • Ticket prices subject to service charges * Note that additional service charges are applied to all phone orders
PA S SES **
See every show for a fraction of the price!
General Public - $75 30 years and Under - $30 **Passes are non-transferable
V E N UES THE EDLAVITCH JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF WASHINGTON, DC Aaron & Cecile Goldman Theater
TROPICALIA 2001 14th Street, NW Washington, DC
1529 16th Street, NW
MARY PICKFORD THEATER
Washington, DC
Library of Congress, James Madison
MONTGOMERY COLLEGE CULTURAL ARTS CENTER 7995 Georgia Avenue Silver Spring, MD
Memorial Building, Third Floor 101 Independence Avenue, SE Washington, DC STEAD PARK 1625 P Street, NW Washington, DC
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Ca lenda r FRIDAY, JUNE 3 SHABBAT IN SONG (various times; all around DC)
SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 8:00PM
OPENING NIGHT:
YEMEN BLUES WITH RAVID KAHALANI Edlavitch JCC
SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 11:00AM–2:00PM WJMF DAY IN THE PARK featuring The Macaroons and The Brothers Yares Stead Park
SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 5:00PM HADAR NOIBERG TRIO
MONDAY, JUNE 6, 7:00PM NEW YORK ANDALUS ENSEMBLE Edlavitch JCC
MONDAY, JUNE 6, NOON Musical Soundscapes of Morocco: From Africa to America Mary Pickford Theater
TUESDAY, JUNE 7, 7:00PM EVERY WORD HAS POWER (film) followed by acoustic musical set from BASYA SCHECTER Edlavitch JCC
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 8:30PM GEULAH TRIO Tropicalia
THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 7:00PM
CENTERPIECE:
ZION80 Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center
SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 10:30PM GIRLS IN TROUBLE CURRICULUM: THE BOOK OF RUTH Edlavitch JCC
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 7:00PM
CLOSING NIGHT: EVENING OF EDUCATION ON ARAB CITIZENS OF ISRAEL FEATURING ARTOLERANCE Edlavitch JCC 1 7 TH WA S H I N G T O N J E W I S H M U S I C F E S T I VA L
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YEMEN BLUES WITH RAVID KAHALANI SPONSORED BY THE DWECK FAMILY
Fronted by acclaimed vocalist Ravid Kahalani, Yemen Blues mixes the music of Yemen and West Africa with funk, mambo, soul, and ancient chanting techniques. Calling on a rich and diverse instrumentation that employs percussion, oud, horns, and strings, their diverse influences explode on stage. The ensemble swings from the boisterous to the romantic and from joyous celebration to hearttugging balladry.
“Evokes New Orleans second-line bands, the mesmerizing and earthy sounds of West African stringed guimbri, and rocking Middle Eastern rhythms, all of which course together in a raucous party of a stage show.” – NPR
OPENING NIGHT SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 8:00PM EDLAVITCH JCC TICKETS: $30
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4TH ANNUAL WJMF IN THE PARK SPONSORED IN MEMORY OF ELONA SHAFFERT BY THE SHAFFERT/BRENNER FAMILY
Bring your whole family to the park for a day of free concerts, games, and fun! The Macaroons’ catchy pop-rock mixes with The Brothers Yares’ Middle Eastern-inflected folk and Americana
11:00AM–2:00PM STEAD PARK 1625 P ST, NW WASHINGTON, DC
sound. Ari Jacobson is our musical
FREE TO ATTEND! THIS EVENT IS
master of ceremonies, and there will be
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
face painting, games, and workshops throughout the day.
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SUNDAY, JUNE 5
Rain Location: Edlavitch JCC
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THE HADAR NOIBERG TRIO The Hadar Noiberg Trio seamlessly fuses jazz and world music styles. Known for its daring and unique use of flute, double bass, and drums, the trio crafts an eclectic mix of jazz improvisation and Western harmonies with Middle Eastern and North American rhythms.
Co-Sponsored by the Embassy of Israel
SUNDAY, JUNE 5 5:00PM EDLAVITCH JCC TICKETS: $20
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NEW YORK ANDALUS ENSEMBLE Under the direction of ethnomusicologist Dr. Samuel R. Torjman Thomas, the New York Andalus Ensemble plumbs the intercultural musical milieu of the great city of C贸rdoba, Spain with a multiethnic, multi-faith group that performs in Arabic, Hebrew, Spanish, and Ladino. Drawing upon repertoire from the ninth century to the 1960s, from al-Andalus and the Maghreb (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia), the ensemble consists of a choir and a wide array of traditional and modern acoustic instruments.
MONDAY, JUNE 6 7:00PM EDLAVITCH JCC TICKETS: $20
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F I LM A ND CO NCE RT:
EVERY WORD HAS POWER: The Poetry Of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel With Basya Schechter Every Word Has Power is an engaging concert film, shot at Lincoln Center, featuring musician Basya Schechter (of Pharaoh’s Daughter) adapting ten of Rabbi Heschel’s poems into song. Following the screening of the film, Basya Schecter will perform an acoustic set and participate in a Q&A.
TUESDAY, JUNE 7 7:00PM EDLAVITCH JCC TICKETS: $20
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CENTERPIECE EVENING
ZION80 Zion80 explores Jewish music — from Carlebach to Zorn and everything in between — through the lens of the Afrobeat funk master Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Led by Jon Madof (Rashanim, Matisyahu), the 9-piece band arranges Jewish melodies using the polyrhythmic intensity of Afrobeat, blended with the madness of the Downtown scene. Madof’s most ambitious project to date, Zion80 is blazing hot and tight as a drum. Spiritual, grooving, and endlessly
THURSDAY, JUNE 9
exciting, this is essential Jewish music
7:00PM
for the 21st century.
MONTGOMERY COLLEGE
“A truly soulful experience”
CULTURAL ARTS CENTER
— The New York Times
TICKETS: $30
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GEULAH TRIO This eclectic Trio is a new group led by guitarist Jon Madof of Zion80. Its members have worked with musicians spanning the spectrum of music from Yo-Yo Ma to John Zorn and Matisyahu. Geulah takes inspiration from Jewish music, rock, jazz, and beyond. In their first-ever public performance, they will be playing original music from Madof’s Rashamim repertoire and John Funded by the Arthur Tracy “The Street Singer” Endowment Fund. Honoring the memory of and musical legacy of Arthur Tracy—the renowned radio, stage and screen singer whose talents delighted millions around the world—the arts programs supported by this fund continue Tracy’s ability to entertain for years to come.
Photo by Pawel Mazur
Zorn’s Masada Songbook.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8 8:30PM TROPICALIA TICKETS: $10
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CLOSING NIGHT
EVENING OF EDUCATION ON ARAB CITIZENS OF ISRAEL Featuring Artolerance SPONSORED BY THE GREATER WASHINGTON FORUM ON ISRAELI ARAB ISSUES LEAD SUPPORT PROVIDED BY THE NAOMI AND NEHEMIAH COHEN FOUNDATION
Jewish-Israeli cellist Udi Bar David, Arab-Israeli violinist Hanna Khoury, and Venezuelan-Syrian percussionist Hafez Javier Kotain perform a special concert fusing sounds from throughout the Middle East and Israel. Following their performance, the musicians will engage in a moderated conversation about the role of the arts in building a shared society in Israel. Artolerance founder Udi Bar David has performed with Hanna Khoury in settings ranging from small Palestinian villages to major concert halls and IDF military bases. At the core of their work is the resolute belief that music can be a force for positive connection in a world too often polarized and divided by religious and social boundaries.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15 7:00PM EDLAVITCH JCC TICKETS: $30
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HIGH NOTES Educational and community-based programming
SHABBAT IN SONG
FRIDAY, JUNE 3 VARIOUS TIMES
Join local congregations for Shabbat in Song. This community-wide celebration of Shabbat and music highlights
ALL AROUND DC
musical services and events around Washington, DC. See WJMF.ORG for a full listing of participating congregations
MUSICAL SOUNDSCAPES OF MOROCCO: FROM AFRICA TO AMERICA Samuel Torjman Thomas, ethnomusicologist
MONDAY, JUNE 6
and artistic director of AsefaMusic and the New York Andalus Ensemble, explores the
12:00 PM
circulation of Moroccan music in America and
MARY PICKFORD THEATER,
the place of music in constructing modern
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Moroccan-American hybrid identities.
FREE TO ATTEND
GIRLS IN TROUBLE CURRICULUM: BOOK OF RUTH Delve into a musical exploration of the
SATURDAY, JUNE 11
Book of Ruth using a brand new curriculum
10:30 PM
by Alicia Jo Rabins’s indie-folk project, Girls in Trouble. This study session is lead by Sara Shalva, Director of Jewish Innovation
EDLAVITCH JCC TICKETS: $20
at the Edlavitch JCC. Presented as part of
After Dark: A Community-Wide Shavout Celebration.
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TICKETS AT WJMF.ORG OR CALL 202.777.3241 FRIENDS OF THE FESTIVAL FESTIVAL SPONSOR
The Howard and Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation CONCERT SPONSORSHIP
VIRTUOSO
Anne and Ronald Abramson
Rose and Robert Cohen
The Dweck Family
Linda and Sid Moskowitz Francine Zorn Trachtenberg and
CONDUCTOR
Stephen Joel Trachtenberg
The Embassy of Israel MUSICIAN MAESTRO
Mark Hunker and Jeff Shields Hunker
Melanie and Larry Nussdorf
Dina Gold Diane Abelman Wattenberg
COMPOSER
Rivka Yerushalmi
Janet B. Abrams Sara Cohen and Norman Rich
PROGIDY
Susan Wedlan and Harold Rosen
Debra Schwartz
Marshall Wolff
Alma and Sid Kaplan Lorraine Gallard and Richard Levy Debra Goldberg and Seth Waxman
MEDIA SPONSORS
Tressa Copple Administrative Coordinator
Alexis Rodriguez Outreach and Communications Manager
Kaitlin Whitman Administrative Manager
Ilya Tovbis Director
WJMF STAFF
Marshall Wolff
Allen Goldberg
Norm Rich, Co-Chair
Janet B. Abrams, Co-Chair
WJMF COUNCIL
Carole R. Zawatsky Chief Executive Officer
Stephen Kelin President
THE EDLAVITCH JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF WASHINGTON, DC
Edlavitch JCC 1529 16th Street, NW Washington, DC 20036