THURSDAY *MEMBER SERIES
January 4, 11, 18, 25 & February 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
“There’s No Business like Show Business”
The Jewish Musical Tradition in America

12:30-1:30 PM PST/3:30--4:30 PM EST/22:30-23:30 Israel Time
Join us on this melodic exploration of a rich and diverse tradition that has not only reflected the Jewish-American experience but has also left an indelible mark on the nation's musical history. From the early Yiddish roots of Jewish immigrants to the groundbreaking compositions of Aaron Copland, the influence of Jews in the Jazz Revolution, and their role in shaping the landscape of Broadway and Rock & Roll, this series celebrates the enduring impact of Jewish musical traditions on American culture. With sessions dedicated to iconic figures like Irving Berlin, Leonard Bernstein, and Bob Dylan, as well as the transformative power of artists like Debbie Friedman, we explore how these artists navigated their Jewish identities within the evolving American musical tapestry.

Thursday January 4, 2024
Jewish Immigrants and Their Yiddish Musical Roots
I. What is Jewish Music?
II. Transplanting the Shtetl
III. Tomashevsky and the Jewish Hamlet
IV. The March of the Suffragettes

Thursday January 11, 2024
"The Loudest Voice:" Irving Berlin and the Gershwins
I. Becoming American
II. Yiddish in Blackface
III. Can Christmas Music be Jewish?

Thursday January 18, 2024
Aaron Copland: Out of the Melting Pot
I. Jewish, American, and European Roots
II. Ambivalent Memories: The Vitebsk Trio
III. Celebrating Lincoln

Thursday January 25, 2024
Jews and the Jazz Revolution
I. Jews and African-Americans
II. Jolson and The Jazz Singer
III. Jews playing Jazz

Tbursday February 1, 2024
Making Broadway Sing: Jews and Musical Theater
I. Yiddish Forbears: Child or Stepchild?
II. The Jewish Divas: Fanny Brice and Sophie Tucker
III. The Business of Broadway

Thursday February 8, 2024
Leonard Bernstein: A Genius Born of Multiple Musical Traditions
I. Bernstein and Jewish Boston
II. Fusing Musical Traditions
III. Jeremiah and the Kaddish: Jewish Symphonies?

Thursday February 15, 2024
Morris Levy, Motown, and the Birth of Rock & Roll
I. Childhood in Harlem
II. “Rock & Roll”
III. Bernie Essman – Motown in the Motor City

Thursday February 22, 2024
Jews and the Folk Music Revival
I. Re-Discovering Roots
II. Music as Activism
III. Robert Zimmerman/Bob Dylan's Dual Odyssey

Thursday February 29, 2024
American Nusach:
Debbie Friedman and the Great American Jewish Sing-along
I. Summer Camp and the New American Judaism
II. The Sacred and the Secular
III. Celebrating the New Jewish Woman