Maxwell Street,Trio Mizan, Highland Park, IL, Mar 13
"Music From the Tent of Abraham"
Unique Program Unites Jews and Arabs
Maxwell Street Klezmer Band, Trio Mizan
Mar 13 2004
Saturday 8:00AM - 10:00PM Genesis at the Crossroads
Lakeside Congregation for Reform Judaism,
1221 Lake-Cook Rd., Highland Park
Concert -- $20 in advance; $25 at door.
Educational Program -- Free.
Ticket sales: 847.432.7950 Chicago, IL
www.gatc.org/Events/events1.htm
In a timely alliance, representatives from Arab and Jewish cultures will collaborate for a weekend of music and study when Lakeside Congregation for Reform Judaism hosts its annual Scholar-in-Residence weekend, March 12-14, 2004. The multi-dimensional program -- "Music From the Tent of Abraham" – will provide a unique opportunity for a Jewish congregation to welcome Arab musicians under its roof.
The program is sponsored by Lakeside Congregation, honoring Genesis at the Crossroads, a Chicago-based non-profit organization dedicated to bringing together Arab, Persian and Jewish communities through music and the arts. This weekend-long program includes:
* Saturday, March 13 – The Hamsa Concert, which includes the Arabic musical ensemble Trio Mizan playing together with a quartet from the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band. Trio Mizan specializes in classical music from Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia using Middle Eastern instruments such as the ‘ud and qanun. This Hamsa concert features Trio Mizan musicians Hicham Chami, Chicago Magazine’s "best exotic instrumentalist," alongside Yoel Ben-Simhon and Richard Jankowsky. The Maxwell Street Klezmer Band musicians perform a spirited style of music associated with Eastern European Jewish culture.
* Sunday, March 14 – An adult enrichment lecture led by ethnomusicologist and Fulbright Scholar Richard Jankowsky, entitled "Mutual Inflences; Arab and Jewish Music in North Africa."
Rabbi Isaac Serotta of Lakeside Congregation says, "This unique program helps us to see the similarities between Jews and Moslems, and opens doors to dialogue. In a world rife with destruction, I am pleased that Lakeside Congregation can join with Genesis at the Crossroads to be bonim -- builders of peace." Cantor Michael Davis adds, "A popular perception is that religion can create conflict between communities. This weekend will bring Jews and Arabs together to unify cultures through music and to celebrate our common heritage. The program offers a message of hope to the Jewish and Arab communities in Chicago and beyond."
"This event and other cross-cultural artistic collaborations can serve as catalysts for inter-ethnic dialogue and global understanding," says Wendy Sternberg, MD, founder and co-president of Genesis at the Crossroads.