Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Singing Ernest Bloch’s sacred songs was a thrill

By Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel ENCINITAS, California — In the early 1930 s, visionary Cantor Reuven Rinder of San Francisco ‘s Temple Emanuel raised $ 10,000 to commission the world acclaimed composer, Ernest Bloch to write a setting with the Reform Jewish Sabbath Morning Prayer book of the `1930s. Bloch was already an acclaimed composer […]

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Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel, z"l, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, USA

An amateur competition for the love of music

By Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel LA JOLLA, California — The public was treated to a free weekend of brilliant piano music that started on Friday morning, July 12th at the beautiful new Conrad Preys Concert Hall in La Jolla. Piano music  including the works of Bach, Debussy, Mozart, Paderewski, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Liszt, Schubert and many

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Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel, z"l, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County

La Jolla Music Society sets innovative programs

By Eileen Wingard LA JOLLA, California — It must have been a challenging task for the La Jolla Music Society to find a successor for Summerfest’s former director, violinist Cho-Liang Lin. Taiwanese-born Lin was not only a brilliant violinist with a successful career as a performer, but he proved himself to be a gifted administrator

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Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County

Comic- Con may change, but fans still seek advice

By Shor M. Masori SAN DIEGO — Comic-Con has exploded into a place where pop culture fandoms blend, creating an almost amusement-park atmosphere encompassing everything from the biggest Internet Providers to the smallest fledgling writers and artists. But one thing has remained consistent throughout the convention’s 50 meetings over the last 49 years: the inspiration

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Shor M. Masori

LJFCC’s extensive music collection available for loan

By Eileen Wingard LA JOLLA, California — Books, sheet music, phonograph records and CDs are all part of the Jewish music collection of the Astor Judaica Library at the Lawrence Family JCC.  After long years of sorting and cataloguing, Ted Parker and I have completed the task of organizing this wonderful collection, now available to

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Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County

AICF to give awards to Israel’s most talented artists

NEW YORK (Press Release) – In celebration of its 80th anniversary, the America-Israel Cultural Foundation (AICF) on Wednesday announced the inaugural Israeli Culture & Arts Awards (ICA Awards) to honor the most exceptional Israeli artists in design, theater, music, art, dance, and television/film. The luminous awards ceremony will be held in concert with the foundation’s

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Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel’s shares his songs

SAN DIEGO — Here is a collection of songs recorded by Cantor Sheldon Merel during his tenure as cantor at Congregation Beth Israel.  Click on any title to hear Cantor Merel’s recorded rendition.  In some cases, the songs are accompanied by an explanatory article indicated by a date alongside. Adon Olam Adon Olam, Jazz Version

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Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel, z"l, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County

Classical trio to perform at College Avenue Center

SAN DIEGO (SDJW) — Pianist Monique Kunewalder, Oboist Lerina Chmura and Violinist Eileen Wingard will present a free program at  Jewish Family Service’s  College Avenue Center, which meets at Temple Emanu-El, 6299 Capril Drive, at 12:45 p.m. Friday,  July 5. The trio will perform works for various combinations of their instruments by Bach, Schubert, Ibert,

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County

Radzynski excels in La Jolla violin recital

By Eileen Wingard LA JOLLA, California — David Radzynski, concertmaster of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, gave an engaging recital Tuesday evening, June 17, in the sanctuary of Congregation Beth El, under the auspices of Mainly Mozart and the American Friends of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Collaborating at the piano was the Los Angeles-based pianist, Mark

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Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Radzynski recital set for June 18 at Beth El

By Eileen Wingard LA JOLLA, California — David Radzynski became the youngest concertmaster of a major symphony orchestra when, in 2015, the 28-year-old violinist was selected to fill that post in the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO). Up until then, Radzynski had never played in a professional orchestra, but his formidable talents, honed in the United

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Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego Calendar

Cell phones cause whingeing at concert venues

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — One of the Facebook groups I belong to is called ‘Brits Whingeing in Israel’ (motto: ‘Lose some, whinge some’), having split off from ‘Brits Laughing in Israel,’ which in turn split off from ‘Brits Living in Israel.’ The politics behind the various groups and sub-groups is not clear

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Biblical Exodus inspires ‘Journey to Freedom’ oratorio

By Eileen Wingard ALISO VIEJO, California — The manuscript of Journey to Freedom languished for decades at the bottom of a pile of Dr. Bernard “Barney” Gilmore’s scores. It was not until after UC Irvine Music Faculty Professor Gilmore’s death, that his wife, while organizing his music for the archives at the UC Irvine Library,

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Eileen Wingard, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA