Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

‘Fresh Air’ Art in Borrego Springs

  By Mimi Pollack BORREGO SPRINGS, California — “Plein Air” means fresh air –think outdoors- in French and many painters feel inspired when working outdoors in natural light surrounded by the splendors of nature. The Borrego Art Institute currently has an exhibit called, “Borrego Art Institute 12th Annual Plein Air Invitational.” This exhibit, which runs […]

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Mimi Pollack, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Travel and Food

Regev recital elucidates Beethoven

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson EIN KEREM, Israel — When Ron Regev strides onto the stage to talk about the Beethoven piano sonatas he is about to play, the audience is immediately captivated by his youthful bearing, informal way of talking and encyclopaedic knowledge of his subject. Setting the topic in its musical, historical and philosophical context, he

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

Cantor Merel’s life story now on video

By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO —  I suppose it’s not unusual for a cantor to be able to sing show tunes and operatic arias in addition to Hebrew prayer melodies.  But when the cantor still can hit the high notes at age 93, that’s truly remarkable. Cantor Sheldon Merel, the cantor emeritus of Congregation

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County

$11,000 in grants encourage arts in schools

SAN DIEGO (Press Release) – Fourteen teachers from the San Diego Unified School District have been awarded a combined $11,000 in grants to pursue artistic projects with their students thanks to the new non-profit VAPA (Visual and Performing Arts) Foundation. The newly established Foundation awarded teacher grants ranging from $500 to $2,500 during this inaugural

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Science, Medicine, & Education, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Poretzky electrifies with Habanera encore

By Eileen Wingard SAN DIEGO — Russian-born Susana Poretzky, an outstanding mezzo soprano, who sang in Israel for many years, was the soloist with the Tifereth Israel Community Orchestra (TICO) at its January 30 concert at Tifereth Israel Synagogue. I have heard Poretzky on several occasions and was thrilled by her rendition of Mahler’s Lieder Eines

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

Segal’s Holocaust exhibit is gateway to museum art

Editor’s Note:  This inaugurates a new series of stories where a Jewish writer searches out Jewish art in museums, galleries and libraries. (c) Oliver B. Pollak  SAN FRANCISCO –We joined San Francisco’s De Young Museum and the Legion of Honor. On Thursday between Christmas and New Year we spent an afternoon at the much applauded exhibited

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Oliver Pollak

For over 90 years, this Holocaust survivor’s art has kept him alive

When you step inside artist Kalman Aron’s modest apartment in Beverly Hills, a lifetime of creation surrounds you. The walls are covered in paintings and finished canvases are stacked on the floors, a dozen deep. The paintings range from portraits to landscapes to abstract works. They’re just a fraction of the roughly 2,000 pieces Aron

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International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, USA

Bravos for guest conductor, pianist at TICO concert

By Eileen Wingard SAN DIEGO — Robert Zelickman, professional clarinetist and retired UC San Diego Wind Ensemble Conductor, served as guest maestro for the  Nov. 12 and 14 concerts of the Tifereth Israel Community Orchestra (TICO). He substituted for TICO’s music director, David Amos, who had suffered an injured ankle in an accidental fall. The

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Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Saudi Arabia Allows First Public Concert by a Woman

Lebanese singer Hiba Tawaji made history by becoming the first female musician to perform a public concert in Saudi Arabia. Thousands of young women attended the sold-out event on Wednesday, stripping off their abayas—the floor-length robes women in Saudi Arabia are obligated to wear in public—shaking out their hair and dancing to covers of songs

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Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Saudi crown prince bought $450 mn Da Vinci: report

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is the actual buyer of a painting by Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci that sold for a record-breaking $450 million at auction last month, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The young and dynamic crown prince, known by his initials MBS, used an intermediary to buy the much-sought-after painting

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International, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

The arts mean opportunity, former Klezmer musician Merryl Goldberg teaches at Cal State San Marcos

By Donald H. Harrison SAN MARCOS, California – Arts professor Merryl Goldberg of California State University at San Marcos declares that arts equal opportunity. She explains that the more that arts are incorporated into a child’s life, the better career prospects he or she will have as an adult. A former saxophonist with the Klezmer

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County