Fw: small community events

[Fay Singer <sarafay...>]

----- Original Message -----
From: Fay Singer <sarafay (at) mweb(dot)co(dot)za>
To: World music from a Jewish slant <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
Sent: Monday, October 18, 1999 8:54 PM
Subject: Re: small community events


> Re: Events within a small Jewish community
> From: Fay Singer sarafay (at) mweb(dot)co(dot)za
>
> In Cape Town, at the very tip of Africa, we also have a Jewish community
> which is unfortunately declining in numbers. It becomes more difficult for
> me each time I intend to promote a Jewish music event. Over the past ten
> years I have put on various successful concerts, lecture-series,
> performances of vocal music (Ashkenazi & Sephardic), klezmer, synagogue
> choirs, chazzanim, etc. but when I wish to bring in 'imported' artists it
is
> always a battle to find finance. I agree with Michel Borzykowski that one
> gains more from dealing with certain non-Jewish sponsors, than with one's
> own Jewish community. A case in point is that it took me about eight
months
> of hard work and negotiation to arrange a tour for the Leipzig
Synagogalchor
> to come to Cape Town in 1998. I had to battle against huge negativity from
> Cape Town Jewry about this project; and had to convince everyone that this
> tour would be a success. And it certainly was! Sponsorship was provided by
> the Deutsche Musikrat & help 'on-the-ground' came largely from the German
> consulate and commercial sponsors. I always try to work under the banner
of
> an existing organisation e.g. a womens'  Zionist group / or a communal
> organisation / which then helps with the tasks of selling tickets,
printing
> of programmes. This gives me freedom to handle all the music requirements
of
> the performers, their rehearsals, getting hold of the sheet-music (when
> necessary), and publicity through radio, local newspapers, both general
and
> in the Jewish press.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: borzykowski <borzykowski (at) infomaniak(dot)ch>
> To: World music from a Jewish slant <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
> Cc: JEWISH MUSIC LIST <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
> Sent: Sunday, October 17, 1999 9:59 PM
> Subject: Re: small community events
>
>
> >
> > ----- Message d'origine -----
> > Dear Helen,
> > I feel very concerned with your questions!
> > As I already told you in a previous email, I'm staff member of the AMJ
> > (Jewish Music Association) in Geneva and we have often to deal with
these
> > problems. A small community
> > (about 3000 jews among 600'000 inhabitants in Geneva) means a small
budget
> > and every time we organize a concert or a similar event, we are forced
to
> > spend much time writing letters and knocking at  doors to get the money
> > for... but till now, we've never got any sponsoring from the jews!
> > Paradoxically, we found more financial help among the official "goyim"
> > organizations (the Cultural Dept. of the City, the Public Schools Dept.,
> the
> > Swiss Lottery, etc.)
> >
> > Most of our public shows take place in goyim festivals, concert halls or
> > night-clubs!
> > As musicians, we would play "free" for jewish cultural or commemorative
> > events (like yom hashoah) but they often prefer a CD or invite christian
> musicians!
> >
> > Two other examples:
> > Last november, we concieved and elaborated a klezmer week-end with
> musicians
> > from Geneva and Bern  in a very marginal and alternative theater. It was
> > rather
> > strange but very intersting to see there a mixture of young  goyim (who
> were
> > familiar with the place but not with the music) and old jews  (who came
> > there for the first time to listen to the music)! We couldn't get any
> > financial help from any jewish bank nor community we asked for. We
printed
> > posters,
> > sended mailings, prepared jewish food and drinks and sold CD's at the
end
> > of the concert. It was a real success from the artists' and the
visitor's
> > point of view, but  we made no benefit nor had money loss.
> >
> > We recently invited for a concert Marcel Salomon (if klezmer
> > fans don't know this fabulous clarinet player, they must get one or many
> of
> > his CDs : First Klez, Klez Best, A Dreydl, The art of Trio, (on Syncoop)
&
> > Klezmer ) with
> > Wim Hamans. For the musician's fees, we got 1000 swiss francs from the
> > local cultural festival "La Fureur de Lire" but the entry had to be
free!
> We
> > could get  a
> > reduced price flight ticket for the musicians from the cultural service
of
> > the dutch embassy!
> > We put a hat at the outdoor,  that was the way we could make both ends
> meet.
> >
> > Another problem is that some other jewish associations sometimes
organize
> > parallel events without us: We experiences it twice recently :
> > We planed for next year a concert with catholic,
> > orthodox and jewish versions of psalms... and we casually discovered in
> the
> > next year's program of the"Ateliers d'Ethnomusicologie" (a cultural
ethnic
> > music association in Geneva)  that they took the wind out of our sails
> with
> > this idea.
> >
> > In the same state of mind, a jewish bank sponsored a "semi-private"
> concert
> > of Françoise Athlan in Geneva next week and nobody thought to associate
> the
> > AMJ, not even to inform our members.
> >
> > As you can see I'm rather undeceived about the help we can get from a
> small
> > community!
> > I hope you make more positive experiences.
> >
> > Shalom
> > Michel
> >
> > Michel Borzykowski
> > 12 chemin Franconis
> > CH-1290 Versoix
> > Switzerland
> > tel (+41/22) 755.41.23
> > fax (+41/22) 776.14.94
> > e-mail: borzykowski (at) infomaniak(dot)ch
> > homepages: http://www.infomaniak.ch/~borzykowski
> > &: http://homepage.iprolink.ch/~tengler/RojinkesMandeln
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>

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