Re: North Chicago Suburbs this Saturday Night: Music from the Tent of Abraham

[dchevan <dchevan...>]

To everyone in the Chicago area,
This program is going to be a worthwhile and powerful series.  While the 
Afro-Semitic Experience was in Chicago in January we were approached by Wendy 
Steinberg and had a chance to talk with her about the concert, the process that 
led to it and the activities they were planning.  I am very happy to hear that 
the Maxwell St. band is involved and I wish I lived a little closer as I would 
certainly be in attendance (I happen to have the night off) at this event.

Best of luck and  congrats in advance to everyone involved.

David
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: MaxwellSt (at) aol(dot)com 
  To: World music from a Jewish slant 
  Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2004 11:23 AM
  Subject: North Chicago Suburbs this Saturday Night: Music from the Tent of 
Abraham


  "Music From the Tent of Abraham"
  Unique Program Unites Jews and Arabs

  WHAT:   "Music From the Tent of Abraham"    
  WHEN:   Concert -- Saturday, March 13, 8:30 PM
          Educational Program -- Sunday, March 14, 10:15 AM
  WHERE:  Lakeside Congregation for Reform Judaism, 
          1221 Lake-Cook Rd., Highland Park
  COST:   Concert -- $20 in advance; $25 at door.
          Educational Program -- Free.
  PRE-REGISTER:     Call (847) 432-7950 

  HIGHLAND PARK, IL, Jan. 29, 2004... 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.