Event at UCLA deliberates on the importance and influence of American Jewish tunes
In a celebration of music and culture, the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music and the UCLA Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies are presenting a two-day conference titled "American Culture and the Jewish Experience in Music." The event, taking place from November 5-6, will delve into the profound impact of Jewish identity and culture on American music.
The conference will be inaugurated with an evening concert at the Stephen S. Wise Temple in Bel Air on Sunday, November 5. The concert will feature the world premiere of "David's Quilt," an original, contemporary libretto performed by UCLA students and alumni. Funding for this concert is provided by the Lowell Milken Fund for American Jewish Music, the David and Irmgard Dobrow Fund, the Max Helfman Institute for New Jewish Music, and other generous donors.
The conference is also presented in collaboration with the Max Helfman Institute for New Jewish Music.
The conference will explore the influence of Jewish customs, values, and beliefs on American music and the growth of music for Jews in America. It will include performances and discussions that illustrate how American culture provided unprecedented opportunities for Jewish artists to thrive across musical genres.
Performances featuring traditional and modern Jewish music will demonstrate the vibrant musical expressions shaped by American Jewish experiences. Discussions and panels will delve into how Jewish music reflects broader themes such as memory, migration, identity negotiation, and cultural preservation within American society. Symposia will address sociological, anthropological, and aesthetic dimensions of Jewish music in the U.S., including how music fosters community cohesion and individual expression.
Cross-cultural influences will also be explored, as well as how Jewish musical traditions have adapted and contributed to American music at large.
Highlights of the symposium include a symposium devoted to the legendary composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold, panels delving into the legacy of "Fiddler on the Roof," scenes from musicals based on Jewish topics enacted by UCLA musical theater students, and a presentation and film screening of "100 years of The Jazz Singer."
The Lowell Milken Fund for American Jewish Music, inaugurated at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, funded by the Lowell Milken Family Foundation, enables the school to build on the work of the Milken Archive of Jewish Music.
Conference reservations are required and can be made by emailing [email protected] or calling (310) 267-5327. The full conference schedule can be viewed at this link.
The symposium portion of the conference will survey the enduring template that Jewish cultural expression has on compositions found in film, television, and cartoons.
[1] Source: [Link to source 1] [2] Source: [Link to source 2]
- This two-day conference on "American Culture and the Jewish Experience in Music" not only delves into the impact of Jewish identity on American music but also explores the growth of music for Jews in America, with a focus on education and self-development as seen in performances, discussions, and symposia.
- The symposium portion of the conference, with its focus on Jewish cultural expression in film, television, and cartoons, provides a fascinating exploration of how entertainment and music intersect and contribute to culture preservation within American society.
