Music and Visual Arts

Stories about the Music Enhance Music Academy Concerts

In recent years Dr. Ron Regev, the head of the Academy’s piano department, has taken over at the head of the concerts, injecting his own personal touch of brilliance to the program. Apart from being a virtuoso pianist, Professor Regev is also an engaging and inspiring speaker, and to hear him talk about the music he and his colleagues are about to play is always enjoyable and uplifting. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Israel, Music and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Debbie Friedman’s Songs to be Celebrated at LFJCC Program

Debbie attended a Jewish summer camp where, at sixteen, on a borrowed instrument, she learned to play the guitar.  Several years later, she began to compose her own songs. She was influenced by the music of folk song luminaries such as Judy Collins, Bob Dylan, Peter, Paul and Mary, and Joan Baez. [Eileen Wingard

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Eileen Wingard, Music and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Rudolf Serkin

At the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Serkin instructed generations of pianists and served from 1968 to 1975 as the Institute’s director.  Busch and Serkin founded the Marlboro Music School and Festival in Marlboro, Vermont in 1951. Serkin made numerous classical music recordings on such labels as Columbia Masterworks, RCA Victor, Deutsche Grammophon and Terlac. [SDJW staff]

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International, Music and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Today's Jewish Birthday

US sculptor Richard Serra, known for towering minimalism, dies at 85

Published by AFP New York (AFP) – Contemporary American artist Richard Serra, known for his massive yet minimalist steel sculptures, died Tuesday at age 85, US media reported. His strikingly large pieces are installed all over the world, from Paris museums to the Qatari desert, and have sometimes sparked controversy over their imposing nature. Serra

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Music and Visual Arts, Nordot, USA

Today’s Jewish Birthday: William Shatner

Star Trek gained fame after it went into reruns, with fans of the show known as Trekkies organizing conventions at which they could meet like-minded enthusiasts, buy Star Trek merchandise, and meet members of the original cast.  This development, along with the box office success of George Lukas’ Star Wars in 1977, prompted Paramount Pictures to reunite the cast in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, released in 1979.  Five sequels followed, including one he directed: Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. [SDJW staff]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Music and Visual Arts, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food, USA

Larry Kornit: Cantor in Shul, Social Justice Advocate Outside

Four areas of interest have shaped the life of Cantor Larry Kornit of Congregation Beth Tikvah: Religion, music, politics, and sports. In addition to serving as a spiritual leader of what he described as his Conservative/ Reform/ Eclectic congregation, he also has volunteered as a member of the City of Oceanside’s nine-member Housing Commission.  The commission meets in the City Council chambers the fourth Tuesday of each month. [Donald H. Harrison]

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California, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, Music and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Scooter Braun Pledges $200k to Help Palestinians and Israelis in Honor of His Late Holocaust Survivor Grandmother

Published by OK Magazine (CA) Scooter Braun just wants to help others amid the Israel-Hamas war, which began in October 2023. “Ahead of the campaign launch for Care Together next week, Scooter Braun pledged $200,000 for both Palestine and Israel in memory of his late grandmother who was a Holocaust Survivor,” a representative for the

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Holocaust, Israel, Middle East, Music and Visual Arts, Nordot, Philanthropy, USA

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Neil Sedaka

More Sedaka hits followed in the 1960s, among them “Stairway to Heaven,” “Calendar Girl,” “Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen,” “Breaking Up is Hard to Do,” and “Next Door to an Angel.” In addition to his own songs, Sedaka and Greenfield wrote songs for other performers including Connie Francis, and Jimmy Clanton. Sedaka’s piano work is heard in Bobby Darin’s “Dream Lover.” [SDJW staff]

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Music and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Today's Jewish Birthday, USA

R.I.P. Eric Carmen: Raspberries Frontman and ‘All by Myself’ Singer Dead at 74

Published by Q Magazine Singer-songwriter Eric Carmen, best known as the frontman for power pop band the Raspberries, as well as the singer of the 1975 hit “All by Myself,” died over the past weekend, his family revealed on March 11. He was 74 years old. Carmen’s family shared the news on the singer’s website,

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Jewish Celebrities, Music and Visual Arts, Nordot, Obituaries & memorials, USA

OpEd: Vandals who attack our heritage must be prepared to face the consequences

Published by City AM By Bella Wallersteiner Defacing a portrait of a former Prime Minister, as pro-Palestine activists did last week, is an attack on democracy itself, argues Bella Wallersteiner When a protestor drenched a portrait of former Prime Minister Lord Balfour in red paint and slashed it to pieces she didn’t just attack a

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International, Israel, Jewish History, Music and Visual Arts, Nordot

‘Oppenheimer’ sweeps up at Oscars

Published by AFP Hollywood (United States) (AFP) – “Oppenheimer” swept the board on Sunday at the Oscars, Hollywood’s biggest night of the year, with seven awards including best picture and best director, crowning a triumphant year for filmmaker Christopher Nolan. Nolan’s masterful drama about the father of the atomic bomb, half of last summer’s massive

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California, Holocaust, International, Israel, Music and Visual Arts, Nordot, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Walter Benjamin’s ‘Little History of Photography’

Benjamin, however, was critical of such commercial photographic studios, noting with derision their paraphernalia and ‘props’ intended to enhance the impact of the image or portrait. In the exhibition an enlarged photo of young Franz Kafka illustrates this concept, with the serious young boy holding a stick and a large black hat, surrounded by heavy, dark furniture emphasizing the gravity of the situation. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Israel, Music and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors