ENCINITAS, California (Press Release) – Music, in some form or another, is one of few true culture universals. Granted, the preferred music of one country may not be the darling of another, but given the many shared interests between Israelis and Americans, it shouldn’t be too surprising that our penchant for country, bluegrass and old-time music has a huge following in Israel. Encinitas resident, Avery Ellisman, an accomplished fiddler and mandolin player in his own right, lived and worked in Israel from 1991 to 2001, and knows first-hand the love Israelis have for many genres of music.
In 2011, Ellisman created and produced the first Julian Family Fiddle Camp, an acoustic “roots” music camp for acoustic string instruments (i.e., fiddle, guitar, mandolin, banjo & upright bass). In but a few short years, the Julian camp not only attracted many folks from the region, but people of all ages from a variety of other states and countries. Knowing how much Israelis love American “roots” music, as well as the prohibitive cost of traveling from Israel to the United States, Ellisman joined forces with the Encinitas-based Leichtag Foundation to start “Gesher Katan” (“Small Bridge” in Hebrew), a pilot project to solicit applications and fund part of the cost for a couple of Israelis to participate in the April 9 – 13 Julian Family Fiddle Camp.
“There are many joint Israeli-American programs and projects, with most focusing on business, religion, politics or scientific developments,” says Ellisman. “Gesher Katan is as unique as it is simple, for it uses the common interest of learning and playing of American old-time and bluegrass tunes as a means for building lasting friendships between people from many different areas.” Leichtag Foundation’s Executive Vice President, Charlene Seidle, concurred, “The Leichtag Foundation seeks to promote strong connections, partnerships and exchange between Israel and San Diego. We share so much in common. Building relationships based on shared interests strengthens us all. We are proud to support Israeli musicians at the Julian Family Fiddle Camp.”
Ellisman notes that, once word of the project was spread in Israel, he immediately received over a dozen applications from Israelis wanting to participate in the Gesher Katan. “Given their clear interest in the kind of music taught at the Camp, and the fact that the camp in Julian encourages family participation, we thought it most fitting that a father and son applying from their home in Kfar Saba be our first participants.” Ellisman adds that there are public concerts produced in association with the Camp. “The Camp’s evening concerts provide opportunity for Camp attendees and the public to see and hear performances by each our world-class instructors. In fact, the father coming from Israel is also a performing musician, so I expect we’ll get him on stage to add some special ‘schmaltz’ to one of our evening’s concerts.”
For additional information about the Julian Family Fiddle Camp, the Gesher Katan Project, or the Camp’s evening concerts, visit familyfiddlecamp.com, or contact Avery Ellisman at (760) 522-8458.
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Preceding provided by the Julian Fiddle Camp.
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