Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Michael Tilson Thomas and the Yiddish Theater: A Firsthand View

The extraordinary Michael Tilson Thomas (1944–2026), known to his public and colleagues alike as MTT, succumbed in April to an aggressive brain cancer. Conductor, pianist, composer and educator, he was a musicians’ musician, one of dazzling brilliance who was somehow still performing — conducting Mahler symphonies, no less — well beyond anyone’s expectation of what was possible with the grim prognosis he faced. [Ronald Robboy]

Michael Tilson Thomas and the Yiddish Theater: A Firsthand View Read More »

Jewish History, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

JCC presents June 4 musical program in honor of Jerusalem

I will be hosting the program and my guest will be Jerusalem-born Sari Esserman, who will introduce several of the songs and tell us about her early life in the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood. Currently a resident of La Jolla, Sari is a respected artist, working in pottery and producing vibrant paintings in oils and pastels. [Eileen Wingard]

JCC presents June 4 musical program in honor of Jerusalem Read More »

Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel, z"l, Eileen Wingard, Israel, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Enjoy ‘The Sound of Music,’ but please don’t break out in song

If you are one of the people, like my son, who has never seen either the 1965 movie starring Julie Andrews or the play, which has long been a high-school musical favorite, here’s a quick run-down. [Sandi Masori]

Enjoy ‘The Sound of Music,’ but please don’t break out in song Read More »

International, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Sandi Masori, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food

Jewish American Heritage Month nears conclusion

Jewish Heritage Month is ending in a few days. I was pleased to see a display on my way out of an event at La Mesa Arts Academy honoring famous Jewish Americans. [Cailin Acosta]

Jewish American Heritage Month nears conclusion Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Cailin Acosta, Israel, Jewish Celebrities, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food, USA

Zina Schiff demonstrates her violin mastery in Alan Hovhaness CD

From the time Conductor Kostelanetz suggested Zina learn the Hovhaness Concerto and the release of this CD, she recorded 16 other CDs, all gaining critical praise. This Alan Hovhaness CD is also receiving a great deal of media acclaim. [Eileen Wingard]

Zina Schiff demonstrates her violin mastery in Alan Hovhaness CD Read More »

Eileen Wingard, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food

Afro-Peruvian folk music opens SDSO concert

The 37-year-old Lopez is the current composer-in-residence of the San Diego Symphony. This piece was commissioned in 2013 by fellow Peruvian native, Conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya, then Music Director of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and was dedicated to Harth-Bedoya, even embedding his initials into the entire work. [Eileen Wingard]

Afro-Peruvian folk music opens SDSO concert Read More »

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

An echo from the past

As I read the message the memory of the composer, Verdina Shlonsky, and her articles about French composers she had known in Paris, came flooding back. I recalled her as a kind, elderly lady who lived in a small apartment on the top floor of an old Tel Aviv building with virtually no furniture other than a piano and a couch. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

An echo from the past Read More »

Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Israel, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Technology

Seussical the Musical is ‘pleasure-ical’ but arts funding is not

The fun and spectacle of the show were tempered a bit by proprietors Erin and Gary Lewis’ announcement that due to their funding being cancelled by the City of San Diego as part of the sweeping cuts to the arts and culture budget, they need to raise $100,000 or the next show, Rock of Ages won’t be staged. [Sandi Masori]

Seussical the Musical is ‘pleasure-ical’ but arts funding is not Read More »

Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Sandi Masori, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast