I was curious about how the show came about and especially about Ari’s and Maya’s creative contributions. The Gimbels and Cherlin-Baird graciously spent some time with me on zoom and told me all about their process. [Sandi Masori]
A Hanukkah Musical Composed and Performed by Jewish Youth Read More »
Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Sandi Masori, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
Collaborations with Tara Kemp and Niki Haris arrived not through strategy, but alignment. In Jewish mysticism, souls recognize each other across lifetimes. These partnerships feel like that. Voices that carry history, strength, and survival. Together, they are not chasing relevance. They are restoring lineage. [Michael Adam Cohen]
The Perry Twins: Rhythm, Resonance, and the Revolution of Joy Read More »
California, Jewish Religion, Michael Adam Cohen, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Opinion, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Officially, we don’t close the federal government for Christmas, which is a religious holiday. We close federal offices in celebration of December 25th [Donald H. Harrison]
Jewish Political Briefing: Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025 Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
There is a Hasidic teaching that every soul enters the world carrying its own melody, and the task of life is not to invent it, but to remember it. When Averginos speaks of music arriving beyond his conscious knowledge, of harmonies flowing through him that exceeded his formal training, he is describing this remembrance. The self does not lead. It relaxes. And something greater moves through. [Michael Adam Cohen]
Paul Avgerinos and the Gentle Art of Remembering: Listening for the Still, Small Sound Read More »
Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Michael Adam Cohen, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Yafa Yarkoni (December 24, 1925 – January 1, 2012) was an Israeli singer. She won the Israel Prize in 1998 for her contributions to Hebrew music. She was dubbed Israel’s “songstress of the wars” due to her frequent performances for Israel Defense Forces soldiers, especially in wartime. [Wikipedia]
Today’s Jewish Birthday: Yafa Yarkoni Read More »
Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Today's Jewish Birthday, Wikipedia
As we made it past the Franklin Mountains above the University of Texas at El Paso, there was an illuminated star on the mountainside. I don’t remember the star having been lit as blue prior to this occasion. [Cailin Acosta]
El Paso Lights Up Ceremonial Star in Celebration of Hanukkah Read More »
Cailin Acosta, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food, USA
There is one Chanukah song by a New York rock band, the LeeVees, which somehow manages to work what unexpected words into the lyrics? [Mark D. Zimmerman]
Jewish Trivia Quiz: Chanukah Songs Read More »
Jewish Religion, Mark D. Zimmerman, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Trivia, Humor & Satire
Comprised of the more advanced seventh- and eighth-grade musicians, the orchestra performed a medley titled “Chanukah Holiday,” weaving together the “Dreidel Song,” “Tum Balalaika”, and “O Chanukah.” [Cailin Acosta]
La Mesa Arts Academy Concert Features a Chanukah Medley Read More »
Cailin Acosta, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Michael Tilson Thomas (December 21, 1944) is an American conductor, pianist, and composer. He is Artistic Director Laureate of the New World Symphony, an American orchestral academy in Miami Beach, Florida, Music Director Laureate of the San Francisco Symphony, and Conductor Laureate of the London Symphony Orchestra. [Wikipedia]
Today’s Jewish Birthday: Michael Tilson Thomas Read More »
Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Today's Jewish Birthday, Wikipedia
Actor/ Director Rob Reiner. 78, and his wife, photographer Michele Singer Reiner, 68, were stabbed to death on Sunday in their Brentwood, California home. Police booked his son Nick Reiner, 32, on suspicion of murder. Nick, who has struggled with drug addiction, was held without the possibility of bail. [Donald H. Harrison]
Jewish Political Briefing: Monday, Dec. 15, 2025 Read More »
Antisemitism, California, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Celebrities, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, Sports & Competitions, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
As I walked in through the entrance near Five Guys Burgers and Fries, I was greeted by a delightful surprise: a Chanukah display set up at the main intersection, right beside the Five Below store. A representative was carefully adding the finishing touches as I passed by. [Cailin Acosta]
Our Shtetl: Chanukah Display at Parkway Plaza Read More »
Cailin Acosta, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food
Entertainers Barbra Streisand, Billy Crystal, Rob Reiner, Debra Messing, Jason Alexander, Julianna Margulies, Mayim Bialik, Steve Guttenberg, Adam Arkin, Shulem Lemmer, Tovah Feldshuh, Barry Manilow, and CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer will participate. [Donald H. Harrison]
Jewish Political Briefing: Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025 Read More »
California, Donald H. Harrison, Holocaust, International, Jewish Celebrities, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, News Media, Press Release, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
Felix Nussbaum (December 11, 1904 – September 20, 1944) was a German-Jewish surrealist painter. Nussbaum’s paintings, including Self Portrait with Jewish Identity Card (1943) and Triumph of Death (1944), explore his experiences as a Jew during the Holocaust. [Wikipedia]
Today’s Jewish Birthday: Felix Nussbaum Read More »
Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Today's Jewish Birthday, Wikipedia
It was difficult to select the 2 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 18, program for Treasures of the Jewish Music Collection: Great Jewish Pianists, because there are so many of them. [Eileen Wingard]
So Many Great Jewish Pianists to Choose From Read More »
Eileen Wingard, Holocaust, International, Israel, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA