The Arts

Inspiring Music From the ‘Dean of Afro-American Composers’

By Eileen Wingard   LA JOLLA, California — I was thrilled to discover, in my mailbox last week, the long-awaited CD of music by the American composer, William Grant Still, with my sister Zina Schiff as violin soloist and my niece Avlana Eisenberg conducting the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Zina and Avlana recorded this magnificent

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Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Harmonious Magic: JMW Turner at the Boston Museum of Fine Art

By Sam Ben-Meir NEW YORK — Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851), the English Romantic artist who lifted landscape and seascape painting to new and enthralling heights will never cease to amaze, inspire and make us question what we thought we knew about painting, about what colored pigment on canvas can do. “Turner’s Modern World” at

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Sam Ben-Meir, USA

Jewish Musician and Cultural Leader Eileen Wingard Reminisces About Her Career

Violinist Eileen Wingard was never the star of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra. Such billings belong to conductors like Zoltan Rozsnyai, Peter Eros, David Atherton, Yoav Talmi, and Jung-Ho Pak, all of whom she played under during a career stretching from 1967 through 2004. Or perhaps the stars are donors like Irwin and Joan Jacobs, who in 2002 gave the San Diego Symphony an amazing gift of $120 million, the largest ever given to an orchestra in America. [Donald H. Harrison]

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California, Donald H. Harrison, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Travel and Food, USA

Jewish-Themed Television Comes to San Diego

LOS ANGELES (Press Release) — On May 31, Cox Communications entered into a national affiliation agreement with Jewish Life TV (JLTV). As part of the agreement, JLTV launched in the San Diego market. JLTV is the nation’s largest and most robust English language, Jewish-themed television network in several markets, including California (San Diego, Orange County,

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California, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Charles Ray at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

By Sam Ben-Meir Charles Ray (b. 1953) — undoubtedly one of the most conceptually and visually breathtaking sculptors alive today — is enjoying something of cultural moment at present, with four exhibitions on two continents, including “Charles Ray: Figure Ground” at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Throughout his career, Ray has been engaged in

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Sam Ben-Meir, USA

Novel Incorporates Vignettes about Patrons of a Jerusalem Café

Ehrlich’s Café Shira is an imaginative series of vignettes that take place in an establishment much like Café Tmol Shilshom, wherein the regulars at each table have their own stories. Sometimes they are interwoven with the stories of waitresses Rutha and Rona and café owner Avigdor; other times, they are in a world of their own, made known to us only by the remarkable insight and intuition of the hard-working, extremely empathetic Rutha. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Middle East

Larry Schwartz: Organizer of AFT Local 1931

A large crowd gathered on December 1, 1995, to rename the Quad at San Diego City College as Schwartz Square.  The gathering was in honor of history professor and American Federation of Teachers #1931 President Larry Schwartz.  He had died at age 62 of a brain tumor ten months prior to the ceremony. The dedication plaque there reads: “In memory of Larry Schwartz. He inspired students, challenged colleagues, and shared the passion and action of his time.” [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, California, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Travel and Food, USA

Know the Tony Award? Meet San Diego’s Jimmy Award

By Eva Trieger SAN DIEGO — Did you know that the coveted Tony award is named for actress-producer Antoinette Perry, and will be celebrating its 75th anniversary this year? Each year since 1947 this honor has gone to the actor/actress who has demonstrated excellence in live theater. Thanks to Broadway San Diego, our local aspiring

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Eva Trieger, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

May 25 Program to Showcase JCC’s Klezmer Treasures

By Eileen Wingard LA JOLLA, California — Klezmer Treasures from the Music Collection of the Astor Judaica Library will be presented Wednesday evening, May 25, 7 p.m. Register here. This third program from the three-part series, Treasures from the Music Collection of the Astor Judaica Library, will once again be hosted by me, Eileen Wingard,

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Eileen Wingard, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County

A Guide for the Aging

Stand-up comedians know that audiences will laugh at jokes made about the subjects which make them the most uncomfortable, including their body shapes, their sexual activity (or lack of it) and the infirmaries of age. Janet Pitler, with a Jewish knack for self-deprecating humor, puts such material into 61 poems which Bob D’Amico illustrates with imaginative cartoons.  The result: an opportunity for those of us who are aging (and who isn’t?) to laugh at ourselves – either in the quiet of our reading chair, or possibly reciting the poems aloud with our friends. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Trivia, Humor & Satire

‘Iron’ Stars 2 of San Diego’s Finest Actresses

By Eva Trieger SAN DIEGO — The Roustabouts Theater Co often selects plays that are provocative, sometimes dark, but always riveting. The upcoming West Coast Premiere of Iron will surely be even more compelling as it stars two of San Diego’s finest actresses. Rosina Reynolds and Kate Rose Reynolds, an actual mother/daughter duet, will inhabit

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Eva Trieger, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

A Jewish Tour of Balboa Park

The San Diego Zoo is known as one of the world’s premier institutions for the conservation of endangered wildlife species. Along with its sister San Diego Safari Park, located in the San Pasqual Valley, the San Diego Zoo is considered one of the best, if not the very best, zoos in the world. Of particular Jewish interest is the fact that the San Diego Zoo has served as a big brother to the Tisch Family Zoo in Jerusalem, which also is known as the Jerusalem Zoo. Many of the exhibits in Jerusalem are modeled on those in San Diego and both zoos have received generous financial contributions from San Diegans. {Donald H. Harrison]

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California, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food, USA