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Joshua Horowitz
Composer
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The Promiscuous World of Jewish Music Lecture Series
This multi-week lecture series was originally created by Joshua Horowitz for his classes at Sonoma University. It leads the audience through a fascinating array of themes of Jewish music in the world. The series is laden with music examples, film clips, fun facts, insightful music analyses and anecdotes. It offers an inquisitive perspective on the diverse and complex musical cultures that carry the label, “Jewish” across the globe and over time. Interrelationships between Jewish and other ethnicities are explored from a musical vantage point. The validity of the question of Jewish music is held under a microscope and compared to hermetic, foreign and host cultures, including East-European vocal and instrumental music (Yiddish song and Klezmer music), Mediterranean, North African and Middle Eastern Jewish popular and classical traditions as well as music in Israel. The question as to whether there is an actual historical musical Jewish narrative will remain central, beginning with an outline of the problems and sources facing the examiner of Jewish music. Josh explores in depth the implications of asking what is Jewish and uncovers misleading definitions of Jewish Music. The idea of musical “racial” purity is called into question and the lectures consider the “outsiders’” view (satires, parodies, etc), syncretism and cultural signifiers as well as music as the symbol of the diaspora, music archetypes and the Illusion of cultural ownership, blackface and the internalization of stereotypes. Lively discussions always follow.
Call (five one zero) 384-9443 and leave a message
Klezmer Music and The Hassidic World
Co-opting Jewish music for politics
Balkanization, Gypsyfication and Film Propaganda
The Klassikal Konnektion. Jewish Art Music
