I-Tal-Ya:
Brunch and a Concert
Francesco Spagnolo, Sharon Jan Bernstein, and MichaelAlpert
Sunday, March 5, 11:30 am
Caffé Venezia
1799 University Ave., Berkeley
Part of the 21st Annual Jewish Music Festival: March 4-26, 2006
I-Tal-Ya: A taste of Passover from the 2000 year old Jewish community of Italy with Francesco Spagnolo, leading authority on Italian Jewish music,
Sharon Jan Bernstein and Michael Alpert, founding member of the internationally acclaimed group Brave Old World.
Francesco Spagnolo is a musicologist and the founder and director of YUVAL Italia, The Italian Center for the study of Jewish Music in Milan, Italy. A Research Fellow at the Jewish Music Research Center in Jerusalem, he is the editor of the CD Italian Jewish Musical Traditions. A current resident of San Francisco, he teaches in the Jewish Studies Program at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Sharon Jan Bernstein is one of the most exciting new voices of Jewish music. She has presented solo concerts in Europe, Israel and the US. Her repertoire comprises less known or never performed songs, such as those kept in the manuscripts of the Noy Collection (Jerusalem) or the new compositions of Beyle Schaechter Gottesman. Since 2003, she has been the cantor of Congregation Beth Sholom in San Francisco.
Michael Alpert has been a pioneering figure in the current renaissance of East European Jewish klezmer music for over twenty-five years. He is internationally known for his work with Brave Old World, Khevrisa, Kapelye,
David Krakauer, and other artists. He is considered the finest traditional Yiddish singer of his generation. Adept at 20 languages and recognized for his command of ethnic vocal styles from Russian to Mexican, he is also the leading contemporary researcher and teacher of East European Jewish traditional dance.
This event includes brunch.
High Resolution photos for this ensemble are available immediately upon request or will be available on the festival website www.jewishmusicfestival.org. For further information, please call Ellie Shapiro, (510) 848-0237 x126 or
The Jewish Music Festival is a program of the Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center