The Concert
Sunday, November 12th, 2006 at 4:00 PM
A Celebration of Sephardic Culture and Music
Honoring Flory Jagoda – The flame of Sephardic Music
Featuring Flory Jagoda
Ramon Tasat
Family and Friends
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November 12, 4:00 pm
Temple Shalom
8401 Grubb Road
Chevy Chase, MD 20815
Reception to Follow
The kick off concert for the 2006 Jewish Folk Arts Festival will celebrate Sephardic music and culture and honor NEA National Heritage Fellow, Flory Jagoda.
The concert will feature renown Sephardic
musicians and local residents, Flory Jagoda and Ramón Tasat,
who will be joined by family and friends for two hours of song, music and
storytelling.
The concert will be held at Temple Shalom, which is co-sponsoring the event with Jewish Folk Arts Festival sponsor Am Kolel. A reception will follow the concert.
Sephardic music, which is usually performed
in Ladino, is a blend of Jewish and Spanish traditions.
The music became a part of the cultural life of Sephardic Jews after they
were expelled from Spain in 1492.
Greece became home to a large Sephardic community as did Turkey, Bulgaria,
and the whole the Balkans area.
For 500 years, the songs kept their history alive from generation to generation.
Both Jagoda and Argentine born Tasat learned their craft at their grandmothers’
knee.
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Flory Jagoda and the Altaras Ensemble
From left to right- seated: Susan Gaeta, Flory Jagoda, Lynn Falk
Second Row: Margie Jervis, Joel Leonard, Betty Murphy, Joanne Stefanick
Photo Credit: Paul Taylor
Flory Jagoda
The Flame of Sephardic Music
Flory Jagoda maintains one of Judaism’s rarest and
richest cultural traditions through her performance of authentic as well as
original compositions of Sephardic songs.
An accomplished composer, singer, and musician, she plays accordion and guitar.
Flory grew up in this Sephardic tradition in Sarajevo, Bosnia
in the musical Altarac family.
One of the few Altarac members who survived World War II, Flory is intent
on passing on the traditions of her heritage.
Twenty years ago, she and her children began performing these ancient melodies
together to preserve and introduce
the songs and culture of the Sephardim to audiences worldwide.
She is recognized as the matriarch of Sephardic music and
has been the mentor to dozens of singers and cantors in the revival of Sephardic
music in this generation.
In 2002, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded her the prestigious National
Heritage Fellowship Award.
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