Festival brings all things Yiddish to Berkeley
The communitywide Yiddish Culture Festival will return for its second annual installment, from noon to 5 p.m. Dec. 25 at Congregation Netivot Shalom, 1316 University Ave., Berkeley.
Produced by KlezCalifornia, the festival boasts Yiddish music performer Gerry Tenney, dancer Bruce Bierman, the Yiddish Folk Chorus and the klezmer band Kugelplex, among others. There will be activities for kids, teens and adults.
Also on tap: a Yiddish film workshop, Yiddish language classes for beginners and experts, a jam room for ad hoc musicians, song and dance workshops, and noshes — from mandelbrot to kasha varnishkas.
The festival is co-sponsored by Congregation Netivot Shalom, Congregation Beth El, Aquarian Minyan, Chochmat HaLev, Kehilla Community Synagogue, the JCC of the East Bay and Tehiyah Day School. Tickets range from $10 to $25. To buy advance tickets or for more information, contact Robin Braverman at [email protected] or (925) 979-1998.
Concert recalls late composer
“Lenny’s Voice: Bernstein’s Humor and Jewish Spirit,” an evening of music by the late composer Leonard Bernstein, will be performed by Congregation Emanu-El Cantor Roslyn Barak 7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 14 at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco. She will sing pieces from Bernstein song cycles, operas and sacred music, adding anecdotes and humor.
The JCCSF if located at 3200 California, S.F. Tickets are $40-$45. For information, call (415) 292-1200 or visit www.jccsf.com.
Triple-bill of Jewish music comes to Cal
A concert featuring three Bay Area- based Jewish bands playing klezmer, Yiddish and Separdic music will take place 8 p.m. Dec. 20 at U.C. Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall.
“Pomegranates & Figs: A Feast of Jewish Music” features the string duo Teslim (with violinist Kaila Flexer and instrumentalist Gary Hegedus), the Gonifs klezmer band and the female vocal ensemble Kitka.
A pre-performance talk by Francesco Spagnolo, head of research at the Judah L. Magnes Museum in Berkeley, will take place at 7 p.m. The Sightlines event is free to all ticketholders.
In addition to the music, concertgoers will be able to nosh on a variety of Chanukah and other Jewish treats.
Zellerbach Hall is located on Bancroft Way just west of Telegraph Avenue. Tickets are $20-$32. For more information, go to www.calperformances.org, or call (510) 642-9988.
Brandeis Hillel students singing at City Hall
More than 50 third- and fourth-grade students from the Brandeis Hillel Day School band and chorus will perform a Chanukah concert in the San Francisco City Hall rotunda. The event takes place noon Monday, Dec. 15, at the S.F. City Hall, Grove and Larkin streets.
Admission is free. For more information, call band director Karen Segal at (415) 987-5062.
S.F. Jewish Film Fest seeking entries
Attention filmmakers: The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival is now accepting submissions for its 2009 festival.
The world’s longest-running festival of its kind, the SFJFF is seeking short and feature-length dramatic, documentary, experimental and animated works about Jewish history, culture and identity. Independent films are welcome. The deadline for admissions is Feb. 20, 2009.
Forms are available online. For information, call (415) 621-0556, or
e-mail [email protected]. The entry fee is $20, though it is waived for student works or international entries.
The 2009 festival runs July 23 through Aug. 10 at several Bay Area locations.