Bracha

The Music of Meira Warshauer

Spring 2005 Volume II, Number II

Meira in the Concert Hall –

Upcoming and Recent Performances

On Monday, March 7^th at 7 p.m., Meira Warshauer’s "Spirals of Light" for flute, cello and piano, will be presented in concert at the Jewish Museum of Florida 301 Washington Avenue in Miami Beach. Visit them online at http://www.jewishmuseum.com/. This concert will feature music by Southern Jewish composers and will be performed by an ensemble including pianist Harold Lewin, flutist Elissa Lakofsky and cellist Javier Arias.

Meira will be at the concert to speak about her music and arrangements are in process for her to give a lecture at Florida International University while she is in Miami.

Sunday, April 10^th will bring the premiere performance by Music Director Kayla Werlin and Mak'hela, the Jewish Chorus of Western Massachusetts of Ms. Warshauer’s "Ashirah Lashem (I will sing to the Eternal)", a setting of text from Psalm 104 for SATB chorus and piano, at Sinai Temple, 1100 Dickinson Street in Springfield, Massachusetts (http://www.sinai-temple.org/). The new 5-minute work was commissioned by the ensemble and Sinai Temple. The composer will be at the premiere performance.

Sunday Feb. 6^th at 3 p.m., Meira's newly renamed klezmer band, "Southern Simcha" will perform in concert at Temple of Israel, 400 Spring Forest Rd, Greenville South Carolina as part of their regular concert series. Visit the Temple at http://www.templeofisrael.org/.

On November 23, "Shabbat with King David" for string orchestra, was performed by Director Jamin Hoffman and the Nicolet High School Orchestra in Glendale, Wisconsin as part of their "Living Composers” Concert.

Ms. Warshauer's "Yishakeyni" (Sweeter than Wine) for soprano, flute and piano was performed by the Jerusalem Lyric Trio during the month of November, 2004 in Greensboro and Durham, North Carolina, Sacramento, California and Highland Park (near Chicago), Illinois.

"Yishakeyni" was commissioned by Columbia College and premiered by the Jerusalem Lyric Trio in Columbia, South Carolina, September, 2003.

The Jerusalem Lyric Trio is a unique Israeli ensemble that highlights the religious and cultural heritage of the Jewish people in its performances. Since 1995, they have performed throughout Western and Eastern Europe, the United States, South America, Russia and Israel. Visit them online at http://www.jerusalemlyrictrio.com/.

“Yishakeyni” has been honored with 1^st Place in the 2004 Miriam Gideon Prize from the International Association for Women in Music. The piece is a setting of the first four verses of "Song of Songs," the great love song of the Bible. It invites the listener into a realm of human and Divine love which transcends boundaries. For more about the piece, please visit http://home.sc.rr.com/meirawarshauer/ProgramNotes/Yishakeyni%20by%20Meira%20Warshauer.html.

On October 17, the Center for Jewish Culture and Creativity presented ""Bati l'Gani," for solo flute, performed by flutist Martin Glicklich at the Emanuel Arts Center of Temple Emmanuel in Beverly Hills, California. This concert was part of Daniel Pearl Music Days.

"Bracha" was performed on October 15 by Laura Kobayashi, violin, and Susan Gray, piano, in a lecture recital titled "A Century of New and Renewed Music by Women Composers" as part of West Virginia University's "Women and Creativity" Conference.

In the Press

“Composing from the Soul”, a profile of Meira Warshauer is featured in the latest issue of Jewish South magazine. The author Marc Rapport writes:

“An accomplished composer and musician who mixes poetic themes and musical styles throughout her growing body of work, Warshauer wrestles with labels when asked to define herself and her music, and in doing so, speaks to the universality of the Jewish faith and the search for unity and connection it has represented for thousands of years.

“You might say I compose Jewish music because I am a Jew composing music,” she says, but adds: “I am always trying to explore the depths of the human experience, or at least the depths of my own experience, and to communicate that to an audience.

“I hope my music can reach beneath the surface, to stimulate a connection to our deepest selves."

You can read the complete article online at http://www.jewishsouthmagazine.com/2004composingfromsoul.html.

On the Web

For more information about Meira Warshauer, including a complete catalog of her works, visit her website at http://home.sc.rr.com/meirawarshauer/.

On the Phone

For any other information about the music of Meira Warshauer, please contact Jeffrey James Arts Consulting at 516-797-9166 or jamesarts@worldnet.att.net.