OPENING NIGHT: AVEVA MUSIC
Wednesday, October 26, 7:30 pm | The Howard Theatre
The Festival kicks off with the US debut of Israeli Afro-Soul stars AvevA Music, who filter Tel Aviv’s urban beat through traditional Ethiopian sounds, R&B, funk, and pop.
PITOM
Thursday, October 27, 7:30 pm | Tropicalia
Avant-garde rock meets the Jewish tradition in Pitom, a shredding Jewish instrumental band led by WJMF Artist-in-Residence Yoshie Fruchter.
SHABBAT IN SONG
Friday, October 28, Various Times
Join local congregations for Shabbat in Song. This community-wide celebration of Shabbat and music highlights musical services and events around Washington, DC.
CENTERPIECE EVENING: NOA WITH SPECIAL GUEST MIRA AWAD
Saturday, October 29, 8:00 pm | Lisner Auditorium
Israel’s leading recording artist Noa (Achinoam Nini) is joined by Mira Awad, her partner in 2009’s historic Eurovision Song Contest.
DAY OF EDUCATION ON ARAB CITIZENS OF ISRAEL:
BRUNCH CONVERSATION WITH NOA AND MIRA AWAD
Sunday, October 30, 10:00 am | Edlavitch DCJCC
The morning after the concert, Noa and Mira Awad join us for an intimate brunch conversation moderated by Mohammad Darawshe, Director of Planning, Equality & Shared Society at Givat Haviva, the Center for Shared Society in Israel.
SOLACE FOR THE SOUL: MUSIC FOR SURVIVAL
Sunday, October 30, 3:00 pm | Edlavitch DCJCC
As part of the Music Festival’s year-long partnership with Levine Music celebrating protest music, Levine Music’s faculty present a chamber ensemble exploration of 20th century composers who transcended adversity through music.
STRANGE FRUIT: MUSIC FROM–AND INSPIRED BY–THE AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
Sunday, October 30, 7:00 pm | Edlavitch DCJCC
Continuing our celebration of protest music with Levine Music, WJMF hosts a band drawn from their top faculty. This project examines the musical legacy of the Civil Rights Movement.
SETH KIBEL AND TOM TEASLEY PRESENT DESERT ECHOES
Monday, October 31, 7:30 pm (double bill with Sandcatchers) | Bossa Lounge & Bistro
Jazz, middle-eastern and klezmer melodies swirl into a sweet, unique and downright dazzling concoction.
SANDCATCHERS
Monday, October 31, 7:30 pm (double bill with Desert Echoes) | Bossa Lounge & Bistro
WJMF Artist-In-Residence Yoshie Fruchter’s Sandcatchers blend Middle Eastern oud-based sounds with the dreamy Americana, inspired by Middle Eastern maqam and the traditional music of the Appalachian Trail.
JUNUN & SANDARAA
Tuesday, November 1, 7:30 pm | Edlavitch DCJCC
Academy Award nominee Paul Thomas Anderson takes us on a mind-blowing musical journey to Jodhpur, India. Following the screening, superstar Pakistani vocalist Zeb Bangash joins forces with clarinet virtuoso Michael Winograd to explore a vast repertoire of South Asian musical traditions.
FROM TRAGEDY TO TRANSCENDENCE:
BACH, CASALS AND THE SIX SUITES FOR CELLO SOLO
Wednesday, November 2, 7:30 pm | Edlavitch DCJCC
Using music, video, and hundreds of historic images and contemporary art stills, master guitarist—and official Artistic Ambassador of the United States for fifteen years—Steven Hancoff presents a concert-length story about the life of Bach.
ELEANOR REISSA & FRANK LONDON’S KLEZMER BRASS ALLSTARS VILDE MEKHAYE (WILD ECSTASY)
Thursday, November 3, 7:30 pm | Edlavitch DCJCC
The soulful and inimitable “Yiddish Diva” Eleanor Reissa and the “mystical high priest of New Wave Avant-Klez jazz” Frank London explore the world of Yiddish song, from the obscure to the chestnuts.
SHABBAT IN SONG
Friday, November 4, Various Times
Join local congregations for Shabbat in Song. This community-wide celebration of Shabbat and music highlights musical services and events around Washington, DC.
CLOSING NIGHT: ODESSA/HAVANA
Saturday, November 5, 8:00 pm | Edlavitch DCJCC
Jewish trumpeter, composer, and cultural inventor David Buchbinder teams up with Grammy-nominated Cuban pianist Hilario Duran to present this unprecedented project of musical discovery: the Jewish-Cuban connection.