The Jerusalem Harp Circle, An Update
 
The Jerusalem Harp Circle was formed in September 2002 by a small nucleus of harpers living in Israel, and has been meeting regularly in a private home in Jerusalem. Since establishing the Circle, our numbers have been growing, to the extent that 15 harpers participated in the two workshops that we hosted in May, led by Mary MacMaster in Jerusalem and Corinna Hewatt in Kfar Sava, of the Scots group Shine.
Since our formation, we have also hosted Irish harper par excellence Grainne Hambly in a workshop and house concert in Jerusalem, and house concerts by Paraguayan harper David Karlsberg and our own Sunita Staneslow, one of the founders and main movers of the Harp Circle.
Seven of our members are currently involved in a very special project to become certified therapeutic harpers under the subsidiary title Tiferet Harps. This means playing our harps in hospitals, hospices and private homes – wherever they are needed – to help create a gentle atmosphere which may enable someone who is ill and/or troubled to regain some measure of inner peace and balance. To this

--Jill Rogoff

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It all started with Ariela's going on summer vacation a while back, and all of a sudden I was faced with the prospect of no Folk Clubs during our glorious July & August nights. Going cold turkey surely did not appeal to me, and Ariela graciously offered to pass the TAFC stewardship to me. I didn't feel like being cooped up in that basement venue and/or dealing with the center's bureaucracy and payment issues, and thus the FREE Summer Park Hoot idea was born.

I found a few lovely mini-amphitheaters in our Ramat Aviv Gimel neighborhood parks and chose a lovely spot that had a waterfall our first year. Unfortunately the concrete "bubbling brook" together with the noise off the nearby Haifa roadway made the acoustics unreasonable for our unplugged musicians and eager audience. I even tried (in vain) to turn off the waterfall, but the cars kept zooming along. Not that the noise discouraged our hearty folk singers; but it bothered me.

Nevertheless, the event put together a number of wonderful musicians such as Dana Halevi and Shay Tochner and the rest, as they say, is history. Pete Morton opened our first Hoot, and he was so popular that after everyone had a chance to strut their stuff, he did another superb set. I guess first impressions are really important, as he keeps visiting us and making beautiful music here.

The second year's Park Hoots were in a more acoustically-friendly venue. The marble chess board turned stage was perfect and when surrounded by burning candles created an air of magic that turned practical when the park lights suddenly went off. Word of this venue reached far and wide and we had regular audience and performers from Karmiel, Karkur, Jerusalem and even Kibbutz Gadot.

We also had folks in the audience that we hadn't seen for many years since the entrance fees of the clubs, while not at all excessive, are sometimes a burden to the financially challenged. So I was more than pleased to see a number of smiling brethren reliving the good ol’ days. Some even brought their friends, and one hi-tech firm put our poster on their bulletin board and brought the average age down a bit. I regularly invite Kol Yisrael radio programmers who like meeting musicians face to face, so it's a good opportunity to slip them recent CDs and get airplay.

Even the neighbors came down from their nearby towers when they heard the sound of applause. If someone is clapping, they figure, it must be good. They always stay for the jam sessions at the very end, so I guess they liked it.

This third year will be in the same location. Y'all welcome!

Already tuning up are: P Country, Julio's Friends, Sunita, Rahel, Barry Gilbert, Larry Fogel, Ariela Orion, Susan Hadash, Shelly Ellen, Mira Moreno, Shay Tochner, Michael Greengard, Steve Greenberg, Eli Marcus, Saby, Harmonica Harold, surprise guests and special ensembles and jams. So see you in the park opposite 5 Kashani Street at 8:30pm on

Wednesday, July 14^th (Bastille day) and Wednesday, August 18^th.

- Harold Jacobs

For 18 months the Islamic Art Museum offered the public a tantalizing glimpse into the world of Middle Eastern music. You could tiptoe around the room, listening to tracks from albums in little niches, and admiring the multitude of beautiful instruments suspended from the ceiling… almost within arm’s reach but (perhaps fortunately) not quite. What a mind-boggling array of, among other things, stringed instruments, the names of some of which would be useful for winning Scrabble games (e.g. saz – a tiny Turkish oud-shaped instrument with a dispro-portionately long neck)! It was a treat for eye and ear.

True to this museum’s creative style, a series of concerts of Middle Eastern music were hosted in its building. The two “wrap-up” concerts, to bid farewell to the exhibition, were held at

the end of April. Ya’ir Dalal and his friends gave us a very enjoyable evening of mixed Arabic and Indian music that segued into modern Israeli interpretations and jazz.

I particularly enjoyed Dalal’s sensitive violin playing, the rapport between the 12 musicians on stringed instruments, percussion and voice, and the non-bombastic way in which the pieces were explained before being played. One member of the audience was so

moved that she got up and danced. It was a little distracting for those of us who needed no visuals beyond the instruments and players themselves, but there was the option of just closing your eyes and letting thsounds wash through and over you.

One of the interesting points made in the exhibition itself was that there are seven different types of Middle Eastern music… and Israel is the only place in which all seven may be found. Food for thought.

Another angle I appreciated was that the concert’s audience was such a mix of ages, personalities and – dare I say it?! – ethnic groups. That’s the way it should be, isn’t it?

-- Jill Rogoff

Happy Birthday to: Judy Admon, Robin Epstein, Scott Fields, Lynn Lewis, Jade Marcus, Dena Matmon, Cecile Panzer, Larry Rosenfeld, Ruth Vlessing, Zeev Weintraub

Mazal Tov to: Bracha Fuchs on her engagement to Lior Maoz

Happy Anniversary to: Amiel & Margo

Ray and Joanna’s disk:

is out of print. If you want to order a copy of the next printing, please send an email to Joanna:

FolkNotes Staff: Bev Burge, Sherry Whetstone, Carol Fuchs and Cecile Panzer

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