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Join us for the show that The Washington Post says "... should be part of every family's holiday festivities. ... one of those rare events that delight people of all ages!"

Trio Sefardi

Trio SefardiTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17 at 7:30 pm

Sephardic Journeys
TRIO SEFARDI
with special guest, Flory Jagoda

Bringing a vibrant past into the present, musicians Howard Bass, Tina Chancey and Susan Gaeta are joined by “living legend” and National Heritage Fellow, Flory Jagoda, in beautiful, joyful, and plaintive songs from the centuries old tradition of the Sephardim, the Jews of Spain. Buy Tickets online, or call 1-800-595-4849.

Location TBA

TRIO SEFARDI brings together three performers who share a love of and a wide-ranging experience with Sephardic music. Its members have performed and recorded with La Rondinella, the Western Wind, and National Heritage Fellowship awardee Flory Jagoda, the renowned Sephardic singer and composer. Group members combine a respect for tradition with a creative approach to arranging and scoring to bring the vibrant past into the living present. The trio made its Washington-area debut on the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage in November 2010, and performed on the Strings Concert Series in nearby Maryland in March 2011. In the summer of 2011 Susan and Howard accompanied Flory Jagoda in a concert in Sarajevo, Bosnia, and Tina is spending the summer performing in France. Trio Sefardi’s first recording will be released in November 2011.

Howard Bass (lute, guitar, percussion) has performed throughout the United States as a soloist and has been a guest accompanist with vocal and instrumental ensembles throughout the Washington area and beyond. A founding member of La Rondinella, with whom he made three recordings for the Dorian label, he has also performed and recorded with HESPERUS, the Smithsonian Chamber Players, the Folger Consort, the Baltimore Consort, and the Choral Arts Society of Washington, among others. In recent years he has worked extensively as an accompanist with Sephardic singer/composer Flory Jagoda (whom he accompanied on her latest recording, Arvolika) and early music singer Barbara Hollinshead, with whom he recorded an album of Elizabethan lute songs and solos entitled Loves Lost… and Found; their new recording of 16th and 17th century French songs and lute solos will be released in early 2012.

Tina Chancey (bowed string, percussion, vocals) directs HESPERUS, the world-traveled early/ traditional music ensemble dedicated to bringing the past alive through collaborations between early music and film, theater, dance and world music. She plays early and traditional bowed strings from rebec, kamenj and vielle to viola da gamba and Old Time and Irish fiddle. On these instruments she plays roots music from Sephardic and blues to early music and jazz standards. Her particular specialty is the five-stringed pardessus de viole, the subject of her dissertation; she was awarded grants by the National Endowment for the Arts to present pardessus concerts at Carnegie Recital Hall and Kennedy Center, and has recorded for Dorian and Golden Apple. A member of Toss the Feathers and Trio Sefardi, she is a former member of the Folger Consort, La Rondinella, the early music/ rock band Blackmore’s Night, and the multi-media music theater ensemble QUOG. She teaches, performs, records, produces recordings for others, and directs the SoundCatcher workshops-- teaching musicians to play by ear and improvise. Her Versatile Viol series of three recordings includes Scots-Irish music, Leclair sonatas, and Appalachian music, all featuring the viol. In June 2008, Dr. Chancey was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by Early Music America.

Susan Gaeta (vocals, guitar, percussion) is an important member of a new generation of musicians who are exploring the rich and varied traditions of Sephardic music. Originally from Connecticut, where her grandfather played clarinet in a Klezmer band and acted in Yiddish theater productions, Susan lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for eight years, where she performed classic jazz and traditional Argentine folk songs. After moving back to the United States, Susan continued her explorations in jazz, and has toured extensively with legendary Sephardic singer Flory Jagoda, a National Heritage Fellow. She also sang with Colors of the Flame, a trio of musicians dedicated to preserving Sephardic songs. In 2002, Susan was selected to participate in The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities "Master-Apprentice" program. Her recording, From Her Nona’s Drawer, includes Susan’s interpretations of a dozen songs from the repertoire of Flory Jagoda.

Follow Trio Sefardi on Facebook. Contact howardbass7@gmail.com

Photograph of Trio Sefardi ©Jeff Malet, MaletPhoto, all rights reserved