Milken Archive of Jewish Music
The Milken Archive of Jewish Music is a collection of material about the history of Jewish Music in the United States. It contains roughly 700 recorded musical works, 800 hours of oral histories, 50,000 photographs and historical documents, an extensive collection of program notes and essays, and thousands of hours of video footage documenting recording sessions, interviews, and live performances.
History
The Archive was founded in 1990 by businessman [[Lowell Milken, with the stated mission to "document, preserve, and disseminate the vast body of music that pertains to the American Jewish experience." [1] It was originally established as the Milken Family Archive of 20th Century American Jewish Music, with composer Michael Isaacson as its Artistic Director [2] In 1993, Neil W. Levin of the Jewish Theological Seminary became the Artistic Director[3] and the Archive became known as the Milken Archive of American Jewish music. Between 2003 and 2006, it released a series of 50 CDs on the Naxos label[4], which have sold nearly 300,000 copies. In 2005, Producer David Frost was awarded the Grammy award for Producer of the Year, Classical[5],f or five of the albums hin this series. At present, the Archive's website serves as the primary vehicle for the Archive’s music, and the access point for its other media . The material is organized into 20 thematic groups.
Recent Media Coverage
Milken Archive footage of Dave Brubeck was featured in the documentary "Dave Brubeck: In His Own Sweet Way" directed by Clint Eastwood that aired on December 6, 2010 on Turner Classic Movies.[6]
In September 2010, Milken Archive Artistic Director Neil Levin was featured on televisions stations across the United States in the documentary 18 Voices[7] Sing Kol Nidre discussing the Kol Nidre, a declaration recited or sung in the synagogue before the beginning of the evening service on every Yom Kippur.
On May 26th 2010, the NPR program “All Things Considered”[8] featured Milken Archive music[9] in its broadcast about clarinetist David Krakauer, “Abraham Inc.: Klezmer with a funky hip hop beat.”
20 Volumes
The Milken Archive's collection is organized according to the following 20 thematic volumes:
VOLUME 01: Jewish Voices in the New World: The Song of Prayer in Colonial and 19th-Century America
VOLUME 02: A Garden Eastward: Sephardi and Near Eastern Inspiration
VOLUME 03: SEDER T’FILLOT: Traditional and Contemporary Synagogue Services
VOLUME 04 Cycle of Life in Synagogue and Home: Prayers and Celebrations Throughout the Jewish Year
VOLUME 05: The Classical Klezmer: Rebirth of a Folk Tradition
VOLUME 06: Echoes of Ecstasy: Hassidic Inspiration
VOLUME 07: Masterworks of Prayer: Art in Worship
VOLUME 08: Sing Unto Zion! In Praise of a Jewish National Home
VOLUME 09: The Art of Jewish Song: Yiddish and Hebrew
VOLUME 10: Intimate Voices: Solo and Ensemble Music of Jewish Spirit
VOLUME 11: Symphonic Visions: Orchestral Works of Jewish Spirit
VOLUME 12: Legends of Toil and Celebration: Songs of Jewish Solidarity, Social Awareness, and Jewish Americana
VOLUME 13: Great Songs of the American Yiddish Stage: Yiddish Theater, Vaudeville, Radio, and Film
VOLUME 14: Golden Voices in the Golden Land: The Great Age of Cantorial Art in America
VOLUME 15: Swing His Praises: Jazz, Blues, and Rock in the Service of God
VOLUME 16: Heroes and Heroines: Jewish Opera
VOLUME 17: Odes and Epics: Dramatic Music of Jewish Experience
VOLUME 18: Psalms and Canticles: Jewish Choral Art in America
VOLUME 19: Out of the Whirlwind: Musical Reflections of the Holocaust
VOLUME 20: L’DOR VADOR: A Celebration of Children’s Voices
References
- ^ [1]
- ^ Teitelbaum, Shell (2003-10-06). "A $17-Million Musical Revival". Jerusalem Report. p. 37. Retrieved 2011-01-25.
- ^ http://www.jtsa.edu/Academics/Registrar/Academic_Bulletin/AB_Faculty.xml Neil W. Levin Bio
- ^ http://www.naxos.com/series/milken_archive_of_american_jewish_music.htm
- ^ http://www.naxos.com/news/default.asp?pn=news&displaymenu=naxos_news&op=202
- ^ http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=353441&mainArticleId=353436
- ^ http://www.18voices.com/voices.html
- ^ http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=126387111&m=127140631
- ^ http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3927550