The Magnes Presents No Lines in the Sea: A Musical Journey Exploring the Jewish Diaspora and Mediterranean Heritage

BERKELEY, CA — UC Berkeley’s Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life is proud to present No Lines in the Sea, a musical performance featuring internationally acclaimed vocalist and bandleader Elana Sasson with Queralt Giralt on cello and Bahar Badiei on oud. Taking place on Thursday, April 16, 2026, from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm, this concert is part of the Flowing through Time and Tradition exhibition programming series.

The trio will perform ten songs, including four original compositions by Sasson, that explore the exhibition’s themes of water, memory, and tradition. With songs in seven languages—Spanish, Ladino, Greek, Persian, Gilaki, Kurdish, and Catalan—the program traverses the same historical routes as the Jewish communities who carried these traditions: from medieval Iberia and the Mediterranean to the Caspian shores and the mountains of Kurdistan.

“We are thrilled to welcome Elana Sasson back to the Magnes,” said Hannah Weisman, Executive Director of the Magnes. “She and her band do with music what the Magnes does with collections—illuminate how Jewish life intersects and overlaps with neighboring cultures as Jews and Jewish communities migrate and establish roots. This concert layers performing arts into the conversation Flowing through Time and Tradition engenders with art and artifacts.”

“We are thrilled to welcome Elana Sasson back to the Magnes. She and her band do with music what the Magnes does with collections—illuminate how Jewish life intersects and overlaps with neighboring cultures as Jews and Jewish communities migrate and establish roots.” — Hannah Weisman, Executive Director of the Magnes.

The ensemble features Elana Sasson, an acclaimed composer and vocalist celebrated by Songlines Magazine for her “arrestingly beautiful” voice and her fusion of Kurdish and Persian traditions. She is joined by cellist Queralt Giralt, known for her innovative blending of classical and folk styles, and oudist Bahar Badiei, a member of Danilo Pérez’s Global Jazz Messengers. Together, these world-class musicians bridge traditional Mediterranean songs with modern improvisation, creating a journey shaped by movement, exile, and belonging.

Tickets are $30 for general admission, $20 for current Friends of the Magnes members, and $5 for students / Museums For All (with a Snap/EBT card). They can be purchased online at https://secure-tickets.berkeley.edu/31620. The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life is located at 2121 Allston Way in Berkeley, CA, just steps from the Downtown Berkeley BART station.

This program is presented in partnership with the Center for Jewish Studies and the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at UC Berkeley, with generous support from Denah Bookstein.

About the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, UC Berkeley
Located in downtown Berkeley, just steps from campus, the museum and research center is home to one of the world’s preeminent collections of Jewish art and life. The Magnes generates new knowledge and understanding of Jewish cultures with and for its academic and public audiences through its collections-based exhibitions and programs.

About the exhibition
Exploring the theme of water through the holdings of the Magnes Collection, Flowing through Time and Tradition traces how water flows through and shapes Jewish lives: enacting belief, sustaining life and communities, providing the means for spiritual cleansing, and mapping identities.