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From Sanandaj to Essaouira: Journey through Modal Music
Dec 12 @ 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
AN IN PLAIN SIGHT: JEWISH ARTS AND LIVES IN THE MUSLIM WORLD PROGRAM
Don’t miss the chance to hear the dynamic, internationally acclaimed musician and recording artist Elana Sasson at the Magnes!
In this special performance and lecture, the renowned Persian/Kurdish-American vocalist and composer will share and discuss modal music of Jewish communities from across North Africa and the Middle East. Her presentation, accompanied by Sirvan Manhoobi on Oud, will highlight Morocco and Kurdistan as case studies, drawing on archival music recordings along with live performance.
Thursday, December 12, 2024 | 5:30-7:00 pm
In person at the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, 2121 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA
The Magnes’s programs and exhibitions are supported by our community. Click here to make a suggested donation of $25 per adult.
If you have any questions about accessibility or require accommodations to participate in this event, please contact us at magnes@berkeley.edu or call us at (510) 643-2526 with as much advance notice as possible.
Elana Sasson is a US born vocalist and composer, fusing the musical traditions of her Persian/Kurdish heritage with contemporary interpretations. Her music oscillates between east and west, ancient and modern, and free rhythm and uptempo grooves. Inspired by the poetry of both mystic and current Persian and Kurdish poets, contemporary jazz harmony, latin rhythms, and the modal melodies of her roots, Sasson aims to create a sonic world of placelessness through her music.
She has trained vocally with master musicians from Iran and Kurdistan, synthesizing her own unique vocal sound and ornamentation. She was a resident at Fabrica Research Center in 2019, holds a BA from UCLA in Design Media Arts, and graduated with distinction for a MM in Contemporary Performance and Production from Berklee College of Music in Valencia, Spain.
Her performance credits include the Palau de Les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia, Spain, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, California, Sony Theater in Madrid, Spain, and Fabrica Research Centre in Treviso, Italy. Her music was featured in the film “Tatami” which premiered at the Venice Biennale Film Festival in 2023, and her debut musical project “Golestan” received a shining four star review from Songlines Magazine.
About the exhibition
Co-curated by Magnes Curator Dr. Francesco Spagnolo and scholar of Islamic art Dr. Qamar Adamjee, In Plain Sight: Jewish Arts and Lives in the Muslim World shares a selection of artworks and objects from the Magnes’s permanent collection that challenge common views about historical dualities and creative engagement among Muslim and Jewish artists and patrons. The exhibition highlights rootedness in diaspora, shared graphic forms and visual landscapes, attitudes towards sacred texts and human bodies, and networks of trade and knowledge exchange, all centering around the fundamental role of light in Jewish and Muslim prayer space.
