TBI attracts top-shelf artists for classical, pop music productions in May

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The evening will feature two pop singer/writers with strong Nashville connections and Herding Cats, a four-member Americana roots rock band founded by Marc Bernstein, a TBI congregant

A kaleidoscope of styles, composers and artists, representing a broad swath of music history, will be on display at Tiferet Bet Israel Synagogue in Blue Bell May 5 and 11 as part of its 2019 Music in the Sanctuary series.

The series kicks off May 5 at 4:00 p.m. with Sung & Strung, a classical program featuring TBI Cantor Elizabeth Shammash, mezzo-soprano, and Allen Krantz, a frequent TBI guest performer, on guitar. Tiferet Bet Israel is located at 1920 Skippack Pike (Route 73) in Blue Bell, just east of North Wales Rd.

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A program highlight will be Krantz’s arrangement of three of Gustav Mahler’s “Songs of a Wayfarer,” selections normally performed with an orchestra or piano.

The recital will open with three Elizabethan lute songs composed by John Dowland and recently popularized by Sting.  They will be followed by traditional Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) songs from Spain and Turkey, all Shammash favorites.

The collection, with its haunting melodies, was arranged by Krantz, who will also perform two solo pieces, Isaac Albeniz’s “Leyenda” and “Sephardic Life.” The latter was arranged by American composer Michael White.

The recital concludes with five selections from Manuel de Falla’s Siete Canciones Popolares Espanolas (five of the Seven Popular Spanish Songs).

Shammash’s background as a recitalist and opera singer is something she enjoys sharing with her audiences, especially when accompanied by guitar. “Voice and guitar are a sublime combination, so richly intertwined,” she says. “The two can play off each other without dominating one another. Music composed for voice and guitar, particularly for a 19th century Spanish repertoire, is great fun,” she

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adds. “I treasure my partnership with Allen and am thrilled to be presenting this program with him.”

The Music in the Sanctuary series continues on May 11 when TBI will host its third Music Café Live program beginning at 8:00 p.m. The evening will feature two pop singer/writers with strong Nashville connections and Herding Cats, a four-member Americana roots rock band founded by Marc Bernstein, a TBI congregant. He, along with fellow congregant David Kershner, recruited the artists and arranged the program.

One of the featured performers, Scot Sax, is originally from Plymouth Meeting and a former congregant of the old Norristown Jewish Community Center.  He has been a prolific pop song writer for his own bands, Wanderlust and Feel, and for singers like Faith Hill and Tim McGraw.

In fact, it was Sax who co-wrote the country duo’s Grammy-winning smash “Like We Never Loved At All.” His catchy “I Am the Summertime,” penned while with the band Bachelor Number One, was featured in the blockbuster “American Pie.” And he’s earned countless TV credits with song placements in shows like “Ghost Whisperer,” “NCIS,” CSI:NY,” and “Keeping up with the Kardashians.”

Sax, whose formative influences include Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Fleetwood Mac and the Beatles, has been writing pop songs since he was 13.  When he catapulted into the spotlight with Wanderlust and its chart-topping single “I Walked” from the band’s 1995 RCA Records debut, “Prize,” it seemed that his knack of crafting sterling power pop would steer him to even greater things.

He continued to record his own material and would hit the charts again with singles “Got Your Name On It” and “Won’t Stand In Your Way.” Later, his collaboration with CBS Records artist Sharon Little resulted in a career highlight, his selection to open for Robert Plant and Allison Krauss on the duo’s 2008 “Raising Sand” tour.

Also featured in the Music Café Live concert is Bonnie Warren, a part-time Nashville resident and TBI member, who travels between Philadelphia and Nashville to work with talented writers, artists and producers in both cities while building her own reputation as an award-winning songwriter.

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She recently won the 2019 Song-of-the Year-Award in the Social Justice category of the Posi Music Festival.  She also won the grand prize in the Pensacola Beach Songwriting Festival and was a featured performer at the festival in 2017.

Her works, which include music in multiple genres—Contemporary Country, Pop, Gospel, Folk and R&B—have been showcased in contests, on television, on indie releases, and in indie films.  She also performs and participates in workshops and panels at a number of music festivals, and writes at Dan Hodges Music in Nashville.

Rounding out the evening’s musical lineup will be Herding Cats, featuring Bernstein on bass guitar, Steve Bard on guitar and harmonica, Mike McCauley on electric guitar and mandolin, and Andy Fritz on drums.  All are veterans of local bands and do original rock vocals that include three and four-part harmony.

Kershner, an accomplished trumpeter and a member of the band In The Pocket, as well as several “surprise guests,” may show up to perform with Herding Cats and the featured artists, according to Bernstein.

“What will make this a night to remember is that the artists will perform all original numbers in a variety of styles,” Bernstein says. “You can’t top that for the price of admission.”

Tickets for Sung and Strung can be purchased online at www.tbibluebell.org for $25 or at the door for $30. Admission includes a post-concert reception. Tickets for TBI Music Café Live can be purchased in advance for $15 and $20 at the door.  Admission includes appetizers, beverages and dessert. For more information call TBI at 610-275-8797.

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