morgana's guitar teacher was performing in a hanukkah celebration this evening at shearith israel on 70th street, just off of central park west. we've passed this synagogue many times over the years, so it was nice to be going inside for a concert. it's a beautiful building, also known as the spanish and portuguese synagogue. it's the oldest jewish congregation in the united states, having been established in 1654. since that time the congregation has worshipped in five different synagogues. they took occupancy of their current building in 1897.
her teacher performed with three other musicians: a double bass player, a violinist (who also sang), and a percussionist. they performed several beautiful sephardic pieces. one of them was avinu/terk which you can see them perform from a concert this past summer in the movie below:
the woman in front of me was filming all evening, but morgana and i figured it was best to stop. supposedly, one isn't supposed to film or take pictures in the temple, but it seems to be a rule that isn't always followed! (at least this for this evening . . )
sephardic singer vanessa paloma also performed. you can see her speak about the synagogue and sing a short song in the movie below:
sephardic singer vanessa paloma also performed. you can see her speak about the synagogue and sing a short song in the movie below:
