\u201cI always wanted to connect the African-American struggle in America with the Jewish struggle, so I decided to do it through music.\u201d<\/p>\n
And that is how \u201cSoul to Soul,\u201d an inspirational concert coming to the Queensborough Performing Arts Center for one performance only on Monday, Feb. 9, came to be, according to Zalmen Mlotek, the man who conceived it some 15 or so years ago and who will be conducting it once again in its latest incarnation.<\/p>\n
A celebration of African-American and Yiddish folk music traditions, the show was inspired by the historic partnership between the two cultural communities during the Civil Rights Era of the 1950s and 1960s.<\/p>\n
Mlotek explained that the performance \u201ctells many stories,\u201d and includes, for example, references to a time in this country when African-American colleges were the first to hire Jewish refugees as professors.<\/p>\n
Mlotek himself had the opportunity to become an instructor at Queens College, where he offered classes in Yiddish songs. He was also, for a brief time in the 1970s, a student at the college.<\/p>\n
The stories \u2014 and songs \u2014 are presented in English, Yiddish and Hebrew. Subtitles provide translations.<\/p>\n
The show is presented by the Queensborough Community College Fund Board and the Kupferberg Holocaust Center, and performed by the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, for which Mlotek serves as artistic director.<\/p>\n
It features Elmore James, Lisa Fishman, Cantor Magda Fishman and Tony Perry, with a special \u201cSoul to Soul\u201d debut performance by the 90-member Shireinu Choir of Long Island, as well as the participation, for the third time, of the IMPACT Repertory Theatre, a Harlem-based organization that strives to develop and empower urban youth. The presentation also includes narration and images curated by Motl Didmer.<\/p>\n
While this engagement is only the second for \u201cSoul to Soul\u201d in the borough, the show has been performed around the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no better way than music to bring people together,\u201d Mlotek has found, pointing to \u201cthat voice we all have in common in humanity, whether it\u2019s nursery rhymes, prayers, folk songs. When we can connect people, there\u2019s nothing more powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is a thought shared by Perry, a long-time Astoria resident who has been with \u201cSoul to Soul\u201d from the beginning.<\/p>\n
Perry recently recounted an experience of presenting the concert in Romania. The performers had been cautioned that audiences there tended to be less than demonstrative. \u201cBy the end of the show, they were dancing in the aisles,\u201d Perry said.<\/p>\n
Now, he is excited about performing it in his own backyard.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s different,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a weird business. You audition and prepare here and then go away to do the work.\u201d He now looks forward to having friends and family in the audience.<\/p>\n
Perry recalled the show\u2019s first performance, which took place in the Hamptons.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has matured and grown\u201d since then, he said.<\/p>\n
During the concert, Perry, an African American, sings in both English and Yiddish. He explained that singing in a foreign language is nothing new to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you train to sing, you train to sing in other languages,\u201d he said, noting that Yiddish is not generally among them. \u201cSo, the concept is not weird to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
And the songs that are sung are all \u201cmeaningful and straight to the heart,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have so many common struggles as people, there\u2019s no reason not to help each other. I\u2019m talking about everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mlotek concurs, calling the show \u201cmore relevant than ever\u201d and saying, \u201cIt\u2019s important to be an example of an organization that reaches out to other people.\u201d<\/p>\n
To this, he added, \u201cWe have not yet done it in an African-American setting. We\u2019d love to find a big church that would welcome us. We\u2019re working on it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The performance at QCC, at 222-05 56 Ave. in Oakland Gardens, takes place at 7 p.m. It is a benefit honoring Mark Kupferberg and the Center. Tickets are $36 (general admission); $54 (premium seating); or $180 (VIP seating, with cocktail reception at 5 p.m.). For more information, call (718) 631-6311 or visit qpac.qcc.cuny.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI always wanted to connect the African-American struggle in America with the Jewish struggle, so I decided to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":124660,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":{"0":"post-124659","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-queens","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-queens","12":"tag-queens-headlines","13":"tag-queens-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124659"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124659\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}