Advances in Research and Scholarly Activities Expand Understanding of the Discipline of Jewish Music in the United States
In the heart of Los Angeles, at the Sinai Temple on Wilshire Boulevard, a concert featuring the music of Max Helfman is scheduled to take place in the spring of 2019, presented by the Milken Fund. This event marks a significant moment in the study of American Jewish Music, a field that has seen groundbreaking research by graduate student researchers like Kacie Morgan and Ray Ace.
Kacie Morgan's research, which took place within the temple's attic-like space, focused on the influencers and interrelationships of composers across generations in American Jewish Music. Her work, after accounting for the computer's misunderstanding, revealed several hundred non-human entities, such as holidays and sound effects, in the oral histories as the computer's misunderstanding.
Meanwhile, Ray Ace's research, supported by a University of California Humanities Research Initiative Grant, delved into the contributions of composer Max Helfman. Ray spent several weeks analyzing handwritten sheet music, documenting, and photographing works by Helfman, some of which are only available in the Temple Archive. His work uncovered archival dangers such as large quantities of dust and the organ's wind turbine booting up unexpectedly.
The concert will showcase many pieces receiving their first public performance, a testament to the ongoing exploration and celebration of American Jewish Music. Kacie Morgan used a selection of oral histories from the Milken Archive to create a visual mapping of relationships, providing a body of information that will support future research.
The symposium focused on the academic study of the arts with an interdisciplinary perspective, co-sponsored by the Milken Fund. Israeli musicologist Edwin Seroussi delivered the keynote address at the symposium held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The most influential composers in American Jewish Music across generations include Abraham Zevi Idelsohn, Irving Berlin, Aaron Copland, and Bob Dylan. Each of these composers, with distinct personal stories and important influence on subsequent musicians, represents a continuum where Jewish liturgical roots, immigrant experience, and American modernism converge, influencing folk, popular, classical, and sacred Jewish music through their cultural leadership and mentorship.
Abraham Zevi Idelsohn, born in Latvia and trained as a cantor, immigrated to Jerusalem and founded the modern study of Jewish music history. His ethnomusicological work demonstrated unity across Jewish liturgical chants and influenced the academic and musical understanding of Jewish music.
Irving Berlin, born Israel Beilin in Russia, dominated Tin Pan Alley and Broadway with hits such as “God Bless America,” “White Christmas,” and “Alexander's Ragtime Band.” Berlin's music bridged immigrant Jewish culture and mainstream American culture, shaping the Great American Songbook and influencing countless American composers and popular musicians across genres.
Aaron Copland, born in Brooklyn to Jewish parents, became America's most symbolically national composer, crafting a modern American sound in works like Appalachian Spring. His blending of American themes with modernism helped define American concert music and indirectly affected Jewish music through his cultural and political engagements.
Bob Dylan, with his Jewish heritage, traced influence to his early folk music, which synthesized American folk traditions and Jewish ethos of social justice. Dylan consciously engaged with influential Jewish folk musicians and the social activism embedded in Jewish musical culture, shaping generations of artists who followed.
Contemporary composers such as Cantor Jonathan Comisar and Cantor Benjie Ellen Schiller continue this lineage by blending sacred Jewish traditions with modern composition and interfaith collaboration, mentoring new generations to embrace both authenticity and innovation in Jewish music.
This concert and the ongoing research by students like Kacie Morgan and Ray Ace serve as reminders of the rich history and ongoing evolution of American Jewish Music, a testament to the cultural diversity and artistic innovation that continues to shape our musical landscape.
The concert at the Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, featuring Max Helfman's music, will offer an opportunity to enjoy entertainment that celebrates the rich tapestry of American Jewish Music. Ray Ace's research, focusing on Max Helfman's compositions, has revealed significant insights about the contributions of this composer to American Jewish Music.
