The 23rd annual Jewish Music Festival started today in Jewish communities throughout the nation with more than 2, 000 religious, cultural, educational, fraternal and women’s organizations participating with programs. The observance, which will last till Passover, is conducted under the theme “The Historical Contribution of Russian Jewry to Jewish Music.”
The Jewish Music Council of the National Jewish Welfare Board has chosen the theme in order to bring the treasure trove to the attention of a generation which should be aware of this heritage and preserve and enrich it, according to Rabbi Avraham Soltes, chairman of the Music Council, It is also intended to keep alive the creative efforts of Russian Jews who, in the Soviet Union today, are denied opportunities for the full flowering of their Jewish culture, he said.
Jewish Community Centers, synagogues, Hillel Foundations, Hadassah and Council of Jewish Women chapters, B’nai B’rith lodges and chapters, Jewish schools, radio and TV stations, colleges and choral groups are among the organizations that will be presenting Jewish Music Festival programs in hundreds of American communities. To aid in the preparation of these programs, JWB’s National Jewish Music Council has published a manual listing resources in music and literature related to the theme of the Festival.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
