We wouldn't dream of knocking the Nutcracker, Santa Claus, and the rest—but maybe you need a little something else this holiday season? For example, a bisl rockin' klezmer or some soulful Sephardic music to tug at your heartstrings? A little juggling perhaps? Violinist and composer Kaila Flexer, the force behind the beloved Bay Area Jewish music event Klezmer Mania! brings us year three of Pomegranates & Figs: A Feast of Jewish Music, celebrating the rich diversity of Jewish music with a stunning quadruple-plus bill featuring Teslim, Veretski Pass, Eliyahu and The Qadim Ensemble, and the Oakland Folkharmonic, plus Juggling Jewish Diva Sara Felder providing between-act entertainment.

Bay Area string duo Teslim takes its name from a recurring theme in Turkish music which is said to invoke a feeling of returning home. Violinist Kaila Flexer and multi-instrumentalist Gari Hegedus are composers creating new music inspired by the power of Greek, Turkish, Arabic, Jewish, and Balkan traditions.
 
Veretski Pass plays “old country” music with origins in the Ottoman Empire, the ancient borderlands between the East and the West. A collage of Carpathian, Jewish, Rumanian, and Ottoman styles, a typical set from Cookie Segelstein (violin), Joshua Horowitz (accordion), and Stuart Brotman (bass) contains dances from Moldavia and Bessarabia, Jewish melodies from Poland and Rumania, and haunting Rebetic aires from Smyrna, seamlessly integrated with original compositions.

Led by Eliyahu Sills on the ney (flute), the Qadim Ensemble includes Rachel Valfer Sills on oud (lute) and lead vocals, Faisal Zedan on Arabic percussion including the darbukkah (hand drum), riqq (tambourine) & daf (frame drum), and Gari Hegedus on Turkish saz (long-necked lute) and
oud. The ensemble’s repertoire includes Arabic, Jewish, Turkish Sufi, Hebrew-Yemenite, Armenian, Ladino, and Moroccan music, celebrating the common musical and spiritual heritage of the region's cultures while honoring the great diversity found within them.

Violinists Shira Kammen and Kaila founded the Oakland Folkharmonic with three outstanding young string players, Rachel Taylor, Danielle Taylor, and Kyla Danysh. The ensemble features new works by its members as well as traditional repertoire.

To make the evening even more heymish (homey), we invite audience members to schmooze and kibbitz, as well as nosh on a delectable array of sweets and savories before the concert and at intermission. What's not to like?

Visit Teslim's website

Visit Eliyahu & The Qadim Ensemble's website

Visit Veretski Pass' website

Listen to a track from Teslim:

Listen to a track from Eliyahu & The Qadim Ensemble:

Listen to a track from Veretski Pass: