Sophie's Dancelog » School

Summer Break

Sophie — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:51:34 +0000

The summer has started and school is over. We had an amazing end-of-the-year concert, with performances so inspiring that they brought tears to my eyes. After the concert many of us headed straight to Ben Yehuda St., the pedestrian mall in the center of Jerusalem. We set ourselves up smack in the middle of the street and the party began! Imagine a bunch of percussionists (on darbukas, djembes, def and riqq), and a bunch of people on melodic instruments boisterously playing their hearts out with the rest of the students dancing wildly in front of them! Pretty quick we had a huge crowd surrounding us, some people joined the dancers, some were “helping out” the musicians. I played sagat and danced and being in the midst of this crazy wild-spirited circus was one of the most liberating experiences I’ve ever had. I felt so lucky being surrounded by so many talented and giving people. Can’t wait to see what next semester brings!

Finger Cymbals (Sagat) Solo

Sophie — Fri, 30 May 2008 05:21:05 +0000

Studying in the Center of the Middle Eastern Classical Music

Sophie — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 20:31:53 +0000

This month I’ve started studying at the Center and so far I enjoy it immensely. Suddenly I find myself amongst people that share my passion and it’s a very gratifying feeling. The atmosphere in the center is very casual and relaxing, and the students are curious, eager to learn and fun to hang out with. Everyone comes from a different background, be it social, cultural or musical, but that’s precisely what makes our classroom experience so special.
I’m glad I took the complete certificate program upon myself, otherwise I would have missed classes that I now find the most thrilling. The Piyut (liturgical poem) class turned out to be one of the best in the program. The teacher, Elad Gabai, leads the class easily, with humor and charisma, and have I mentioned that he is also a gifted qanun player, and that he plays it to accompany us? He also requested from the students to bring their instruments to the class, so next time we will have a full orchestra!
Kobi Hagoel’s “The Art of Rhythm in the East” class is great as well. For the first class he hauled a bunch of frame and goblet drums to demonstrate their different qualities and his command of playing is amazing. You could also trace his previous actor career in the way he presents himself and the material, in his posture and attitude.

Back to School

Sophie — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 19:34:24 +0000

I enrolled for the certification program in Classical Oriental Music at the Center of Middle Eastern Classical Music in Jerusalem. It’s a 3-year program and I’m going to specialize in percussion (sagat and darbuka). There are 5 courses during the first year:
1. Solfege and General Music Theory
2. Musical Repertoire of Eastern Jews
3. Piyut [a liturgical poem] and Melody in Eastern synagogue (lecture and workshop)
4. Classical Arabic Music Theory (maqams, usuls etc)
5. The Art of Rhythm in the East (lecture and workshop)
6. Weekly private with Kobi Hagoel

Can’t wait to start!