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Divahn
Anyone
who thinks Jewish music equals klezmer needs to hear Divahn's Sephardic/Middle
Eastern grooves. The all-female quartet infuses traditional songs with
creative sophistication and harmonies, using tabla, cello, rabel, and
other acoustics, plus vocals in Hebrew, Judeo-Spanish, Persian and
Aramaic. The group made its debut one year ago and has made several
radio appearances on KUT’s "Eklektikos" in Austin,
and has begun touring throughout the United States. David Lynch of
the Austin Chronicle chose Divahn as the "Best New Band of 2001."
Galeet Dardashti, the group's leader, comes from a long
line of distinguished singers. She is a classically trained vocalist and
has performed international Jewish folk songs throughout the United States
and Canada for the past fifteen years together with The Dardashti Family
and as a soloist. Galeet has also served as a High Holiday hazzan for the
past two years. She is currently a doctoral candidate in Anthropology at
the University of Texas, where she studies Middle Eastern music and culture
in Israel.
Lauren DeAlbert has performed and recorded throughout the
continental United States, Hawaii, and Israel for the past ten years. She
has studied tabla at the prestigious Ali Akbar College of Music and with
some of the world's most renowned tabla masters, including Anindo Chatterjee,
Swapan Chaudhuri and Ty Burhoe, and with master Turkish musician Omar Faruk
Tekbilek. She has also performed locally in Austin, Texas, with Rajamani,
The Gypsies, and Ojala and currently performs with 1,001 Nights Orchestra.
Michal Raizen is a classically trained Israeli-born cellist.
She is currently a music performance student at the University of Texas,
where she studies with Professor Paul Olefsky. She has performed with numerous
classical chamber groups and orchestras and at international festivals in
Israel, Europe, and the US.
Emily Pinkerton earned a BA in Music, French and Spanish
from Butler University in Indianapolis. She is currently a Master's candidate
in Ethnomusicology at UT Austin, studying Latin American music. Her travels
and diverse musical interests have given her the opportunity to perform a
wide variety of music, including Andean, American folk, Old-Time country,
and Brazilian. Besides fiddle, Emily plays piano, guitar, banjo and other
string instruments. |