Presented by The Herman P. and Sophia Taubman Endowed Symposia in Jewish Studies
Monday, April 7, 2003 / 8:00 P.M. / $7 UCSB students & $12 general admission
UCSB Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall
Tickets available through the UCSB Arts & Lectures Ticket Office (805)-893-3535
Visit : www.yairdalal.com

Sample Song : "Through the mist of your eyes"
Album : Asmar (Najema, Israel)
Link to soundtrack for web page:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/world/awards2003/profile_dalal.shtml

Reviews:

"It was so beautiful, it was almost unbearable. Yair Dalal ,with his mysterious magical smile, takes you on a captivating journey where conventional concepts of time, space and freedom do not exist."
- -Jerusalem Post

"His latest release is really one of the best CD's in the world music genre. We are talking about a real music phenomenon on the highest level in world measures."
- - GLOBES, Yossi Babliki, February 2001

About the Artist

Yair Dalal, as a soloist and with his ensemble Al Ol, is a leading figure in the Israeli music scene and within contemporary world music. In recognition of his artistic stature, he has been nominated to receive a BBC Award for World Music in 2003.

At a time when the conflict in Israel/Palestine is worse than it has been for decades, the music of Yair Dalal represents a small ray of light in a world of terrible darkness. Born in 1955 in Israel to Iraqi parents who were recent immigrants, he has worked tirelessly as both a musician and activist to promote peace between Arabs and Jews. His music reflects the traditions of both cultures as well as many others of the Middle East and beyond, all the way from India to the Balkans.

Not until 1982 did he become a professional musician after the revelatory experience of playing with Bedouin musicians in Sinai. He realized how much they had in common with him and this sparked off the desire to explore his own roots after having been educated to only look westwards.

Despite training in classical European violin, he developed the ability to improvise _ a skill which is one of the prerequisites in performing the maqamat (melodic modes) of classical Arab music. Apart from voice, his main instruments are the oud and the violin, which are complemented by his regular collaborators in the Al Ol ensemble, whose diverse ethnic backgrounds are reflected in the use of instruments from all over the Middle East and Asia. Nay flute, darbukka and daf drums, clarinet, lyre, saz, tabla and sitar all make appearances in his often delightful exploratory fusions.

Over the past decade he has released nine albums and collaborated with a wide array of musicians, including the likes of Maurice El Medioni, Ensemble Kaboul, Shlomo Mintz, L. Shankar and Hamza El Din. In 1994, as part of celebrations marking the first anniversary of the Peace Accords, he performed "Zaman el Salaam" ("Time For Peace") in Oslo with a group comprised of fifty Palestinian children, fifty Israeli children, Norwegian children and the Norwegian Philharmonic orchestra, conducted by Zubin Mehta.

His latest album Asmar features original compositions and songs from Iraqi, Persian and Israeli traditions, drawing on both classical and folk idioms. There are outstanding contributions from a variety of guests and perhaps the most poignant of these is that of Persian singer Maureen Nehedar on Prayer For Peace (Selichot for Yom Kippur). It remains as tragically relevant today as when it was first sung: "O Lord, see our plight / O Lord, answer our urgent plea / Give us peace, give us tranquility in our abodes/ O Lord, grant us peace in our land, let there be an abundance / in the world, grant peace to our kingdoms."

The Herman P. and Sophia Taubman Foundation Endowed Symposia in Jewish Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara is cosponsored by UCSB Arts & Lectures, Department of Religious Studies, Hillel, and Interdisciplinary Humanities Center. This event is also cosponsored by the UCSB Center for Middle East Studies, UCSB Department of Music, UCSB Music Affiliates, and Santa Barbara Jewish Federation.

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