The Boston Phoenix has published a terrific article on the Music Festival. A big shout out to Jon Garelick for his fine work that captured so much of the spirit. Nice picture of Ruth Dolores Weiss, too! Hope you have your tickets--they are going fast!

You can read the article here: http://thephoenix.com/Boston/music/97500-jew-note/

Jim 

It is through our music, our literature, our art, drama and dance that we tell the story of our past and we express our hopes for the future. Our artists challenge our assumptions in ways that many cannot and do not. They expand our understandings, and push us to view our world in new and very unexpected ways….. 

"It's through this constant exchange -- this process of taking and giving, this process of borrowing and creating -- that we learn from each other and we inspire each other.

 And ... people who might not speak a single word of the same language, who might not have a single shared experience, might still be drawn together when their hearts are lifted by the notes of a song, or their souls are stirred by a vision on a canvas.

"That is the power of the arts -- to remind us of what we each have to offer, and what we all have in common; to help us understand our history and imagine our future; to give us hope in the moments of struggle; and to bring us together when nothing else will.  That is what we celebrate here today.”  

Michelle Obama,  September 25, 2009

Thank you, Mrs. Obama. You have expressed why having a Boston Jewish Music Festival is so important.  Now, more than ever, we need the creativity, the joy, and the inspiration that great art offers us.  Whether you dance down the aisle to Golem and the Klezmer Conservatory Band or bask in the beauty of Bloch's choral masterpiece, The Sacred Service, you can help make this Festival happen.