Jewish Music Festival at the Jewish Community Center in San Francisco, CA

Bringing various forms of Jewish music together, spanning over multiple generations, the Jewish Music Festival recently completed its 23rd celebration. Held over eight venues, around the San Francisco Bay Area, the festival consisted of a nine artist residency and commissioned work, apart from the brilliant music. This year's festival also saw the debut of the Shofar Award, an all festival pass and a wider variety of genres of music.
The festival included numerous performances ranging from synagogue to classical to rock and klezmer. There were several Yiddish theater performances as well as jam sessions and a dance party. A significant part of the festival is the live performance by cantors from outside their congregations. This year the performance was by Benzion Miller, a Hasidic cantor, with the Brooklyn synagogue.
Another feature of the festival, which is an inherent part, is performances of late 1800s Yiddish theater songs. This year the performances were by Heather Klein, a San Francisco Conservatory alumini, The Bridge Players, Teslin and Israel@60. Some of the artists who performed live during the festival included The Ark, Golem, Dreams & Prayers, Benzoin Miller, and Heather Klein apart from many others.
The newly introduced feature, the Festival Pass, allows buyers to reserve seating for all festival events, thus doing away with the hassle of buying individual tickets. A discount is provided for bookings of groups with over 10 people. The entire festival lasts over a period of two weeks and is a great way to learn more about Jewish music.