a PBS Channukah Special with Craig Taubman and many, many others!
December 2008 (check local listings here!)
This high-definition special features a distinguished, diverse and dynamic ensemble of musical performers in celebration of the Jewish Festival of Lights. Craig Taubman hosts a musical extravaganza featuring the likes of the Grammy Award-winning Klezmatics; cantor/tenor Alberto Mizrahi (first introduced in CANTORS: A FAITH IN SONG); top-selling jazz artist Dave Koz; soulful and dynamic Joshua Nelson; Emmy Award-winning actress Mare Winningham; rising star Michelle Citrin and others.
The press release is pasted below, chevreh - don't miss this incredible celebration! Share it with your communities!
Rabbi Menachem Creditor
-- www.netivotshalom.org
-- www.shefanetwork.org
-- menachemcreditor.org
To join Rabbi Creditor's email list, send a blank email to thetisch-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
Press Release:
http://pressroom.pbs.org/programs/lights_celebrate_hanukkah_live_in_concert
LIGHTS! CELEBRATE HANUKKAH LIVE IN CONCERT
– Internationally Renowned Performers Celebrate Holiday With Classic and Contemporary Favorites –
LIGHTS! CELEBRATE HANUKKAH LIVE IN CONCERT, airing as part of the December 2008 pledge holiday specials series (check local listings) on PBS, celebrates the holiday with a concert you don't have to be Jewish to enjoy. Host and internationally renowned Jewish musician Craig Taubman brings together an eclectic group of performers, many of them well-known in the Jewish music scene — as well as some surprises.
With high energy and old-country charm, the Grammy Award-winning Klezmatics share songs from their hit Hanukkah album, featuring lyrics by Woody Guthrie, while Cantor Alberto Mizrahi — the "Jewish Pavarotti" familiar to PBS audiences from the special CANTORS: A FAITH IN SONG — wows the audience with his Middle-Eastern rendition of "Ocho Kandelikas."
Michelle Citrin, whose YouTube videos "Rosh Hashanah Girl" and "Twenty Things to Do With Matzah" have received millions of views, gets the crowd singing along to Peter Yarrow's "Light One Candle." Emmy Award-winner Mare Winningham, a recent convert to Judaism, tells her unique story through "A Convert Jig," while Grammy Award-nominee and top-selling saxophonist Dave Koz transforms "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" into a song about hope — and a potential new Hanukkah classic. Multi-instrumentalist Josh Nelson leads a children's choir in the moving ballad "L'Dor Vador," and gospel singer Joshua "The Prince" Nelson puts a new spin on "I Have a Little Dreidel."
Rabbi David Wolpe (named the #1 pulpit rabbi in America by Newsweek in 2008) adds to the proceedings with touches of inspiration throughout the program. Taubman performs a number of songs, including his original compositions "Shehechianu" (with his sister, Cantor Caren Glasser), "Holy Ground" (with dance troupe BodyTraffic) and the traditional melody "Maoz Tzur" (a duet with multi-Grammy Award-winner Laurence Juber).
LIGHTS! CELEBRATE HANUKKAH LIVE IN CONCERT offers a diverse and joyous new way of looking at the holiday for all generations.
Performances include:
- "Hanukah Gelt" – The Klezmatics
- "Mi Yimalel" – Craig Taubman, The Tribe and Alberto Mizrahi
- "The Blessings" – Alberto Mizrahi
- "Shehechianu" – Craig Taubman and Caren Glasser
- "Od'cha" – Alberto Mizrahi
- "Lights" – Rabbi David Wolpe
- "Light One Candle" – Michelle Citrin
- "I Have a Little Dreidl" – Joshua Nelson
- "Ocho Kandelikas" – Alberto Mizrahi
- "Hope" – Rabbi David Wolpe
- "Holy Ground" – Craig Taubman and BodyTraffic
- "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" – Dave Koz
- "Ale Brider" – The Klezmatics
- "Hiney Ma Tov" – Joshua Nelson
- "Hanukah's Flame" – The Klezmatics
- "A Convert Jig" – Mare Winningham
- "Maoz Tzur" – Laurence Juber and Craig Taubman
- "L'dor Vador" – Josh Nelson with Sinai Temple and Temple Aliyah Youth Choirs
- "Hanukah 'O Hanukah" – the cast
Underwriters: Public Television Viewers and PBS. Co-producers: International Media and WLIW New York. Executive producers: Gustavo Sagastume and Craig Taubman. Executive producer for WLIW: Roy A. Hammond. Creative director: Stuart K. Robinson. Camera/technical director: George Veras. Format: CC Stereo Letterbox/HD where available
– PBS –
CONTACT: Cara White, CaraMar Publicity, Tel.: 843-881-1480; cara.white@mac.com