La Convivencia: Exploring Sephardic Music’s Traditions of Peace and Coexistence

Date: March 17th, 2021
Duration: 35m:48s

“La Convivencia” is the work of two Bosnian artists, accordionist Merima Kljuco and contralto Jelena Milušic, who have woven a musical narrative using arrangements of traditional Sephardic songs, selections from Merima’s composition, “The Sarajevo Haggadah,” and the music of Flory Jagoda, a Bosnian composer and performing artist who preserved both Sephardic music and the Ladino language. This video features the Q&A session that followed the premiere performance of “La Convivencia” on March 17, 2021. The performance has been edited out in order to make a future commercial release of this music possible. During the conversation, Merima and Jelena introduce the work of Flory Jagoda, discuss musical characteristics of Sephardic and Bosnian music, and share the incredible story of the Sarajevo Haggadah which inspired Merima’s composition of the same name. They also provide insight into their preparation process, as well as a brief introduction to the accordion.

This event was co-sponsored by the Harriet and Kenneth Kupferberg Holocaust Center (KHC), the Department of Music, and the Queensborough Performing Arts Center (QPAC) at Queensborough Community College, and the Harriman Institute at Columbia University. For more information about the KHC, please visit http://khc.qcc.cuny.edu/

Website: https://khc.qcc.cuny.edu/