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September 27, 2002/Tishri 21 5763, Vol. 55, No. 5
Sephardic concert draws 500
LEISAH NAMM
Managing Editor
More than 500 people of all ages gathered in Paradise Valley High School's auditorium Sept. 14 to listen to the Valley's first Sephardic music concert.
"Sephardic Night Live," sponsored by the Sephardic Community of Arizona, featured Dr. Alain Bohbot, a hazan from France, who gave the audience an aural tour of Sephardic music.
Other featured artists were Cantor Marc Philippe of Beth El Congregation, Cantor Bernard Savitz of Har Zion Congregation, French electric-keyboardist Jean-Luc Haag, and local musicians Moshe Bukshpan, Jesse Winters and Steve Wininger.
The concert raised approximately $5,000 after expenses, said president Jacky Sebag. Fifteen percent of proceeds will be donated to the Israel Emergency Solidarity Fund to provide relief to families victimized by terrorism.
The Sephardic Community of Arizona made its debut last fall with High Holiday services and held High Holiday services again this year.
Currently, the group is looking to open a synagogue in Scottsdale, near the Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus, Sebag said. The group is also looking into affiliating with the Worldwide Sephardic Federation. "I think it will be a great asset if we develop a Sephardic foothold here (in the Valley)," Sebag said. "There's so much to offer to the entire Jewish community. We're lacking here."
Currently, the group has approximately 250 families in its database, Sebag said. "But there is at least three times this number in the Valley," he added. He expects that with more Sephardic programs available, "eventually people will wake up and they'll start getting involved."
Compact discs of the concert will be available. Call 602-995-3874.
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