Local Cantors to Perform Concert of Jewish Music

At 3 p.m. on Dec. 11 at Temple Sinai of Glendale’s Cantor Mariana Gindlin and guests will present “The Music of Our People: An Afternoon of Ladino and Yiddish Melodies.”

Many people have never heard Ladino -- a language that is a mix of Hebrew and Spanish spoken in the Middle East and Northern Africa until it was nearly extinguished in the Holocaust. Over time, revivals have emerged in Sephardic, or Spanish-speaking, Jewish communities. Gindlin hails from Argentina, where she and her brother, Cantor Marcelo Gindlin, were raised with musical influences from all over the world.

“I learned it along with Yiddish and Hebrew. Because of the influences from Spanish music, it has a certain rich flavor,” she said.

Also on the bill will be Yiddish songs, once the language of Central and Eastern European, or Ashkenazi, Jews.

“Neither of these languages are being spoken or sung much nowadays,” Gindlin said. “Music becomes part of cultural history the moment it is written. With this concert, I want to share the beauty of our Jewish musical heritage.”

Joining Cantor Gindlin is Cantor Chayim Frenkel of Kehillat Israel, Pacific Palisades, Cantor Marcelo Gindlin of Malibu Jewish Center and Synagogue, Cantor Aviva Rosenbloom of Temple Israel of Hollywood, and Hazzan Mike Stein of Temple Aliyah, Woodland Hills.

The concert will take place at Temple Sinai of Glendale, 1212 N. Pacific Ave. in Glendale, three blocks north of Glenoaks Avenue. The cost is $10 per person or $18 per family, students are free with ID. Children are welcome, or childcare is offered with advance reservation. Valet and street parking are available. For further information, call 246-8101.