J-ARTS

El Nora

Anyone who thinks Jewish music equals klezmer needs to hear Divahn’s Middle Eastern and Sephardic grooves. Fans first heard Divahn’s energetic music deep in the heart of Texas. Today, this dynamic New York City-based quintet delights audiences throughout the country and has made numerous live radio appearances. Divahn infuses traditional songs with sophisticated harmonies and arrangements using tabla, cello, rabel, doumbek, violin and other acoustic instruments, plus vocals in Hebrew, Judeo-Spanish, Persian, Arabic, Aramaic and Turkish.
Their beautiful lyricism flows through an intense rhythmic drive. The group distinguishes itself as the only all-female ensemble performing Mizrakhi-influenced music (Jewish music from the Middle East and North Africa) in the US, and has performed with some of the world’s most renowned master musicians, including Glen Velez and Anindo Chatterjee. Divahn, a word common to Hebrew, Persian, and Arabic, means a collection of songs or poetry. Through its music, Divahn seeks to underscore common ground shared between diverse Middle Eastern cultures and religions. The group captures the breadth and diversity of Mizrakhi and Sephardi music throughout the centuries, while simultaneously creating and redefining innovative directions for the music in the present.

El Nora
Ayni Tzofiah
Hamavdeel
Vashti

Hazzan Galeet Dardashti (vocals, guitar, percussion) pursues her artistic and academic passion for Mizrahi music as both accomplished singer and anthropologist. She has performed as a soloist both in the US and Israel, including significant cantorial work. Galeet is writing her dissertation on contemporary Mizrahi and Arab music in Israel and offers interactive musical workshops and academic lectures on this topic, such as recent events at B’nai Jeshurun in NYC and the 2005 Aleph Kallah. She recently returned from conducting her dissertation research in Israel, which was funded by fellowships from Fulbright-Hays, The National Foundation for Jewish Culture, and The Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture.

During her fieldwork, Galeet studied and performed Arab and Persian music with some of Israel’s most renowned musicians, including Yair Dalal, Yitzchak Refuah, and Kobi HaGoel. Galeet’s grandfather Yona Dardashti was one of the most highly acclaimed singers of Persian classical music in Iran. Together with her father, Hazzan Farid Dardashti, and The Dardashti Family, Galeet performed international Jewish music throughout the US and Canada for 19 years. In 2007 she was named a Six Points Fellow. She is joined in Divahn by Lila Sklar, Amy Sue Bartson, Eleanor Norton and Sejal Kukadia.

“ A stunning debut! … Darting, stabbing rhythms, throaty, urgent vocals and intricate and intelligent arrangements, this is a flat-out thrilling record.” Jewish Week
In combining the old and new, drawing from across the globe, and mixing their respective musical gifts, Divahn have not only a fine debut on their hands, but a new musical statement — one of craft, originality, and spirit.” - Austin Chronicle