Classical music lovers will be in for a treat on Sunday, Feb. 10, when Israeli musicians Ilan Schul and Mula Sajevitch present classical and Klezmer music at Park University. The concert will be held at 3 p.m. at Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel, 8700 N.W. River Park in Parkville, Mo. Faculty and students from Park University’s International Center for Music will perform as well. Tickets are $15 per person, $10 for seniors, and are available at the door.
Shmuel “Mula” Sajevitch is the brother of violinist Ben Sayevich, who now teaches at Park. He is a member of the Rosamunde Trio based in London, has played extensively throughout North America, Europe and the Far East and has appeared on radio and television both as soloist and chamber musician. Schul said he and Mula Sajevitch are performing here because of the brothers, who were born in Lithuania, which at that time was a republic of the Soviet Union, and immigrated to Israel in 1971 when Ben was 12 and Mula was 23. This is a short three-city tour for Schul and Sajevitch. They are preparing for a larger concert tour in the spring of 2014.
Schul, who served as president of Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, Israel’s premier institute of artistic education, creativity and performance, for nine years until this past October, is a clarinetist and conductor. He is taking a sabbatical year and will return to JAMD as professor of clarinet, chamber music and orchestra studies when the year concludes. He explained via an email interview that the Feb. 10 performance will be a collage of classical music, “with traditional Jewish music brought by immigrants from all corners of the world into Israel leading to a unique musical language.”
“The blend of Jewish musical traditions in Israel formed a crucial element in the melting pot of the Israeli cultural identity,” he said.
The first half of the concert will consist of the Brahms Clarinet Quintet, which Schul explained is “one of the most monumental chamber music works of the 19th century.” He said it was written for a gypsy clarinetist, and illuminates musical elements of the gypsy flavor. In addition to Schul and the brothers, the performers will include David Radzynski on violin, Peter Chun on viola and Daniel Veis playing the cello.
Described as an “outstanding talent even as a young boy,” Mula Sajevich accompanied a national folklore troupe of more than 1,000 dancers in Lithuania when he was only 12. Over the years he has continued to play, teach and record compositions he wrote and produced himself. Since 2006, he has been a permanent staff member at the seminar “Clarinet and Klezmer in the Galilee,” founded and led by maestro Giora Feidman.
A large part of the second half of the concert here will consist of Mula Sajevitch’s original music, including “Yiddish Jazz,” “Idyll,” “For you my Love,” “Zila,” “Meiron,” “Desert Dance,” and “Longing.” His tunes are described by Schul as having “a special innocence, simplicity and charm, and help to connect us to his inner voice and soul.”
Schul was born in Bucharest and immigrated to Israel at the age of 4 with his parents. A graduate of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Schul is a frequent soloist with orchestras and chamber music ensembles in Israel, and was for several years a member of the Doron Ensemble for Twentieth Century Music. He has also appeared as guest conductor with the Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion, Israel Sinfonietta Beer-Sheva, Musica Nova, and the Kibbutz Chamber Orchestra, where he was house conductor.
Schul and Mula Sajevitch play together often and Schul plays on Sajevitch’s debut CD, “Longing.”
Schul hopes the February concert here will appeal to music lovers.
“Soul music, especially Jewish soul music, or as referred to as Klezmer, is mostly a state of being for the artist and a state of mind for the audience in which the message and energy of the music is handed over to the listener from the inner voice of the performer,” he said.
“Klizemmer in Hebrew means instrument of song, so our instrument is only a tool for singing out our souls and inner still voice!” he continued.
Ben Sayevich is excited to get the chance to perform with his brother and Schul. He said both musicians are highly praised in Israel.
“Schul was president of Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, and that’s a very prestigious position,” Ben Sayevich said.
“My brother has a wide scope of Jewish musical background, and he has a certain way of jazzing up music,” he continued. “Since he came to Israel, he’s written some very popular music. He can write and orchestrate very quickly and has a very unique ear.”
Ben Sayevich said he’s looking forward to the concert.
“The concert will be a unique blend of classical music and Jewish music,” he said. “The Jewish music comes from different parts of the world and has been blended together in Israel. I find that very fascinating that it can show the different cultures and still become Israeli music.”