Israeli soprano, Tal Katsir, accompanied by Jiliane Russo, cello & piano, present a program of Hebrew, Yiddish, english and Ladino pieces spanning the middle ages to the 21st century. The program ffeatures works by Handel, Bach, Dowland, Robert Johnson, and Rossini. Modern Israeli classics from the repertoire of Chava Alberstein, Yehudit Ravitz and Ofra Haza, balanced against with traditional songs from the Yemenite and Ladino traditions.
The singer, pianist and composer Tal Katsir was born in Tel Aviv, Israel in 1988. She graduated from the Thelma Yellin High School of Arts. She served as an “Outstanding Musician” in the IDF whilst studying at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. She studied Music at Oxford University and graduated in 2012 withhonours. Awards and achievements have included a Distinction Scholarship from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation and music scholarships from Oxford University. Tal performed at The Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford, Bath’s Music Festival, St. Paul’s Cathedral in London and more. With her return to Israel in October 2013 Tal founded her ensemble Occitania, combining the sounds of the medieval Occitanian troubadours with folk and groove from different musical cultures. In 2018 Tal released her debut solo album together with her Travelling Musical Stage Project ‘The Carriage’ with which she toured California.
Jiliane Russo Hanley is a classically trained cellist, pianist, composer, arranger, and educator. She completed her Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts degrees at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College in NYC. Performing both in the classical arena (Bronx Orchestra, N.Y. Light Opera Company, manager and cellist of the Reona Ito Chamber Orchestra and various orchestras in New York City) as well as more modern settings with singer songwriters (David Letterman, the Monique Show, Live from the Artists Den.) She has played with Ringo Starr, Ben Harper, Kid Cudi, Courtney Love, Paul Miller a.k.a. DJ Spooky, Nelly Furtado, Ryan Leslie, and many other artists in the N.Y. city area. She composes for modern ensembles as well as her own ensemble, Nest and Rest, and her music has been featured on television shows such as "Gossip Girl".