Beshir Agha

“There’s a lot of great Jewish holiday music out there, and we were listening to one of our favorite world music programs during the holidays. That’s when it occurred to us that we could do our own Khanike album, one that reflects our interests and highlights Yale’s extraordinary arrangements and compositions, with music that could be enjoyed by a wide range of listeners, from little kids to serious music appreciators. And it provided a perfect opportunity for an idea that we had been discussing for some time- an entire album arranged for vocals and strings. It also gave us a perfect opportunity to join forces with Sara and David, whom we met through the Mark O’Conner Strings Camps; Amos; and Alex from the Hausmann Quartet. We wanted the repertoire to present a sense of how Khanike was and is celebrated by different cultures around the world. The Ladino songs were traditionally sung by women in the kitchen as they prepared for the holiday…”