Musical Bridges Around the World has long worked to foster understanding between cultures, including those that are seen to be at odds. So as armed conflict in Israel and Gaza intensifies, it should come as no surprise to see a klezmer band playing traditional Jewish instrumental music on the Musical Bridges concert schedule this Sunday.
Advancement director Suhail Arastu said the scheduling of the Russell Hill Rogers Musical Evenings at San Fernando Cathedral concert series is planned up to a year and a half in advance, so the arrival of California klezmer rock band Mostly Kosher is coincidental.
However, “We really try to showcase the humanity of peoples from conflicting regions,” Arastu said of MBAW, a non-political, non-religious arts organization that in the recent past has presented an Israeli/Palestinian piano duo and a Ukrainian soprano singing with a Russian string quartet.
“There’s a lot happening in the world right now … we do like to highlight certain areas where sometimes the news that people get and the understanding they have is very negative,” he said.
To mark the solemnity of the occasion, the Sunday evening concert will begin with a prayer for peace by Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, Mara Nathan, senior rabbi at Temple Beth-El and Omar Adib Shakir, resident Imam at Masjid Bilal Ibn Rabah of San Antonio.
“We really want to offer a blessing,” Arastu said. “We know there are challenges around the world, and we celebrate our shared humanity through music.”
Arastu said that while he cannot speak for members of Mostly Kosher, “just knowing that they’re rooted in Judaic poetry and Yiddish refrains, their focus [is on] themes of social justice and human dignity and mutual understanding, so I feel like they would think this is a very appropriate time to be sharing their music and their message.”
Musical Bridges is prepared for the potential of protests nearby, as happened two weeks ago when CEO Anya Grokhovski attended a wedding in the cathedral, Arastu said. “Those places like Main Plaza and the area in front of City Hall are designed for that very purpose, for peaceful public gatherings and demonstrations, so people can be heard.”
The Mostly Kosher concert is free and open to the public, though tickets are required through advance registration.
Arastu said Musical Bridges has taken precautions and will have enhanced security on hand. He described San Antonio as a “compassionate city” that welcomes people of different heritages, cultures and faiths, and that the Musical Bridges organization itself represents a complex mix, “founded by a Russian Jew with me as an Indian Muslim … and operating in a Catholic sanctuary.”
And presenting Mostly Kosher will be another step in fulfilling Musical Bridges’ mission, Arastu said. “When you have people from lands that are in conflict on stage together … they’re bound in their common humanity.”
