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Shoshana Damari
Israeli singer, popular in the 1950's-70's whose extraordinary vocal qualities helped define the new Israeli culture. She was originally from Yemen, and often incorporated folk song elements and style into her music. In 1988 she won the Israel Prize.
Galeet Dardashti
Vocalist. Comes from a long line of eminent Persian classical music Iranian singers and also cantors. Currently singing with Divahn a Middle Eastern and Sephardic group. Studying for PhD, Anthropology, University of Texas.
www.divahn.com
Deborah Davis
Soprano. First confirmed cantor in the Humanistic Jewish
movement. Specializes in singing in Yiddish, Ladino and Hebrew. Currently with Second Avenue Klezmer Ensemble, based in San Diego, CA.
Susan Deikman
Singer, composer, Hebrew kirtan leader, educator. Leader in the international Music for People Organization, and teacher of voice, music improvisation and art. She teaches singing and leads drum circles. Susan is the creator of Mishpacha Music for children and their families. She is the founder of "Tone Deaf Choir" and has an instructional CD, "Toning for Tuning" for the Vocal Discovery Series. One of the originators of Hebrew kirtan which blends call and
response chanting of Hebrew text and names of God with joyous sound: a blend of voice, harmonium, and drums. Kirtan, Deikman states "is an ancient Hindu devotional chant form and is similar in its religious passion and intensity to African-American Gospel and Hasidic niggunim." Susan is known for her style of chanting. She states that she "offers you a powerful, direct, and personally transformative entry to God-realization." Susan teaches at Elat Chayyim, which is affiliated with the Jewish Renewal Movement.
Shulamith Doniach
Born in Russia around 1905. Composer and pianist. Lives in Israel.
Barbara Dowell
Born December 29, 1942 in Columbus, Ohio. Currently serving Congregation Ohev Israel, Newark, Ohio as cantorial soloist. Founder and director of Temple Beth Shalom's adult choir for thirteen years, The Sharyonim, and their children's choir Shir Chadash. She also served as the cantorial soloist for Kenyon College holiday services. She arranges choral musical selections, accompanying them on guitar. The Sharyonim recorded a selection of their repertoire, including three original compositions by Barbara, in May, 2002, entitled "The Sharyonim Sing." Copies of may be otained by contacting Barbara at barbara.dowell@pobox.com
Deborah Drattell
American. Born Brooklyn, NY. Opera Composer, conductor and professor of Comosition and Theory. Received PhD, University of Chicago. Currently director of New York City Opera 'showcasing American Composers.' Operas include Festival of Regrets, Lilith and A Captive Spirit. Other works include Eishes Chalyil and Letters Home.
Ellen Dreskin
American. Cantor. Born in Texas. Founding member of Beged Kefet, a musical Tzedakah collective. Graduated Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion School of Sacred Music in New York, 1986. Master in Jewish Communal Service from Brandeis University. Currently Associate Dean of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. First Cantor to be appointed to a full-time senior administrative position at the College-Institute, 1998. Served as Cantor and Educator at Woodlands Community Temple in White Plains, New York, and Fairmount Temple in Cleveland, Ohio, and as the spiritual leader of Chavurat Tikvah in Westchester County, New York. Ellen is married to Rabbi William Dreskin of Woodlands Community Temple.
Ellen Drobatschewski
Emigre German musician who survived WWII in hiding in France. In 1933 left Berlin for Luxembourg and lived there until the invasion of May, 1940. She Spent the war years in Marseilles and small villages around France, performing music, playing, knitting and working and frequently going into hiding or moving from place to place. Her two sons also survived the war as French soldiers. Drobatschewski describes her ordeal of survival in an article called "In Hiding" in Women of Exile: German-Jewish Autobiographies Since 1933, ed. by Adreas Lixl-Purcell.
Leonora Duarte
Born in Antwerp (now Belgium) July 28 1610. Died 1678. Portuguese-Jewish, (formerly marrano) from wealthy family with six children. Known to have been a composer and performing musician with other family members of the lute, viols and keyboard instruments. She wrote in the late Jacobean style. Her works for a group of 5 viols were called "symphonies". Her family were rich diamond merchants. Her father was baptised when Leonora was around 33 years old, but there is no information of any baptism for her mother Catharina Rodrigues. More information about Duarte, along with a bibliograpy, can be found in The Norton/Grove Dictionary of Women Composers. (p.150)
Jacqueline Du Pre
Born: January 26, 1945, Oxford, England. Died: October 19, 1987, London. Widely acclaimed cellist who died a premature death due to multiple sclerosis. Married to Daniel Barenboim. Convert to Judaism, 1967.
Henny Durmashkin (Gurko)
Singer. Born 1924- Died, 2002 in Englewood Cliffs, N.J. Sister of pianist Fanny Durmashkin and conductor Wolf Durmashkin. Henny was the youngest. Her grandfather, Akiva, was the cantor of Vilna s main synagogue and respected composer of liturgical music. Before the war, Henny had studied opera. She was fluent in 8 languages. Her brother, Wolf Durmashkin, had been prominent in Vilna's cultural, conducting the Vilna Philharmonic, prior to the ghetto life during WWII. In the ghetto, he directed a Hebrew choir and an orchestra in the ghetto. According to Barbara Durmashkin, Wolf perished at the age of 30, on Sept. 19, 1944. He was shot an hour before liberation of the Klooga concentration camp. During its 15 months in existence, the Ghetto orchestra performed 35 chamber and symphonic concerts. The last one took place on Aug. 29, 1943, three and a half weeks before the Ghetto was liquidated. "Liberated by American soldiers following a death march from Dachau in the spring of 1945, the Durmashkin sisters, the only two members of their famed Vilnius musical family to survive the Holocaust, became part of the Displaced Persons Orchestra at St. Otillien. The Bavarian town was the site of the monastery where the refugees were interned from 1945 to 1948." (Jewish Standard--http://www.jstandard.com/articles/2780/1/%91Music-kept-them-going%92) A documentary about the lives of those in the orchestra,"Creating Harmony: The Displaced Persons Orchestra at St. Otillien," had its premiere in summer 2007 at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Henny met Simon Gurko in 1949, and married him. Henny recorded the album Songs To Remember. She was the mother of Vivian Reisman, Rita Lerner and Abe Gurko. Thursday, Sept. 11, 1997 the Museum of Jewish Heritage -- A Living Memorial to the Holocaust was dedicated. Henny sang the Star Spangled Banner. Henny later donated artifacts to the archives of the Museum of Jewish Heritage including posters from the ghetto orchestra concerts and photos of herself with conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein. She died in the US. Henny Durmashkin's obituary was published in Forward, Aug. 23, 2002 by Alana Newhouse under title, "Henny Gurko, 78, singer who serenaded inmates." (aka Henny Durmashkin) If anyone has more biographical information about this singer, please forward to JMWC. Thanks.