Getting a property Equity Loan & Determine Qualifications
Getting a property Equity Loan & Determine Qualifications How can you Be eligible for a house Equity Loan? You have got read you to family security fund are a good solution to perform financial obligation, purchase home improvements if not loans a large bills, including a marriage or traveling overseas. Domestic equity loans are a fantastic choice for home owners and it’s all due to the efforts you have set in using for your house. When looking for property guarantee mortgage, it is important to understand the rules of the way the mortgage operates, what you’ll need to be considered and why these types of loan is a sound choice for you and your family. This informative guide will familiarizes you with this type of subjects so that you can seem to be pretty sure once you talk about loan possibilities having a financing expert. Rating made by reading a little more about family guarantee fund, and make certain to know about the good things you is do-or are already doing-to acquire the very best financing selection. What’s property Security Loan? A property guarantee financing (HEL) is actually a fixed mortgage which is secured of the guarantee in the your property. Your home’s value, your current home loan plus the guarantee you really have of your property are the greatest issues in the choosing whether or not you are going to be eligible for that loan. An excellent HEL uses your home as the security and requirements you features equity of your house. Inside the simplest terms, you have got collateral of your house in case it is really worth a great deal more than your debt on the mortgage. You could potentially have a tendency to have fun with you to definitely equity to borrow cash. For an excellent HEL out of Find Lenders, you will need to make use of the household which you inhabit since the your priples of priily house and lots of arranged equipment improvements. Unfortuitously, Pick can not use money spent, industrial property otherwise are manufactured homes to possess a beneficial HEL mortgage. Have there been Benefits to property Collateral Financing? Interest rates are typically lower than people towards the credit cards and you may most other unsecured outstanding debts Costs will vary by financial, however, Discover Lenders does not have any application, origination, or appraisal costs, with no cash is requisite on closing Appeal to the a property guarantee loan is tax deductible oriented about how the loan can be used and payday loans Spanish Fort your types of circumstances. Request an income tax coach to see if you be considered. Cost management is down on account of a fixed interest rate, fixed label and you may fixed payment Money is received inside the a lump sum Home Guarantee Loans are often used to alter your family, consolidate personal debt otherwise pay money for significant expenditures. Deciding Eligibility and you will Security Requirements per loan and lender can differ, but there are lots of guiding standards that one may pursue to find out if you are able to qualify for financing. You are going to normally you would like: Enough collateral of your property-number called for hinges on the mortgage count need Credit rating with a minimum of 620 History of in control credit use, such as for instance using expenses timely Verifiable, consistent money The fresh equity of your house is considered the most prominent factor that throws a limit on how much you could potentially borrow. Come across Mortgage brokers has the benefit of fixed fund of $35,000-$300,100000 which have...
Read MoreAfter you to definitely imagine is determined, the lending company can be determine how far they can give you centered on you to worthy of
After you to definitely imagine is determined, the lending company can be determine how far they can give you centered on you to worthy of There are several factors in which a refinancing choice are going to be produced. Whenever you negotiate an excellent “no-cost” mortgage (you have to pay no items otherwise settlement costs), if in case the fresh new emergency payday loan bad credit mortgage rates is gloomier than just your current rate, then refinancing your loan you would certainly be of monetary advantage to you. Whether your kept home loan equilibrium, in addition to issues and you may settlement costs, are refinanced during the less payment per month, whilst still being be paid out-of in your present mortgage payment label, after that refinancing would-be extremely recommended. You can basically rely on they are time for you to re-finance when your brand-new home loan speed was at minimum one or two situations less than your speed, therefore intend on residing in your home for at least three to five years. Lime County’s Borrowing from the bank Partnership also provides a complete Prices Study that may assist you in comparing the fresh new coupons in relation to refinancing. Which totally free mortgage economic research will save you some time help you choose in the event that otherwise when refinancing is good to suit your individual financial circumstance. An appraisal support dictate the fresh new fair market price of your home. So it means that the lending company doesn’t provide more than the home may be worth. You will find several circumstances you to definitely shape on the appraiser’s evaluation from your house’s value, and present domestic sales in the area, updates or change which have been built to your property, and most very important, your own residence’s total updates. To-do the appraisal, the new appraiser will come to your residence to possess a quick review, upcoming does some even more search and prepare a last statement and that’s sent to both you and your financial. If your home is well worth more than your debt with it, you have gathered equity. Family collateral ‘s the difference in the modern market value from your house, and you can any fund otherwise liens facing they. It’s the worth of their need for the house, or perhaps the piece you’ve got purchased and you will it is individual. You can use your own security to purchase your next home, otherwise borrow secured on they which have property guarantee loan otherwise Domestic Security Personal line of credit (HELOC). A house collateral mortgage try a lump sum of money one to comes with the exact same interest towards the longevity of the loan. It has a predetermined rates and that is ideal for merging obligations, and work out a big buy, otherwise doing a house restoration. A beneficial HELOC is a beneficial rotating credit line as possible borrow on since you need they. You pay for just what you use, also it possess a varying speed that varies towards the sector. HELOCs are useful having investing university fees, scientific costs, otherwise home improvements, when you require a little extra assist. And this choice is right for you? It all depends on the condition and affairs. Communicate with a loan consultant for more information on and that choice might be best for you. No, there are no settlement costs to possess a home equity financing otherwise HELOC at the Tangerine County’s Borrowing from the bank Union, if you keep your credit line discover to have 24 months. You could pay off the loan any...
Read MoreSavings getting First-Time Home buyers With Less than perfect credit
Savings getting First-Time Home buyers With Less than perfect credit Generally, the month-to-month debt money can’t be more than 43% of month-to-month gross income (money in advance of fees), or 29% immediately after including your financial and other house-related costs, eg property taxation. There are other requirements too. Instance, FHA fund keeps a max loan amount, which varies dependent on where you’re to get a house. In general, FHA loans would be more expensive than simply traditional money getting people that have a good credit score otherwise who will afford about an effective ten% advance payment. Although not, the fresh new FHA route may be the better option if you have bad credit or are only able to manage a tiny downpayment. Va Financing If you find yourself a help affiliate, experienced otherwise thriving spouse and you can meet up with the qualifications conditions, it’s also possible to be eligible for the newest You.S. Company of Seasoned https://paydayloanalabama.com/smoke-rise/ Facts (VA) mortgage system. The new Va backs financing, that is much like the FHA program for the reason that the fresh Va provides the mortgage, however, an excellent Virtual assistant-approved lender activities the mortgage. There are even Virtual assistant head fund, the spot where the Va ‘s the bank, available if either you or your lady is actually Indigenous American. Theoretically, there’s no credit history requirement for Virtual assistant-supported finance. However, of numerous Virtual assistant-acknowledged loan providers require a minimum credit history of approximately 620. So it criteria continues to be underneath the popular conventional loan element 660, but it is over the cutoff for almost all FHA money. You will find extremely important distinctions to look at while you are entitled to one another a keen FHA and you can good Va mortgage. For instance, Va loans may not wanted a downpayment otherwise month-to-month home loan insurance coverage, even so they might have a high upfront percentage. If you were to think you’ll be moving again in the near future, it may generate a lot more sense to go with almost any loan has the low initial fee. Definitely, additionally, you will must contrast the eye pricing and monthly installments to your fund to determine what option best fits your finances. When you have bad credit and they are a primary-time domestic buyer, you might be eligible for guidance programs. And don’t let the title put you of: The definition of “very first time” may vary. No matter if you have purchased a house before, you might still meet the requirements so long as this has been 10 years as you last owned property. Local and you can county governments, including nonprofit groups, commonly focus on these advice apps. What’s needed may vary, but may is purchasing a property within the a particular town, having a minimal otherwise medium earnings, otherwise working as a public-service worker, like an instructor or the police administrator. Help you get less interest rate in your financial. Defense section of your own down payment otherwise closing costs. Present a zero-focus loan to pay for your own advance payment or settlement costs. Search on your own nation’s Housing Funds institution webpages. Listed here is a listing of the states’ other sites. Visit the HUD page to suit your county and you will remark the fresh regional resources and you will homeownership counseling options. Research this new Advance payment Financial support directory. Research “first-day homebuyer apps” online. Include the name of your condition otherwise condition for much more local abilities. Mortgage lenders Imagine More than Fico scores If you are their borrowing is an important facet...
Read MoreGetting financing to create property, Its Distinctive from Getting home financing
Getting financing to create property, Its Distinctive from Getting home financing If or not you have been dreaming about it permanently or perhaps now beginning available strengthening a bespoke home, you likely will possess questions about funding your own generate and just how the procedure is different from to acquire a preexisting family. If that refers to you, here are a some remedies for all the questions undoubtedly going right through your head and you may strategies for making certain that things go because effortlessly that you can. The first thing to understand regarding strengthening a custom-built home , is the fact you will have to get belongings to build on. This will be unlike to shop for a preexisting family where prices of the home therefore the house is within the purchase speed. What’s more, it mode, unless you’re able to fund the expenses aside-of-wallet, you will need to score a secure otherwise package financing. Whenever you are trying to get such capital is a lot like an effective financial app procedure , which is often the spot where the parallels prevent. For instance, you will need to leave behind this new no-off resource purchases where you get meet the requirements having a home loan. Unimproved possessions (a blank package) has actually less selling prospective than just that property, that certain activities, leaves the financial institution at the greater risk in the eventuality of standard. What things to See Before you apply for a secure Mortgage Really loan providers inquire about a bigger downpayment than you might need to get a mortgage loan. Its not unthinkable observe a requirement from 25 percent down, or maybe more. You happen to be requested to provide proof a hold, ensure that you have got profit offers to pay for coming money. Full, credit conditions are tighter for buying residential property. Such as, with a few loan providers, a purchaser trying receive an enthusiastic FHA home loan will be recognized to have money which have at least credit rating away from five-hundred , but assume that to rise to the mid-700s when credit toward purchase of residential property. You will additionally has a shorter lending term than the important 15- otherwise 30-year home loan. Parcel loans will probably simply be amortized more than a ten- or possibly 15-season period. You can find lenders who can amortize the mortgage uniformly more one time, although some commonly look for a large balloon commission because you around the stop of one’s name. Lastly and perhaps above all: financial support doesn’t prevent for the purchase of a great deal. One which just even consider pouring a foundation, you will have to score a casing financing to cover the costs of making your dream domicile. What is actually a houses Loan? A casing mortgage are a primary-label mortgage made to finance expenses about strengthening your own customized household. Here once more, the application form process is like that home financing, however you will get a hold of enough distinctions. Very first, you will be making an application for several financing. That safeguards the information presented will set you back of construction, and you will must also qualify for home financing to transform you to definitely short term build financing in order to a permanent one. How do Framework Fund works? Ways structure fund job is and additionally unlike home financing. You and your builder makes requests to draw down the mortgage, for the design stage, making it possible for your own financial and come up with occasional disbursements to fund materials and you will supplies as the...
Read MoreTKP’li Kemal Okuyan: Sol buysa biz solcu değiliz!
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Read MoreAbout Me
What’s Susan up to?
Penn State Center for Holocaust and Jewish Studies will host me as I present a solo program of song and history focusing on the roots of Eastern European Jewish music and related songs.
I have the honor of presenting this year at the annual American Folklore Society's conference. A lecture on papercut arts around the world and a demonstration of my own work will take place during the conference on October 22, 2021!
ELEVEN languages and counting! Over the years, I've crafted ketubot that honor many cultures. In addition to the expected Aramaic, modern Hebrew, English, and even Yiddish, I have included Korean, Kannada, Latin, Arabic, and even the Telugu seen in the cropped image above! What a joy this has been!
What a wonderful experience I shared with the community of Las Cruces, NM and the Guild of American Papercutters when I presented an hour-long lecture on the worldwide history of papercut arts on March 16, 2021. This was in conjunction with the museum's show of Islamic papercut art. We looked at tools, traditions, and especially shared visual vocabularies from India to Mexico, from Persia to China and beyond!
February 18, 2018 - Susan will be hosted by the Sholem Aleichem Center in the Bronx for a concert. Come for a shmuez (a chat) and stay for the music!https://www.pineclubgolf.com/best-electrical-push-carts/
As part of the Sacred: Image, Text, Ritual exhibit at Lebanon Valley College, Susan will be presenting a lecture recital titled "Words as Homeland: Where Jewish Text, Art, and Song Converge to Express a Culture." Thursday, February 8, 2018, 5 pm at the Zimmerman Recital Hall.
A wonderful arts residency in Teaneck, NJ at Congregation Beth Sholom concluded with a full concert, accompanied by Adrian Banner on Piano. Enthusiasm and learning flowed back and forth the entire time. Fabulous community!
What a great night at the Jalopy in Brooklyn on June 16, 2016 as my new trio with Lauren Brody and Jake Shulman-Ment stepped out to strut our stuff! Many languages, many musical cultures, and great joy in blending our voices and instruments.
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In the beautiful summer landscape of Rindge, New Hampshire, I was privileged to teach traditional Jewish papercut arts at the annual National Havurah Committee's Summer Institute. We turned a large, sunny room into an art studio, and the class burst into enthusiastic art creation. I love the celebratory greeting of everyone's creations as skills and appreciation deepen over four days of classes. I'll come to you! Just ask!
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Back to the Catskills, this time teaching for HAZAK, a group under the umbrella of United Synagogue that offers among its programs an annual summer week of learning and camaraderie. I used my lecture/recital format to widen the world of Yiddish song for about 150 life-long learners as we studied, laughed, sang a bit, and grew to know one another in Kerhonkson, NY.
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When Nancy Spielberg screened her film Above and Beyond in Harrisburg's Chisuk Emuna Congregation, I was tapped to create a papercut gift for her. I chose the color scheme of her promotional material and the Hebrew words which translate into "Be strong... and strengthen one another." The filmmaker and I are shown here. (photo by Josh Damrauer)
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Each year the myriad of faith communities in the Harrisburg region come together to celebrate in song. Here's an image of my participation, sharing the beauty of Yiddish song at the Pine Street Presbyterian Church.
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One of three children's programs to wind up a hectic and marvelous Scholar in Residence program at Congregation Beth El in Fairfield, CT. Lectures, singing programs, explorations of Yiddishkayt - and a debut concert of the new Leviton/Brody duo in concert! I'll happily come to your community, too!
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Yiddish Culture on St. Croix! I received the warmest welcome all across the island where I had the opportunities to teach a vocal arts class in a school, offer an adult papercutting workshop, lecture in the synagogue, and get the whole audience at the Reformed Church singing along in multiple languages! Cultural seeds planted and the smiles, voices, and hugs still linger in memory!
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The Judson Church off Washington Square was packed with well over 300 people on December 30, 2014, to honor the memory and brilliance of Adrienne Cooper, and to award Michael Wex with this year's Dreaming in Yiddish prize. Below is an image of the finale of the musical performance of the Kanonen song from Brecht and Weill's Threepenny Opera, translated from the German into Yiddish by Wex himself. An all-star band backed us as we belted out the Army Song and others, accompanied by the brilliant puppetry and staging of Great Small Works and Power Point translations which made the text a little less inscrutable! What a night! Singers below include Sarah Gordon, Eleanor Reissa, Tine Kindermann, Dan Kahn, myself, and others.
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A whirlwind arts week in Caldwell, NJ at Congregation Agudath Israel allowed me to open Jewish folk arts to energetic groups from preschoolers through elders. The tots sang and acted out Yiddish songs with costumes and props, the school students (4 larger groups) explored paper arts and traditional papercutting, and adults were treated to a series of lecture recitals, everything taking place in a large space where I hung over 35 works of framed art. What a fabulous arts residency for all of us together!
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Nearly 100 people attended a lecture/recital stitching together I. B. Singer's writing and the artists who illustrated his books as Susan sang her way through the bookshelves, Sunday, November 16, at Chisuk Emuna Congregation in Harrisburg, PA. This was the second event in the year's programming under a grant from the Koster Foundation.
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I was guest lecturer at Dickinson College today, October 6, singing my way through a program on Jews and Food. Unlike the light weight singalongs I often do on this topic, the class took food songs into the framework of Hasia Diner's examination of the place of food in Jewish life in the Pale of Settlement through acculturation in America. 15 songs unpacked! A great eye-opening experience for all!
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Heeding God's Call is a national organization working at a grassroots level to end gun violence and straw buying. On September 18, within days of two gun murders in Harrisburg, I participated in an interfaith program at the MLK Baptist Church in the heart of our city. We 'sang' Reisen's Dos Naye Lid together as the assembled crowd held colored cards with words in Yiddish and English.
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A happy bride at the huppah with her papercut ketubah! 'Tis the season, and I've been busy with commissions of all sorts!
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A full week of learning and teaching at the Havurah Summer Institute was a welcome experience again this year. Located at Franklin Pierce College in New Hampshire, about 300 Havurahniks from infancy to elder sage-age filled days and nights with enthusiastic work, food, music, and exploration. I taught classes in Yiddish song and helped create a soundscape for Tisha B'Av this summer. Loved it!!!
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A lovely way to begin the summer's KlezKamp's Wisconsin adventure was a solo concert at Chai Point in Milwaukee. Jill Gellerman and were welcomed to the beautiful facility and then I sang for and with a great crowd of elders, eager to be part of the action!
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Quite a surprise when I met the truck from Welch Signage in Maine, carrying the massive synagogue feature wall I had designed, to see a piece of my own artwork prominently displayed on both sides of the vehicle!
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I performed for over 100 people at beautiful Maris Grove in Pennsylvania's Delaware County on May 13. As part of the PA Humanities Council's program of Commonwealth Speakers, I was able to bring the sound of Yiddish to an audience largely unfamiliar with the language and culture. As always, common threads were immediately found!
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Verrry busy these days creating a synagogue feature wall, but I took time last week to be interviewed for Ted Merwin's article "The Aesthetics of Judaism" in The New York Jewish Week. Here's a quote: "For Susan Leviton, a ketubah-maker, paper-cut artist and Yiddish folk song performer ..., it was during the 1960s and ’70s, when many Jews flocked back to their roots, that Jews... 'took Judaism back into their own hands' and began braiding challahs and tie-dying prayer shawls. Hiddur mitzvah 'alters us as we fulfill a mitzvah or perform a ritual,' she told me. A Midrash (Song of Songs Rabbah 1.15) suggests that observance of the commandments makes Jews beautiful, even as Jews glorify God through hiddur mitzvot."
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An outpouring of love and creativity filled the room as we honored the memory of Adrienne Cooper and saw Jenny Romaine accept the first Dreaming in Yiddish award for her visionary work. Here's Susan on stage with Alicia Svigals, Jake Shulman-Ment, Benjy Fox Rosen, Aaron Alexander, Michael Winograd, and Dan Blacksberg, 12/21/13. (Photo by Bob Blacksberg)
When Goucher College Hillel welcomed a gift of two Torah scrolls, I was honored to craft mantles and wimples. So much silk! Garnet polished to look like pomegranate seeds! Text and the visions of students to work with! A grand experience.
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A totally spectacular group of artists, writers, social activists, and even puppeteers joined me for a week of creative work as I served as Artist in Residence at the 2013 National Havurah Conference Summer Institute in Rindge, NH. In 4 days of intense collective learning and creating, we built a musical theater production in a box (a cranky) and shared the story of the plight of needleworkers, past and present, with 300 others in a rapt audience!
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It was a beautiful day in Baltimore as the Jewish Museum of Maryland presented its annual Risch Memorial Program. I was delighted to be the featured performer, following brief, powerful presentations by Andres Salguero, Ssuuna, and the DC Turkish Folk Music Group. It always touches me to rediscover the points of connection among immigrant communities, regardless of geographic homes, cultures, and reasons for relocation. A brilliant celebration of cultures!
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Over 350 pieces of beautiful Youghiogheny Art Glass hand-cut, and now I'm on to wet-grinding the edges! It's a new skill that I'm happy to add to my resume as I take on the responsibility to create a soaring double wall of glass above the Torah ark for Chisuk Emuna Congregation in Harrisburg, building anew after a destructive fire in 2009. Check back in mid-May for a look at the completed wall!
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Getting closer to a new recording! Michael Winograd spent a day in the studio on March 28 with Frank London, Dan Blacksberg, Hadar Noiberg, and Alec Speigelman to lay down horn tracks for my as-yet-unnamed CD. Dan Kahn joined in as a special guest vocalist. Next will come strings and soon after that the mixing and mastering, printing and artwork, and OT AZOY! A new Yiddish recording!
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A whirl of creative activity has sent me to the sewing machine to craft two Torah mantles for Goucher College Hillel. One of the scrolls is a rescued Torah from Czechoslovakia, so armed with a palette of palest greys, golds, silvers, and ivories, I headed to Chinatown in NYC on a rainy day to seek silks! What a delight to discover Belraf Fabrics, owned by an Uzbeki couple. A trip around the world in fabric! Take a peek here are the first days' construction.
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I'll be guest lecturing at Dickinson College in Professor Ted Merwin's class during the week that we commemorate the 102nd anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. My program on the fire in words and Yiddish song continues to grow as I learn, and to sadly resonate as we all ponder how little has changed in global workplace safely in the last century. See "Upcoming Events" for details.
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Each year as KlezKamp ends, I proclaim, "This was the best ever!" And every year I mean it. And this year I mean it more! The staff concert nearly lifted the roof off what had been, in its glory days The Granite Hotel in the Catskills. My classes (traditional papercutting and "Our Lives are in our Songs") were filled with curious, thoughtful participants who challenged one another to take each idea to a new level. What an experience. Do not miss this next December!! (sneak peek? Check out the KlezKamp post under Upcoming Events for a video clip!)
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December 22, 2012. Kaye Theater in Manhattan. I soared on the energy of dozens of the finest performers of Yiddish song and Klezmer as we paid tribute to Adrienne Cooper's memory in a three-hour concert of the songs she most loved. What a thrill to sing 'Di Arbuzn' a cappella, in three parts with women performers including Alicia Svigals, Lauren Brody, Shura Lipovsky, and Marsha Gildin. It was both a humbling and energizing evening. Sing out!
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I've just been selected as one of ten 2013 Guild of American Papercutters/X-acto Masters. This means over the course of the coming year I will be testing tools and materials and interacting with other artists to hone our skills and increase interest in papercutting arts. Very exciting!
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Are you aware of the Commonwealth Speakers program under the PA Humanities Commission? Every two years, a roster of artists, story-tellers, historians, and musicians selected by the PHC are able to travel the state offering specific programs at no cost to groups (schools, libraries, state parks, etc.!) other than a basic application fee. I just returned from Ohev Sholom in Williamsport and will head to Reading on Thursday to bring Women's Voices in Yiddish Song to the Federation's Friendship Circle there. Visit the website at www.pahumanities.org and check it out! Free programming! What are you waiting for???
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It's been a long time coming, but here I am, immersed in the joy of working in collaboration with brilliant musicians as I prepare a new recording! Production is in the fine hands of Michael Winograd, and the initial tracks have been laid down with David Licht, Jake Shulman-Ment, Carmen Staaf, Garth Stevenson, and Avi Fox-Rosen, with Lauren Brody and others joining in soon! Hmm... mostly Yiddish, with some surprises mixed in, and everything from spare acoustic accompaniment to over-the-top orchestrations. There'll be more and more about the project as it emerges from its infancy, so watch for news! Perhaps a concert or cd release party in your neighborhood down the line...
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Kesher Zion Congregation in Reading, PA welcomed me as artist-in-residence for the weekend of November 9, 2012, as the congregation honored the memories of Dr. Robert Greenberg and Evelyn Blumberg. I was delighted to find myself in the company of the congregation's brilliant Rabbi Minna Bromberg and rooms full of enthusiastic people hungry to experience new 'takes' on Jewish culture. My programming included a presentation of Yiddish songs of spiritual yearning, a lecture on contemporary Jewish ritual art, and then a rollicking concert on Saturday night with the newly expanded Old World Folk Band! Be sure to check the "Upcoming Events" tab to see where else I'm scheduled to spread YIddish culture!
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I can't say enough about the wonderful Tree of Life Congregation in MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA, where I just spent a weekend as scholar in residence. If you go to my 'coming events' tab, you may see the whole arc of the weekend, but I want to focus here on the response to my "Rage Against the Sewing Machine" presentation on Saturday night, October 27. Among the folks in attendance were physicians, attorneys, and workplace safety experts who each added to a passionate conversation about the effects of completely unregulated natural gas extraction on West Virginians, coal miners' safety issues, and even the plight of disabled people in sheltered workshops who, like the needle workers of 100 years ago, are largely groups without a voice. 'The more things change, the more they stay the same.' And yet we still find inspiration to act for social justice when we learn and sing the songs of our forebears. "Give us bread and give us roses!"
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A radio interview for a BALTIMORE station (WVIE 1370) allowed me to share some insights into the history of labor activism in the United States on September 2, 2012 - Labor Day weekend. So much more meaningful than running to sporting goods stores for sale items, this was a chance to engage listeners in anthemic Yiddish songs and their contexts. So many songs... so little time! But every time a Yiddish song is SUNG, it lives a new life.
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It's late summer, so a trip to the BLOCK AND HEXTER VACATION CENTER in Poyntelle, PA came around on my calendar. My teaching schedule allowed me to alternate sessions with fellow presenter Saul Silas Fahti, as we worked to expand the artistic, musical, polititcal, and in Saul's case, even cosmological horizons of the elders who flocked to the Poconos to participate, learn, and (it's a Jewish camp!) eat 3 squares a day. Whether singing, lecturing, or engaging in issues, I always learn from interactions with program participants. One highlight this year was meeting two Hungarian-born sisters who offered me a macaronic (mixed language) song that alternates lines between Hungarian and German/Yiddish. Will it make the cut on my upcoming recording? Stay tuned!
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A quick trip to MADISON, WISCONSIN as part of "A Bisele KlezKamp" on July 22 was a terrific bright spot in a busy summer season! Over 200 people buzzed around programming by some of the best teacher/artists in the Yiddish folk arts world as Michael Wex, Cookie Segelstein, Lauren Brody, Henry Sapoznik, Sherry Mayrent, Miriam Isaacs, David Spies, Sara Gordon, Kurt Bjorling, Steve Weintraub, and I managed to compress a week's worth of learning into one fabulous day. Keep up-to-date with U. OF WISCONSIN'S MAYRENT CENTER to find out what Yiddish programming will be offered throughout the year before our triumphant return next summer!
On Friday night prior to 'ABKK' I was hosted by Congregation Shaarei Shomayim where I presented an a cappella lecture/recital titled "Healing the World in Yiddish Song." Given the political upheavals and charged emotions in Madison these days, the program was a welcome one. The room was packed with people of all ages, and it was a special joy to me to be singing in a room within Frank Lloyd Wright's historic Unitarian Church, where the congregation meets regularly.
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Lauren Brody and I head to PITTSBURGH on June 3 for two concerts, a family event in the morning, and a full concert in the late afternoon at the JCC, in conjunction with the Jewish Museum's exhibit on the artists who illustrated the works of I.B. Singer. We're working up new material and are delighted that both PennPAT and the PA Humanities Council are supporting the program with generous grants. Come celebrate Yiddish culture!
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Healing the World in Yiddish - This lecture/recital program drew people from a wide variety of backgrounds and ages to a program sponsored but DICKINSON COLLEGE, the Literary Heritage Fund, Association for Jewish Studies, and the Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg on April 24. With PowerPoint translations and even a visit from Dan Kahn and the Painted Bird on screen, we explored the drive for human rights that infuses Yiddish song, and the activism that the songs inspire. As part of a series titled "Telling Jewish Stories through the Arts," the evening's riches were obvious as participants lingered over tea and cake and shared the stories that bubbled up in response to the presentation. What a great night!
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On Sunday, April 1, the Jewish Federation of Greater DAYTON and the Lynda A. Cohen Yiddish Club welcomed Lauren Brody and me for a concert. It was the first time that Lauren and I had the opportunity to present a full concert and we felt like siblings on the stage, finding parallel expressions of meaning and intention in her accordion and my voice without even a nod or a word. Utilizing the full range of her instrument, Lauren crafted a unique setting for each song, and the 'whole cloth' was fantastic.
We're already warming up for an upcoming event in June, so stay tuned for details!!
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MAURICE SENDAK! I write this on the day of Maurice Sendak's passing. (If you haven't heard both the recent Fresh Air interview and the hilarious pair of Colbert interviews with the incomparable Mr. Sendak, go find them NOW and come back here in an hour...) I am grateful and humbled to have had the opportunity to spend several months immersed in the life and work of Mr. Sendak, preparing for a program built around the Rosenbach's exhibit of the influences of his Jewish world on his life's work. So on Sunday, April 15, the Haverford Public Library swelled with the sounds of Klezmer as I took over the children's wing of the library to present "Yiddish in the Nutshell" with Ken Ulansey on clarinet and Heath Allen on keyboard. Sendak's early life in a Yiddish-speaking immigrant neighborhood in Brooklyn, the awareness of evil in the world, and the fears and bravery of children shaped much of his life's work, and I blended his personal life into songs and stories for a rollicking hour. The program was interactive, with sing-alongs, props, costumes, and wild Sendakian tales abounding. It was a Yiddishe Vilde 'Rumpus' for everyone's inner child! Pick up a book by Maurice Sendak and look deeply into it. You may be changed!
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LAFAYETTE COLLEGE Hillel hosted me on Tuesday night, March 20 for a program in song and story on the actual history of the Sarajevo Hagaddah. It was a real one-woman show as I demonstrated design, lettering, and gilding techniques of the centuries-old masterpiece, as well as recounted its improbable story interspersed with songs in the Sarajevo dialect of Judeo-Spanish, in Yiddish, and in Hebrew, along with a Moroccan chant - all related to the Hagaddah. The audience included students, college faculty, and local residents, and there was a lively Q and A at the conclusion of the program. Lafayette has a gorgeous old campus perched above the city of Easton at the confluence of the Delaware and Raritan rivers. I hope to return!
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LAUREN BRODY will join me in presenting a full concert in Dayton, Ohio on Sunday, April 1 for the annual event honoring the memory of Lynda A. Cohen. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to share the stage and have been working up two terrific sets for the Yiddish club and expected gathered throngs!
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A presentation of my concert "Women's Voices in Yiddish Song" at Penn State University in Middletown, PA on February 23 drew people from Lancaster, York, Lebanon, and the greater Harrisburg area. Having been interviewed for an upcoming article in a Dayton, Ohio paper the night before, I kept thinking during the concert of a particular question I was asked: "What do you want people to take away from your performance?" So I'll tell you: I want people to be so surprised and touched that they come away with a desire to dig a little deeper into Yiddish culture and discover something about themselves. The values and history that are packed into our songs go far in teaching us how to know ourselves if we just open our hearts a bit. That's why I sing. Oh, and also, I sing because I can't NOT sing!!
Only a week to go before Kerhonkson, NY becomes the temporary capital of Yiddishland! This year at KlezKamp I'll be teaching the hands-on papercutting course and a four-session a capella lecture/recital course.
I'm especially looking forward to the time I'll be carving out with fellow PennPAT artist SUSAN WATTS to work on some vocal duets and arrangements, and to begin taking concrete steps towards my NEW RECORDING, which will be produced by the amazing MICHAEL WINOGRAD! Check this website regularly for announcements, too, of a new duo in the works featuring MICHAEL WEX and Susan Leviton. Use your imagination for now - details to follow soon!
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On Sunday, November 20, 2011, I presented a "Conversation with the Artist" in conjunction with the "Making it Better: Folk Art in Pennsylvania Today" exhibit in which one of my papercuts is featured. I demonstrated the art of Jewish papercutting and shared insights into its history and contemporary expressions with about 30 museum-goers. On exhibit through April 29, 2012, Making It Better tells the stories of over 30 master artists whose works represent a wide array of traditions such as African dance, stone wall construction, Native American clay flutes, Pysanky eggs, contemporary blacksmith work, woodcarving, and Vietnamese funerary portraits. I'm honored to have been chosen to have my work represented among so many brilliant examples of folk arts.
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Groundbreaking for Chisuk Emuna Congregation's new synagogue took place in Harrisburg on Sunday, October 16, 2011, and over 350 people celebrated with a block party that featured kugel in a sukkah, carnival food, games and abundant crafts for children, and an afternoon of outstanding music: klezmer, jazz, and old-timey. Bands set up on a concrete pad at one end of the soon-to-be-a-shul property, and music filled the air! I had the pleasure of singing once again with the Old World Folk Band, which has recently welcomed several new musicians as regulars, and which added additional guest performers for the outdoor event.
The synagogue was destroyed by an accidental fire in 2009, and more recently was left homeless when The Flood of 2011 forced the congregation from temporary quarters in the JCC. The sense that the next plague was waiting in the wings was banished by the wonderful welcome to a new neighbrhood, and it looks like the block party may become an annual event!
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A whirlwind few days at the 14th annual IAYC (International Association of Yiddish Clubs) conference in Novi, Michigan offered me the opportunity to perform and teach, and to meet people from all over the country who gathered to celebrate Yiddish culture. Highlights for me were presenting my powerful lecure/recital, "Rage Against the Sewing Machine" in this 100th anniversary year following the Triangle Fire, and joining Dan Kahn on the bandstand following my solo concert.
To see parts of one of my programs at the conference, please visit www.yiddishlives.com/susanleviton
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