Given Rate Hike; Progress on Genuine-Big date Costs; Truist Acquires Enough time Video game
Given Rate Hike; Progress on Genuine-Big date Costs; Truist Acquires Enough time Video game Brand new Given hiked by 0.50%, however, says large nature hikes is from the desk for now. Lenders break the rules for the junk charge. Progress to your real-date payment companies. Part brings up $115Mn for its home guarantee program. Affirm combines having Fiserv. Klarna to start reporting so you can bureaus on U.K. Truist acquires gamified deals application. Education loan forgiveness in the news again. With rising prices indicating no signs of reducing, the Fed enhanced pricing of the 0.50%, relative to requirement. Given Chair Jerome Powell wanted in order to relaxed areas of the making clear a beneficial larger 0.75% improve isn’t things currently involved. Meanwhile, 10-seasons Treasury output struck 3%, the highest these are generally while the 2018. Rising Treasury output has driven rates into the anything from mortgages so you can college loans higher lately. Rising financial costs have previously considerably cooled off originations regularity. In the long run, jobs openings edged up inside the February, so you can eleven.5Mn openings. The fresh new beautiful efforts marketplace is offering teams the latest confidence to end in search of greener pastures. Particular cuatro.5Mn pros quit their perform into the February, breaking the number invest November from this past year. They believe it is mistaken to group costs with the all of the individual circumstances with her because the junk charge. There is nothing evidence to point costs is actually a serious resource out of problems, industry supporters say. Instead, industry agencies state the existing construction out of clear and you can obvious disclosures, hence means offering people details about will cost you and you may charges upfront, are being employed as required. The newest Given has started onboarding the first sample profiles of FedNow, its genuine-big date commission community. Particular 120 organizations was taking part in brand new trial, which includes pages already reporting properly hooking up toward service’s take to environment and you will providing demonstration texts. Several fintech businesses are doing the new trial, and additionally Block’s Rectangular Economic Properties and you may Q2 Holdings. FedNow is found on song so you’re able to roll-out next season, according to the Fed’s report. Trading groups representing banks and you can borrowing unions is pressing right back At the same time, The brand new Cleaning House is partnering that have banking technology supplier Fiserv to help you build use of Brand new Cleaning Residence’s RTP network. Fiserv make the real-go out payment circle offered as an element of its Today Gateway, which enables connections so you can loads of commission communities. Part, a family collateral system, announced it’s raised a beneficial $115Mn Show C. Westpac contributed the fresh new round, with contribution off current dealers and Andreessen Horowitz, Ribbit Capital, DAG Potential, and you will Redwood Faith. Section enables profiles to view guarantee investment in exchange for fractional control inside a property. Fool around with cases is in the duration of purchase and you may, getting established customers loans Warrior AL, just like the a system to cash-out household equitypared to help you old-fashioned financial obligation issues, for example a house equity credit line, Point lets property owners availableness riches secured in their house, without the need for prime borrowing from the bank otherwise trying out the new monthly obligations. Area intentions to make use of the fresh resource to keep growing the leading device, which is currently available within the 16 states and you may D.C., and to create a lot more equipment products. Affirm and you can Fiserv established that...
Read MoreIts come tough: British lenders pursue income while the interest levels rise
Its come tough: British lenders pursue income while the interest levels rise Chris Sykes admits he has invested one to way too many later nights glued toward microsoft windows inside the sofa-turned-home office inside the east London area. Jobs so you’re able to safer favorable mortgages possess resulted in big overtime for lenders such as Sykes, who has been chasing a diminishing quantity of lowest-rate revenue getting customers this current year. Mendes became advising consumers to look at longer-identity fixed cost, lasting 10, fifteen otherwise thirty years, to cease expenses even more on account of coming price rises that will be likely to remain toward 2023 This is certainly putting further stress into the agents which say they are increasingly bringing simple hours’ see ahead of lenders boost their home loan rates. This has been very difficult, Sykes told you. I have basically been just direct off, on the pc, and cracking for the using apps. Additionally form controlling customer standards. All the step 1.2% even offers that would have been considered a tremendous amount this past year have vanished, Sykes, exactly who works well with new agent Personal Finance, said. As an alternative, specific customers are happy to obtain their hands on mortgages having an effective 3% speed, more double last year’s beneficial rate. Financial regarding England studies create earlier this week displayed British mortgage pricing rose from the 46 base things to step 1.95% ranging from November and . how to get loan in Egypt At the same time, the common one or two-season repaired rate mortgage worthy of 75% of your own cost of a home sprang from just one.2% so you can 2.63% along the eight weeks so you’re able to Will get, on the fastest increase more than that point several months while the suggestions first started in the 1995. Along with rising prices today on nine.4% above and beyond the fresh new UK’s dos% target places try pricing an additional speed upsurge in August that may push financial cost even higher. Changes one we now have seen regarding loan providers across the market have been relentless, as there are no manifestation of one reducing upwards, David Hollingworth of broker L&C Mortgages said. But actually agents state finance companies that have been increasing home loan cost at the speed aren’t to blame. Lenders do have a difficult job, Nicholas Mendes of your mortgage broker John Charcol told you, recognizing that the financial app madness has leftover of many banking institutions having difficulties to keep track consult. Banking companies keeps around three alternatives, he said: provide home loan profit that will be uncompetitive in order to prevent becoming overloaded from the apps, reprice in the quick observe, or pull out of your own business completely. New continued risks said will undoubtably indicate we have been gonna select further grows on price of a home loan, the guy said. And though rising cost do always be good reports to own Uk banks, because they are in a position to charges consumers a great deal more because of their family loans and in the end enhance their web appeal margins an option way of measuring profits and you may growth the fresh weaker economic attitude is likely to overshadow any extra money using their mortgage guides. Uk loan providers including Barclays, Lloyds, NatWest and you can HSBC will start revealing the 2nd quarter earnings of Wednesday, and are also expected to declare that the payouts capped of the impairments, such as the amount of money they should reserve to own prospective defaults. I be prepared to hear...
Read MoreIs actually Credit Against an excellent 401(k) Measured When purchasing property?
Is actually Credit Against an excellent 401(k) Measured When purchasing property? Do you really Re-finance The 401(k) Loan? If you like additional financial help when buying a house, you may consider utilizing the income on your own 401k. This can be an untapped funding in the event the leftover bare, nevertheless may wind up placing you then into financial obligation otherwise, sometimes, reducing the size of the borrowed funds you qualify for. Check out the suggests credit away from an effective 401k would-be counted up against your after you check out make use of the currency having property purchase. Credit regarding a good 401k have a tendency to count facing your when purchasing an effective family. Loan providers think 401k fund are a financial obligation and, even though you are paying down oneself, they are going to take the loans fee into consideration whenever calculating just how far you could affor to spend towards the a mortgage. Essential Financial Calculations Of several loan providers use the very-named “” signal to determine exactly how much mortgage you can afford. Based on this rule, you really can afford the reduced out-of possibly twenty eight % of the gross income otherwise 36 percent of revenues smaller almost every other bills and debt. For those who have zero personal debt, you will be eligible for a higher financial than when you yourself have large bills to invest each month. This is very important to consider for folks who consider borrowing from the 401k and work out a down-payment on family. Brand new 401k financing is a loans and you may, even if you is actually paying oneself, the fresh monthly payment into that it personal debt will be subtracted away from just how far you could commercially afford to pay to your home financing. The fresh 401k mortgage are stated on your own credit report and your home loan application, so that the bank can get this post with regards to the home loan restriction. Expertise Manager Regulations Beyond the ramifications on your own mortgage, credit from your own 401k may also be limited by the employer’s legislation. For every single plan recruit can know if as well as how much a worker normally borrow out-of an excellent 401k. Specific plan sponsors cannot allow credit at all, but the majority of create speak to your plan manager. There could be a cap about much you can borrow. When you use this money having a down payment on your own house, you are generally setting zero % off, since the advance payment while the mortgages was financing. For this reason, your own rate of interest are high on your financial even though usually the one implemented by your plan sponsor try low. The cash Out Choice You to definitely payday loan Cullomburg replacement for getting a beneficial 401k financing would be to cash-out your own 401k for a property downpayment. Should you very, you might avoid the practical ten percent punishment on a young withdrawal. That it Irs regulation is permitted simply inside the infrequent cases, instance very first home off costs and you may hardship withdrawals, and it may provide high financial extra so you’re able to cash-out off your own 401k at the an early age. Right here, the cash isnt measured since the financing. Hence, the loan lender won’t amount so it sum due to the fact financial obligation for the their mortgage software, and you may be able to secure increased home loan. Contrasting Financing vs. Cashing Aside While you are cashing aside may result in a top mortgage minimizing...
Read MoreTruth Piece: Vp Harris Declares The Personal and private-Sector Work to advance Racial Security from the Freedmans Financial Forum
Truth Piece: Vp Harris Declares The Personal and private-Sector Work to advance Racial Security from the Freedmans Financial Forum Now, Vice president Harris have a tendency to announce a slate of the latest measures taken because of the Biden-Harris Administration and personal market stakeholders to transmit financing and you may information in order to underserved small enterprises together with area loan providers who serve them. Small businesses will be motors of one’s benefit and highway so you’re able to monetary success getting most People in america for the underserved communitiesmunity loan providers-and Community Development Loan providers (CDFIs), Fraction Depository Organizations (MDIs), while some-are essential to help you unlocking a full monetary prospective ones organizations, flipping in past times sidelined ability to your a supply of monetary progress and you can shared success for all. To possess underserved organizations, small enterprises, and people loan providers, this type of the new rules imply improved investments, deeper regulatory clearness, and you may developments in the system and you can skill Unfortunately, for too much time, the little company ecosystem during the underserved teams enjoys struggled to store up with most readily useful financed companies and you can advertisers much more prosperous organizations. In addition to society loan providers dedicated to filling one to pit likewise statement you to definitely shortfalls inside the financial support and you will technical capability limit their capability to spend money on the fresh organizations that need her or him one particular. Not as much as President Biden and you can Vp Harris’s frontrunners, that it Government has brought extreme tips to address these types of disparities. Over the past 24 months, the fresh Treasury Department (Treasury) has actually brought more than $15 million within the financial investments and you will tax credits to people loan providers and almost every other goal investment providers, allowing them to build their efforts to drive inclusive entrepreneurship and you will manage high-options organizations. Earlier this summer, the brand new Vice-president launched an initial-of-its-type private business effort-the economical Opportunity Coalition (EOC)-purchased investing huge amounts of cash for the underserved communities and you can quick organizations emerging throughout the pandemic. Business owners of colour regularly statement being turned into out by the old-fashioned monetary organizations to own finance during the higher cost than the white alternatives Today’s notices generate on that work. That have new responsibilities regarding businesses along side government, new Management try taking the step two on making sure underserved small businesses and people loan providers can dependably access brand new info necessary for achievement. Regulators Deals for Brief, Disadvantaged People (SDBs). Today, work out-of Government and you can Finances (OMB) was issuing a beneficial memorandum so you can federal providers setting custom requirements to possess an unprecedented a dozen per cent away from FY 2023 governmentwide procurement dollarsto go to SDBs, right up regarding a beneficial FY 2022 aim of eleven percent and you can a good legal goal of 5 per cent.The present action commonly set companies towards the a path to meet with the President’s goal of broadening annual SDB expenses out of typically 9.8 % over five years prior to the start of the Biden-Harris Administration so you can 15 per cent from the FY 2025. The new Loan providers getting Underserved Small enterprises. This Slide, the small Company Tarrant loans Management (SBA) have a tendency to recommend a rule to grow its bank foot of the lifting the latest moratorium into the brand new Home business Financing People (SBLCs), which will succeed new lenders to apply for a permit so you can render SBA-recognized seven(a) small...
Read MoreExactly what an initial-date homebuyer should qualify for home financing
Exactly what an initial-date homebuyer should qualify for home financing First-day homeowners enjoys numerous options to fund the purchase of the first domestic. Be sure to opinion the newest available state and federal programs customized specifically for basic-day homeowners, in addition to particular low down-commission financing choices given by lenders, to help you gain benefit from the fulfillment regarding connecting basic home to first financing. The preferred particular mortgage brokers readily available is old-fashioned finance. Speaking of fund which might be funded by the individual . Some traditional loans accommodate a straight down-payment as low as step three%. This type of finance always require the very least credit score out of 620 and you may it costs a whole lot more since your credit score falls lower than 740 or if for example the loans-to-earnings (DTI) height goes up. In addition they generally speaking wouldn’t lend so you can a borrower with an effective DTI significantly more than fifty%. FHA Loan Software The fresh new Government Casing Government (FHA) works beneath the Company from Houses and you will Metropolitan Creativity (HUD). New FHA unmarried-members of the family mortgage program brings accessibility secure, reasonable home loan financial support to have Western families. FHA will not provide currency so you’re able to homeowners. As an alternative, FHA means qualified money created by individual lending associations. FHA often guarantee single-loved ones money that have off-money as little as 3.5% and possess provides money to own condos and recovery loans. FHA https://paydayloanalabama.com/cowarts/ doesn’t need at least credit rating and provides a great deal more liberty regarding DTI ratios, but individual lenders may have her standards. Charges are large than the conventional fund and you will FHA has actually a limit on the loan amount might insure. Virtual assistant Home loan Make certain Program The fresh new Department regarding Pros Factors (VA) Mortgage Make certain Program is yet another regulators system you to definitely insures accredited fund made by individual lending associations. Va funds promote zero down-payment financial financing to help you qualified experts and you may thriving spouses. The latest Va mortgage represents a benefit of services and you will individuals have to fulfill Va eligibility standards. Va doesn’t have at least credit score demands otherwise DTI proportion, however, personal lenders possess their criteria. You can find limits to the costs the Virtual assistant debtor pays to your vendor and Virtual assistant has a limit into the financing matter they are going to insure. USDA Outlying Property Finance The new You.S. Agencies out-of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Construction Provider (RHS) now offers People in the us into the rural areas and you will small towns and cities zero off-fee home loan money within the areas where individual financing might be limited. RHS financing can be used to create, repair, upgrade or relocate property, or even purchase and prepare yourself web sites, and taking drinking water and you can sewage business. There have been two more software: the new guaranteed program, additionally the lead mortgage program. Protected financing try insured of the RHS and financed of the individual loan providers. Lead financing work with extremely-low-earnings or reduced-income borrowers which have funds loaned directly of the Outlying Construction Solution, without the use of individual loan providers. USDA will not demand the very least credit rating conditions however, do has actually earnings limitations to possess individuals. What are mortgage brokers for very first-date homebuyers When considering a traditional financing tool, be aware that of numerous loan providers render incentives having very first-big date homeowners. REALTORS is play with the network off lenders and you may lenders to...
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.
____
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!
_____________________________
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.
______________________
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)
___________________
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.
____________
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!
______________________
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!
______________
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.
______________________
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!
_________
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.
____________
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!
________
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.
_____________
A happy bride at the huppah with her papercut ketubah! 'Tis the season, and I've been busy with commissions of all sorts!
___________
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!!!
_____________
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!
____________
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!
___________
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!
_____________
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."
_________
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.
_____________________
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!
____________
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!
________
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!
_________________
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!
__________________
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.
___________________
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.
_________
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!)
__________________
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!
_________
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!
_______________
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???
________________
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...
____
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!
____________________
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!"
___________
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.
__________________
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!
______________________
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.
_______________________
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!
__________________________
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!
_______________________
________________________
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!!
_____________________________
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!
________________________
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!
__________________________
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!
_______________________________
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!
_________________________
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.
_________________________
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!
___________________
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
_