Non-bank lenders are building societies, borrowing from the bank unions, and you will financial institutions
Non-bank lenders are building societies, borrowing from the bank unions, and you will financial institutions Having fifteen of history sixteen months, non-lender loan providers have written over $one hundred million home based finance monthly, and probably over 250 brand new financing during the all these days. That is their finest sustained period due to the fact 2006 when they attained which within the 14 away from 1 . 5 years. It is hard to-name this a rising trend although not, given the the latest impetus ‘builds’ its share of the market to simply step 1.7% of the many home loans. The first one or two lend eg banking institutions, using their prominent focus on the function of your own debtor so you can pay-off. Boat finance companies doing work in construction lending are far more ‘asset lenders’, a whole lot more focused on the fresh mortgaged resource worth and willing to be alot more ‘flexible’ toward earnings sourced elements of the latest debtor and/otherwise imperfections within earlier credit history. Once the guidelines tighten having financial institutions and you will fewer borrowers will meet lender financing criteria, non-lender loan providers see far more takers with regards to ‘flexible’ now offers Almost all monetary institution home loans will become packed on securitised swimming pools having investors. That’s how these businesses re-finance their financial support criteria. Usually, brand new associations regarding low-lender field keeps shrunk, besides in the around the world financial crisis fall out, but SBS Bank converted of a creating people in 2008 (you to toward graph), and Heartland Bank generated an identical transition when you look at the 2012 (a few with the chart). Even after its some quick footprint about The Zealand mortgage markets, the new current extension might have been the ideal-ever before period however. So it latest surge will come once the restrictions with the banks features them troubled discover increases options. For the 2022, non-financial institutions have been creating nearly 10% of the latest home loan organization, picking up individuals who cannot cut it with banking institutions. The fresh new agent channel is where people individuals discover low-lender solutions. Without a doubt, that it change comes with a fees to help you borrowers. The attention superior are ‘real’. Typically, non-financial institutions lend to your a floating-speed foundation, encouraged from the agents which undoubtedly tell subscribers that when its financials increase they’re able to option returning to a bank loan. But low-lender loan providers perform promote repaired rates, and the ones for the greatest financials will pay a lowered advanced by doing this. However it is tough to see why a debtor with best financials was a low-financial applicant. The entry to our very own book and you can completely new content is free, and constantly has been.However, post earnings was under pressure therefore we you would like your assistance. Supporters can decide people number, and can score a premium post-100 % free sense in the event the giving a minimum of $10/day or $100/season. Find out more right here. Think about i greet sturdy, sincere and informative discussion. We don’t invited abusive or defamatory comments and certainly will de-sign in men and women many times while making such as for example statements. The most recent opinion rules has arrived. a dozen Comments Effective millennial investor exactly who purchased fifty qualities, try claimed having bought cheaper create-ups. Fixed americash loans Hayneville and you may remodeled them, together with valuations done. In that way he was in a position to obtain much more. Yep, that is the method that you grow your portfolio, purchase an affordable set,...
Read MoreThus, there’s a couple of methods for you to slow down the quantity of put to store
Thus, there’s a couple of methods for you to slow down the quantity of put to store Initial will cost you not, the fresh put isn’t the simply procedure you ought to rescue getting. You will find upfront costs that you ought to factor in just like the well. Stamp obligation (labeled as transfer duty). The Australian says and areas fees stamp duty towards the possessions transfers and this is the greatest cost when purchasing an effective domestic. All of the states and you can territories likewise have concessions toward stamp duty for basic home buyers. Such as for instance, in New South Wales, the fresh stamp duty rate to own a property really worth $600,100 is $9,562 in addition to $cuatro.50 per $a hundred more $319,100000. That it exercise as the: $9,562 + (($281,) x $4.50) = $22,207.Although not, if you find yourself eligible for new NSW Government’s First House Buyer Guidelines Plan, plus the assets you will be to order is actually less than $650,one hundred thousand, then you’re https://availableloan.net/loans/fixed-rate-loans/ eligible for a complete exception of that stamp obligations prices. The court associate or bank will always have the ability to assist your with this computation. Charge to possess transform on House Titles check in. This is certainly several other regulators payment payable to join up the newest documents to help you import the house or property to your label. This type of differ from state to state but could usually be found on line in the nation’s Work environment out of County Cash web site Conveyancing and you will courtroom will set you back. Those activities done of the judge practitioners to set up brand new import off a house out of a vendor to help you a buyer is known as conveyancing. When selecting a home this involves undertaking certain online searches out of societal ideas to obtain facts about the house or property to guard your welfare since the a buyer and to prepare this new documents so you can transfer ownership. Such can cost you are different this can be useful to store around for this specific service. Building and pest checks. To guard on their own out of to get a house who has potential strengthening otherwise pest difficulties, most people should include high enough strengthening and pest inspections as a great position of their deal to invest in. The newest inspectors often cost you for their properties; not, they might as well as help you save away from costly repairs regarding much time run. Loans will set you back. The expenses to arrange your house financing start from something such as your lender’s app commission, LMI, valuation costs etc. Insurance coverage. It is better so you’re able to insure the house the moment you sign the brand new price and you may shell out their initial put, given that from that point you features a financial need for the property and will be disadvantaged in the event that things goes wrong with it. Initially you are able to only need building insurance coverage, and create information insurance rates once you move in. Moving costs. The expenses to move into your new house tend to be from hauling your own land into brand new home, to help you connecting the fresh new strength/gas, websites an such like, any adjustment you should do toward property, and people this new seats you’ll need on your brand new home. Check out our very own swinging family list for more information. These change from state to state but may constantly be found on the internet regarding...
Read MoreReally does Your Girlfriend Pick Other Men Glamorous (Does She However Like Your?)
Really does Your Girlfriend Pick Other Men Glamorous (Does She However Like Your?) Maybe you’ve seen your own girlfriend’s Pagadian in Philippines brides sight discreetly roam in the a certain advice? If you have seen their own staring at anything even for a half-second, it is likely that things have caught their sight. It can be a great vehicles or it could be a beneficial good-looking man. Just like exactly how guys examine some other a great-appearing girls online, your girlfriend loves thinking about attractive dudes too. Our very own vision are merely built to put and you can have respect for attractive something, we can’t help it. However if she usually investigates other men exterior, it might both signify she does not care for how you feel, otherwise one she desires rating a result of both you and leave you jealous. It will feel totally disturbing and hurtful every so often, while the, imagine if she believes that you’re not adequate having their? Carry on understanding, and so i can supply you with the best suggestions about what things to perform if the she’s trying damage how you feel of the lookin from the almost every other dudes. Did you know that dudes invest 43 times day looking at the female, If you’re female invest twenty minutes a day deciding on other dudes? Whenever we is actually with your girlfriend, we simply cannot predict their to do something seriously blind when a different sort of handsome guy goes. It doesn’t matter if youre gay, lesbian, or upright many of us are attracted to an effective-lookin someone and you may things. It is certainly okay for the girlfriend so you’re able to quickly glance in the almost every other guys across the space and find them glamorous. However,, it may be very disrespectful out of their particular, when the she intentionally discusses he for quite some time in the place of compassionate your feelings regarding it. In case the girlfriend was pretending all thirsty whenever an excellent-appearing people passes, that means she very cannot consider carefully your ideas. Does The Girlfriend See Almost every other Men Glamorous (Does She Nonetheless Like Your?) You can not manage exactly what your companion can be and cannot evaluate it. That could be dealing with Does Your Girlfriend Find Other Men Attractive (Really does She Nonetheless Love You?) It is totally great to suit your girlfriend getting a fast see yet another attractive guy. Really does Your Girlfriend See Most other Dudes Glamorous (Really does She Still Love You?) In case your girlfriend is out together with her household members, expect their particular is lookin much more within attractive dudes. Really does Their Girlfriend Pick Most other Men Glamorous (Really does She However Love Your?) Appeal just setting a quality otherwise feature one evokes attention, liking, otherwise interest. It does not indicate that this woman is unexpectedly in love and you will enjoys totally overlooked your. Do Their Girlfriend Look for Other Men Attractive (Do She Still Love You?) In the event the this woman is really slight to your means she discusses other attractive guys it is surely fine. However if she helps it be apparent and calls the guys sweet or scorching, it can indicate that this woman is trying to make your envious or she merely does not care about how you feel. Its completely good for the girlfriend to track down almost every other dudes glamorous. However, you to huge red flag might possibly be if she calls almost every other dudes lovely. Require a moment word of advice?...
Read MoreContrary Mortgage vs HELOC What is actually Greatest for me?
Contrary Mortgage vs HELOC What is actually Greatest for me? To have elders old 62 or significantly more than house is the greatest supply of money. At some stage in lifetime, you’ll probably need currency for the scientific costs, home improvement, every day demands, and you may unexpected large costs. Just what will you are doing without having adequate money to possess many of these expenditures on your own membership? For those who individual property, you’ve got the accessibility to providing property guarantee distinct borrowing (HELOC) or reverse home loan (RM). You will possibly not has actually huge amount of money on your own later years account, however with these types of monetary alternatives, you might use some extent up against the collateral of your property. The cash you earn because of these financing will assist you to that have your day-to-day expenses, do it yourself systems, monthly bills otherwise whichever other you would like. Reverse Home loan versus HELOC A face-to-face home loan try that loan which enables home owners 62 and earlier to convert a part of their property guarantee towards the dollars. Contained in this as opposed to to make monthly premiums to help you a loan provider, like with a vintage mortgage, the lender helps make repayments on borrower. Also, the fresh proceeds from a face-to-face financial may be income tax-totally free and you like can spend these types of continues by any means you need. You could potentially continue steadily to are now living in your property without the month-to-month installment payments otherwise payments. HELOC means a home security line of credit, or perhaps my review here also known as household security range. Its that loan where the bank believes in order to give a max amount against domestic equity to possess a consented several months ranging from lender and debtor. You should use home guarantee lines of credit simply for significant expenses including degree, renovations, otherwise scientific costs. The structure and you can fees may vary away from lender to bank, however the amount of cash you might borrow is dependent on your credit history. HELOC enjoys one or two amounts that will be brand new mark months together with pay time. For the draw several months, you can pull out the money as required by using an excellent mastercard or debit card. You pay focus to the matter which you just take from the utilized money. What’s the difference in each other; this is exactly among reveals from inside the another type of window extremely frequently asked questions to own an opposite financial. Today, I shall Identify The Difference between Significantly more than Mention Family Security Funds according to Some Issues. Listed here is reveals inside another type of screen exactly how an opposing financial work and how HELOC differs from they. Collateral Requirements Opposite Mortgage: Homeowners must be ages 62 otherwise more mature. Family are its number one quarters. Including, there must be the available choices of financial resources to cover insurance policies, repairs, and you can income tax expenditures. HELOC: There’s absolutely no many years restrict to own HELOC. The only real status is the fact that people need at least 20% security within his house before applying for HELOC. What is causing Paid Reverse Home loan: You have access to the funds or money on opposite financial either in a type of the latest lump-share count or typical monthly payments. You are able to choose for a combination of each other. HELOC: With quite a few HELOCs, you could obtain doing you want, considering your borrowing limit. You can...
Read MoreTop Mobile Gambling Enterprise: The Ultimate Overview to Playing Gambling Establishment Gamings on Your Phone
Mobile online casinos have actually revolutionized the method people play casino games. With the benefit of playing on your phone or tablet, you can currently appreciate your favorite casino site games anytime and anywhere. In this guide, we will check out the leading mobile gambling enterprises, their functions, and just how to apple pay cash casino pick the best one for you. What is a Mobile Gambling establishment? A mobile gambling establishment is an on-line casino site that uses a mobile-friendly system for players to access their games. It allows you to play casino site video games on your smartphone or tablet, providing a smooth and immersive video gaming experience on the move. Mobile gambling establishments are made to be suitable with various running systems, such as iphone and Android. They use receptive style to maximize video game graphics and functions for smaller sized screens without endangering on quality. Features of a Top Mobile Gambling Establishment When selecting a top mobile casino site, there are numerous features to take into consideration: Game Variety: A leading mobile casino will provide a vast array of video games, including slots, table games, live gambling establishment, and more. The even more diverse the game selection, the more options you have for home entertainment. User-Friendly User interface: The mobile gambling establishment must have an instinctive and easy-to-navigate interface. It needs to be easy to discover your favorite games, gain access to promotions, and handle your account. Safety and security and Fairness: Try to find a mobile casino site that uses advanced safety and security measures, such as SSL encryption, to safeguard your individual and monetary info. Additionally, guarantee that the online casino is licensed and controlled by a trusted authority to assure reasonable gameplay. Mobile Compatibility: The mobile casino should work with your tool’s os. Whether you have an iPhone, iPad, Android mobile phone, or tablet, the gambling enterprise should work seamlessly on your tool. Bonus offers and Promos: A leading mobile gambling enterprise will offer eye-catching bonuses and promos to both brand-new and existing gamers. These can include welcome benefits, complimentary spins, cashback deals, and VIP incentives. Payment Options: The mobile gambling enterprise needs to support a selection of safe and secure and hassle-free settlement approaches. Seek options like credit/debit cards, e-wallets, and bank transfers to guarantee smooth and problem-free deals. Picking the very best Mobile Online Casino for You With various mobile casino sites available, it can be overwhelming to choose the very best one for your needs. Right here are some factors to think about when making your decision: Track record: Research the gambling establishment’s track record by reviewing evaluations and gamer feedback. Search for casino sites with favorable rankings and a good track record. Video game Selection: Determine whether the mobile gambling enterprise provides your recommended video games. Whether you enjoy ports, blackjack, roulette, or poker, make certain that the casino site has a range of options to cater to your rate of interests. Software program Providers: Check the software application providers partnered with the mobile casino site. Distinguished carriers like NetEnt, Microgaming, and Playtech are understood for their top notch video games and trustworthy software. Customer Assistance: Examine the responsiveness of the mobile casino’s customer support team. Look for online casinos that supply numerous get in touch with techniques, such as online conversation, e-mail, and phone support. Incentives and Promotions: Contrast the perks and promotions supplied by various mobile gambling enterprises. Look for generous welcome bundles and continuous promotions that supply value for your cash. Advantages of Dipping Into a Mobile Online casino Playing at a mobile online casino...
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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