Positives and negatives from an opposing Mortgage
Positives and negatives from an opposing Mortgage After you apply for your loan, it can take a few weeks as approved and you might you would like to submit in order to a detailed check into your credit history and a position. And, you may need to shell out charges including appraisal charges, identity look, label insurance, and you will court charges. While avove the age of 55 and you’re retired, you may not need certainly to or even be capable take-out property guarantee loan. In cases like this, a contrary financial, that is a version toward a timeless house guarantee financing, was the best choice. What exactly is an opposing Mortgage? There have been two huge downsides so you can a house security financing. Earliest, without having a typical earnings or if you keeps a beneficial low credit rating, you might not be considered. In this instance, a face-to-face mortgage will make significantly more feel. A reverse home loan is a type of house guarantee mortgage. That have a reverse financial, you continue to use your home guarantee as collateral to help you borrow cash, and you are still energized notice in your financing. Although greatest differences is that you don’t have to spend straight back your loan if you do not offer your home. You should be about 55 so you can be eligible for a beneficial opposite home loan, that makes these household guarantee financing ideal for retirees. Likewise, the quintessential you might obtain compliment of an opposing mortgage was 55% of your property guarantee, without your own an excellent home loan, and you can choose both a lump-share percentage otherwise a monthly stipend. A face-to-face financial might sound including the perfect answer to their earnings trouble, but it does keeps several drawbacks. There are just a couple of organization inside Canada to have contrary mortgage loans: HomeEquityBank (the Canadian Household Earnings Plan) and you may Equitable Financial (the path Domestic Plan). So that your choices are limited. You can deplete your house collateral, probably leaving all your family members with no solution to pay money for your final expenses Choice to an opposite Home loan within the Canada Score a guaranteed credit line/HELOC: These types of borrowing is usually much cheaper than just a face-to-face financial. You can access to 65% of collateral of your home although you still alive there and keep ownership. Getting a property owner: Change your property toward an income source of the renting aside a bedroom otherwise a cellar apartment. Downside: You could potentially offer your residence and purchase a smaller put, move to a cheaper location or for guarantee and you can book. Home Guarantee Mortgage against. Opposite Mortgage If you’re considering a vintage home collateral financing or a contrary mortgage, it is critical to loans Branford Center CT consider carefully your need when choosing between them. Very first, understand that a classic domestic guarantee loan otherwise HELOC will get a lesser interest rate than simply a face-to-face financial. motusbank even offers home guarantee money to possess only 3.75%, whereas you can easily pay 5.5% or even more having a contrary financial. One short difference in rates of interest may not sound like much, but if you is actually borrowing several thousand cash more than years, even a little interest huge difference can lead to grand savings across the mortgage term. Another good choice try a fold-Security Home loan having Meridian. It integrates a consistent mortgage and pairs it that have a house Collateral Personal line of credit. Because you reduce the principal of your house, this may take...
Read MoreThe Ultimate Guide to Free Port Games
Port video games have actually been a preferred form of entertainment for several years, and with the rise of on the internet casinos, gamers now have access to a wide range of totally free slot video games. These games provide players the chance to appreciate the excitement of spinning the reels without having to spend any kind of cash. In this detailed overview, we will check out whatever you require to find out about cost-free port video games, consisting of where to find them, just how to play them, and the benefits of betting cost-free. What are Cost-free Port Games? Free port video games are precisely what they seem like – slot video games that can be played for free. These video games are available at on the internet casino sites, social pc gaming vulkan vegas casino argentina sites, and various other platforms, and they supply gamers with the opportunity to rotate the reels and possibly win rewards without having to make a deposit. Free port video games come in a range of motifs and styles, ranging from traditional fruit machines to modern video ports with advanced features and bonus rounds. Players can appreciate totally free port video games on their desktop, laptop computers, smart devices, and tablet computers, making it very easy to play anytime, anywhere. Whether you are a newbie looking to learn the ropes or a skilled player seeking to try out new games, complimentary slot games supply a fun and safe means to appreciate the enjoyment of rotating the reels. When playing totally free port games, players normally receive a collection amount of digital credit reports to make use of for their bets. These credits can be renewed by freshening the game or refilling the page, enabling players to proceed playing without investing any type of actual cash. While gamers can not win actual cash prizes when playing for free, they can still enjoy the excitement of the game and discover brand-new titles with no monetary danger. Free port video games use players the possibility to take pleasure in the enjoyment of rotating the reels without running the risk of any kind of money. Players can midascasino access cost-free slot games on different platforms, including online gambling establishments and social pc gaming websites. Virtual credit reports are used for wagers in complimentary slot video games, allowing gamers to play without investing genuine money. Where to Locate Free Port Games There are numerous locations where gamers can discover free slot video games online. On-line online casinos typically supply a selection of cost-free video games alongside their actual money titles, permitting gamers to try new games and exercise their skills without making a deposit. Social pc gaming sites are an additional preferred choice totally free port games, as they provide a social and interactive experience for gamers aiming to connect with close friends and contend in competitions. In addition to on-line casinos and social gaming websites, gamers can additionally discover cost-free port games on mobile app stores, video gaming sites, and review websites. These systems offer a wide variety of free video games from various designers, offering players a lot of alternatives to pick from. Whether you prefer traditional three-reel slots, modern jackpot games, or themed video slots, there are complimentary slot games available to match every preference. Some on-line casinos and gaming sites may need gamers to create an account in order to access their complimentary port games, while others enable gamers to play anonymously without enrollment. Gamers should know the terms and conditions of each system, consisting of any type of wagering requirements or constraints...
Read MoreOftentimes, fico scores is assigned to show ones creditworthiness numerically
Oftentimes, fico scores is assigned to show ones creditworthiness numerically The latest 5 Cs away from Borrowing is a common words regularly determine the 5 biggest issues regularly influence a possible borrowers creditworthiness. Financial institutions explore credit scores so you can assess and decide if an applicant is approved to own credit and discover the interest costs and you can borrowing from the bank constraints getting current borrowers. A credit file provides an intensive membership of your own borrowers overall debt, most recent stability, credit limits, and history of defaults and you may bankruptcies, if any. Summary: The fresh new 5 Cs out-of Borrowing is a type of statement regularly explain the 5 significant issues familiar with influence a potential borrowers creditworthiness. The 5 Cs out-of Borrowing from the bank consider Profile, Skill, Equity, Financing, and you will easy loans in Coffeeville Alabama Requirements. Creditors use fico scores so you’re able to measure and decide if or not an applicant is approved to have borrowing from the bank also to determine the eye rates and you can credit restrictions getting established borrowers. 5 Cs out of Borrowing Profile Profile is the most total aspect of the research off creditworthiness. The fresh premise would be the fact an individuals history of managing credit and you can making money implies their character given that relevant to the financial institution, i.elizabeth., its tendency to possess paying down a loan promptly. Prior defaults indicate carelessness or irresponsibility, which happen to be undesirable personality traits. Compliment of the amount of expertise needed in producing reveal set of an individuals credit rating, economic intermediaries particularly credit score agencies or finance companies render score properties. There is a particular level of difference into the records accumulated by the additional teams. They are the names away from earlier in the day loan providers, types of borrowing from the bank offered, commission timeline, the liabilities, and the like. A common practical was a good FICO Get hence consolidates study of credit reporting bureaus, i.e., Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion and you will computes a people credit rating. A premier score means faster chance towards the bank. 5 Cs out of Borrowing Capabilities An individuals capacity to pay the loan try an important foundation to have determining the chance publicity for the bank. Of these income count, reputation for a position, and you will current jobs balances suggest the capacity to repay an excellent personal debt. Like, small enterprises with unsteady cash streams can be felt low skill borrowers. Most other duties, for example school-bound pupils otherwise terminally ill relatives, are taken into account to test of these future fee loans. A keen entitys Personal debt-to-Income (DTI) Proportion, the new ratio of its newest obligations to current income (ahead of tax), may be examined. Guarantee is not sensed a good metric to have quantifying of these capacity since it is simply liquidated if the borrower does not pay off the principal level of a loan, i.age., about worst-case situation from a credit exchange. Additionally, zero equity are announced during the instances of unsecured loans eg playing cards. 5 Cs of Borrowing Security Whenever are assessed to own a protected product for example a car or truck mortgage or home financing, consumers must vow specific property less than their identity as collateral. They may were repaired possessions such as the identity regarding an effective plot of land otherwise financial assets and you can bonds such as securities. The worth of the brand new security try examined by the subtracting the importance out of current funds secure from exact same investment. The...
Read MoreWhat can You use Home Security Financing and you may HELOCs To have?
What can You use Home Security Financing and you may HELOCs To have? For all those with variable costs, whether it be good HELOC otherwise a house guarantee mortgage, i create predict people to improve just like the Fed expands their cost, Walsh claims. Those individuals interest rates are based on the prime speed, that is basically the Given finance price as well as 3%. Since Provided money price increases because of the 75 foundation things, we possibly may predict brand new prices on the HELOCs to go up by the 75 base factors. Pro Suggestion HELOCs with variable prices will see that rates raise following the current Fed rates walk and for the near future. Keep you to definitely in mind since you regulate how far in order to use and you may things to invest they on the. If you are a mortgage is used primarily to pay for property, you are able to a home security financing or HELOC to possess basically one thing. But just since you may does not always mean you ought to. Widely known play with is actually for renovations, specifically those which can be expected to raise your home’s well worth. To the economy’s close-title coming uncertain, Walsh recommends which you be mindful when you obtain. Consider the reasoning we need to utilize your residence guarantee and determine when it is well worth exactly what will likely be highest appeal will set you back. We don’t wanted individuals to enter the brand new behavior where it beat their home collateral for example a piggy-bank otherwise such as for example a beneficial bank card to possess discretionary purposes, he says. Home equity financing can be useful getting consolidating high appeal debt, including handmade cards, that also have more costly if Given nature hikes cost. Gurus suggest caution whenever flipping unsecured debt into secured loans you are in danger regarding losing your residence if you’re unable to repay it. Should you opt for a house collateral mortgage otherwise HELOC to assist get out of an opening off borrowing from the bank credit obligations, Walsh claims it is important would be to be sure to dont remain searching oneself a further gap at the same time. When you’re having fun with a good HELOC otherwise a house collateral mortgage to combine personal credit card debt, I wish it would you should be mandatory which you prevent purchasing into credit cards, Walsh says. Just what looks like happening is actually people consolidates the personal credit card debt after which 2 yrs later, today he’s got their residence guarantee loan or HELOC on the top of brand new personal credit card debt as they did not target the root condition you to definitely had him or her for the personal credit card debt before everything else. A legitimate email is required. You need to take a look at container in order to agree to the latest conditions and you will criteria. You ought to examine at least one of your packages to go-ahead. Just how Have a tendency to the brand new Sep Fed Walk Apply at Existing House Equity Fund and you may HELOCs? For people who curently have a house guarantee mortgage that have a predetermined price, ??truth be told precisely what the Given does doesn’t matter, Walsh claims. The brand new Provided matters a great deal to possess HELOCs and you may funds which have changeable rates of interest. Since those people prices will increase, and will more than likely remain ascending towards the foreseeable future, you will want to think about how...
Read MoreHow exactly to Discharge Guarantee getting Renovations? 2022 Book
How exactly to Discharge Guarantee getting Renovations? 2022 Book Starting collateral having home improvements try an attractive question nowadays and you can we have registered the newest argument. This article will explain just what releasing collateral to own home improvements are everything about, the ways to get to it and also the risks. For those who have your own eyes towards a unique home, expansion, attic transformation or other recovery suggestion, you really need to know about releasing guarantee having house renovations. What exactly is family guarantee and guarantee discharge? House guarantee try an expression regularly make reference to the significance of your home you possess without the personal debt connected. A lot of people purchase a home playing with home financing, and up until the financial is very paid off they do not very own the house outright. Because month-to-month mortgage repayments are created, the house or property is slower becoming the fresh client’s. Family guarantee is a means of deciding exactly how much of residence’s value you possess and you will/or a portion of the house you individual in the place of obligations affixed. You could potentially estimate home collateral of the subtracting their financial balance regarding just how much your home is worth. Such as for example, a property worthy of ?220,one hundred thousand having a left home loan regarding ?150,one hundred thousand manage equivalent ?70,000 home based collateral. Collateral normally increased by the ascending assets cost on the city. Thus, precisely what does that make house security release? Opening collateral from your home happens when you borrow against their amassed guarantee. Eg, for those who have ?70,one hundred thousand domestic security you could potentially sign up for an economic equipment such as for example that loan enabling one to acquire that with your house guarantee as the guarantee about arrangement. For this reason, domestic security can be used to safe credit and view how far you could potentially borrow at the most subject to borrowing monitors and the lender’s mortgage to help you really worth ratio. Must i launch equity of my home to possess renovations? If you have house security, you might be able to utilize it to gain access to credit and fund home improvements. There are various methods and you will things i did which, which can be discussed quickly within book. In fact, do it yourself plans are among the most common grounds if not the preferred cause having introducing equity. It could be a smart choice while the this can increase the worth of your property. Most other common reasons to release security should be consolidate established costs, pick several other assets in britain or overseas, or even buy expensive cars, personal medical costs and getaways. How can you launch equity to help you redesign? To discharge equity so you can upgrade you must borrow against a number of their offered guarantee. It means taking out fully borrowing from the bank and you will protecting the financing arrangement with your own equity. There are several credit possibilities whenever borrowing facing your house security (pick less than). Programs to own facts to produce equity relies upon simply how much guarantee you have and your credit rating. loans in Chunchula Just because you have got household collateral cannot automatically verify you have access to borrowing that is shielded up against it. A affairs and earnings would-be carefully examined. By using household security because security from inside the agreement the financial institution can bring a reduced interest. If you do not pay the financing since the consented then the lender can be cause...
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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