The way to get an interest rate Amendment
The way to get an interest rate Amendment When you are struggling to shell out your own financial, you happen to be able to decrease your payments that have a loan modification. “Losings mitigation” is the method on the mortgage-upkeep business in which consumers and their servicer, on behalf of the borrowed funds holder otherwise “buyer,” interact to quit a foreclosure. Certain loss mitigation possibilities become: loan adjustment forbearance plans cost preparations brief sales, and you may deeds in place of foreclosures. What is an interest rate Modification? An excellent “loan mod” are a written arrangement one to permanently changes this new promissory note’s new terminology to make the borrower’s mortgage payments less costly. An amendment generally speaking lowers the speed and you will extends this new loan’s identity. Sometimes, if you’re trailing from inside the money, you will be in a position to are the overdue amount to new balance of your financing within a modification. Lenders and dealers constantly would not, yet not, accept dominant decrease within a modification, regardless of if you reside underwater. To track down an amendment, you’ll need to get hold of your loan servicer to acquire a software. Throughout the app, you’re going to have to also provide details about your income, expenses, and you will condition. Additionally, you will need to render help documents. Whilst procedure may seem overwhelming, people can apply for and you will, for people who meet buyer-particular recommendations, score a modification on their own without paying to possess recommendations. Loan mod Requirements our home is your top home you have gone through a pecuniary hardship as if you must get a diminished-spending work or if you had a breakup and you payday loan online Deer Trail CO may educated a death of home earnings, and you may you have sufficient regular income while making regular repayments around an amendment. More often than not, you will need to complete a shot months plan, usually for around 3 months, to demonstrate you really can afford the latest altered number. Home loan Modification Software and you will Alternatives Based your own home loan method of and you may factors, you could be eligible for a national modification system. Different alternatives are available for consumers that have Federal national mortgage association, Freddie Mac computer, FHA-covered, VA-guaranteed, and you will USDA mortgages. For-instance, you can be eligible for a federal national mortgage association or Freddie Mac Fold Modification when you yourself have one particular types of fund. Investors was free to bring her within the-house modification choices, also, called “proprietary” modifications. Laws That can help Residents about Amendment Techniques Down seriously to mortgage servicing problems that arose when you look at the higher recession, the brand new legislation and you may statutes built to cover people on amendment processes came about. Federal mortgage upkeep guidelines, and this went towards impact on , include consumers regarding losses mitigation procedure. Along with, specific says, for example Ca, keeps enacted a resident Bill out of Legal rights, and that controls just how servicers handle modification applications. Nevada, Texas, and Minnesota, such, together with enacted similar regulations. How exactly to Submit an application for that loan Modification To try to get a modification, contact your servicer’s losses minimization institution, both called a “family storage” agencies, and request a loss of profits minimization application. You will find contact details on the monthly financial statement otherwise the new servicer’s web page. a completed survey detailed with a recommendations, mortgage guidance, assets guidance, and so forth Never Hire that loan Modification Providers to help you While it is often...
Read MoreHow-to Finance The fresh Structure: Types of Financing Available
How-to Finance The fresh Structure: Types of Financing Available As you have the ability to get a good interest in your financial having a-two-closing loan, you could spend less finally, even though you shell out closing costs once more. Construction-simply finance try due whenever opportunity is done. Usually, the phrase of the mortgage is short – on the a year, if not quicker. If a borrower keeps difficulties searching for a home loan to blow the kept dominant into the framework mortgage, they may find themselves having a big expenses once their residence is move-within the ready. Exactly as you have got choices when purchasing a preexisting family, you have mortgage options when searching on to get the fresh design. Several mortgage programs give structure funds too. FHA Loans The original aim of the fresh new Federal Casing Government (FHA) financing system is always to create homeownership reasonable to have as many individuals that one can. FHA fund generate bringing a home loan much more accessible in a number of suggests. They typically keeps lower down payment standards than many other form of mortgages. If you would like rating an FHA framework loan, you could set-out as little as step three.5%. Borrowing requirements are looser with FHA Fund. You could have a credit history about 500s but still qualify for a mortgage. FHA money are protected from the Government Property Government but never are from the government itself. As an alternative, you get the mortgage as a consequence of a medication bank. The lender evaluations your own borrowing from the bank, money, and other files before deciding whether to agree you to the financing as well as how far interest in order to charge. The sort of FHA financing your get relies on the types of structure enterprise you may be performing. Whenever you are strengthening property away from scrape, you are able to submit an application for an individual-closing, construction-to-long lasting FHA financing. In the beginning of the procedure, the lender dispenses fund with the creator to cover costs out-of structure. If the residence is complete, the borrowed funds transforms to a vintage FHA home loan. Another choice is if you are remodeling an existing domestic. americash loan Dakota Ridge An enthusiastic FHA 203(k) financing talks about the cost of rehabilitating good fixer-top and other household that really needs some TLC. You should use an enthusiastic FHA 203(k) loan to upgrade your family or perhaps to buy and you may upgrade a new domestic. A couple types of 203(k) finance exists – standard and minimal. The standard 203(k) is for big projects you to cost more than simply $thirty five,100. This new limited financing covers ideas which have a selling price under $35,000. Something to contemplate if you’re considering a keen FHA mortgage is actually that the financing will demand you to definitely spend a home loan insurance coverage premium. You can spend a made upfront and also for the lifetime of the fresh new loan term. Va Fund The latest Institution of Experts Situations also provides Va money to greatly help pros and newest services members buy residential property. Including FHA financing, Va mortgage loans are from private loan providers as they are protected by a great regulators company, in this case, brand new Department out of Pros Circumstances. Plus exactly like a keen FHA loan, an effective Va financing enables you to buy a home that have a small down-payment. When it comes to a great Virtual assistant financing, you might be capable buy property having zero down. Va construction loans features relatively tight criteria. And...
Read MoreParticular Fund to have Borrowers having Bad credit
Particular Fund to have Borrowers having Bad credit Though some might only be open so you’re able to individuals with an exceptional get, others are willing to undertake borrowers which have subprime or faster-than-finest borrowing from the bank. This will depend into the levels of risk that loan providers is actually safe taking. Overall, yet not, its basically accepted one a credit rating away from lower than 550 will appeal rejections from very loan providers. That is where you find borrowers with a history of personal bankruptcy filings, and a financial obligation standard rates of approximately 75%. Those with fico scores out-of 550 to 619, while doing so, is widely said to be subprime borrowers simply because they include a reputation slip-ups such as account rejections and borrowing delinquencies. While they you are going to be eligible for money, they tend to draw high interest levels for their higher-exposure condition. Just what are Less than perfect credit Funds? Once the identity suggests, less than perfect credit financing is unique loans arranged for borrowers whom occurs to own a dismal credit rating, or even in other circumstances, no credit history whatsoever. And you can in the place of basing lending behavior with the borrowing from the bank inspections, lenders typically determine qualifications considering an effective borrower’s ability to pay the mortgage. Put another way, they remark debt points during the time of application to present if you’re able to in fact spend the money for loan. Therefore, it’s possible to qualify for less than perfect credit money even if you keeps a reputation missing financial obligation costs. It is value detailing, though, one to to pay for risky that comes with such individuals, the lenders charge a lot more more than normal interest levels. Also, the principal amounts are often dramatically reduced compared to other forms regarding money. Because of the huge profit margins one to poor credit finance create, so it area will continue to notice a variety of members which, in turn, offer interested individuals a host of mortgage activities to choose from. Personal loans One of several more 23 million signature loans approved so you can U.S. individuals is actually less than perfect credit finance you to definitely perform in different ways off regular private finance. Such as, whenever you are normal personal loans and you can fees fund try treated from the registered financial institutions, bad credit unsecured loans are provided from the low-traditional lenders which have a hunger to possess higher risks with highest production. Consumer loan loan providers try not to fork out a lot of your time with the credit inspections. Alternatively, they tend to be effective regarding the latest borrowers’ earnings provide, also facts just like your a career records, schooling history, college education reputation, etc. It normally takes a couple out-of days to examine and you may procedure the brand new software, right after which the cash is paid right to your money. The minimum amount borrowed is higher than a quick payday loan otherwise just what might get through a cash loan software. You might obtain only $five hundred to as much as $50,one hundred thousand, that is constantly payable within the twenty-four in order to sixty months within an apr (APR) as high as thirty-six%. Peer-to-Peer Funds Peer-to-peer funds otherwise P2P lending is yet another popular choice for people who intend to rating a mortgage which have less than perfect credit. Inside program, one another bad and good credit anyone get to acquire fund yourself off their people in the place of depending on finance companies to act because...
Read MoreConsiderations to learn one which just finance an effective fixer-top
Considerations to learn one which just finance an effective fixer-top You happen to be capable of some of the really works oneself, nevertheless lender should accept the work you’re going to be doing. It works normally create only about ten% of loan amount, and you’ll be reimbursed simply for the cost of the materials, not your own labor. Who this financing is made for: The latest Fannie mae HomeStyle Restoration mortgage is perfect for borrowers whom need to do the of one’s repairs themselves to save cash. It’s limitation into rehab budgets is fairly large, which is useful getting high plans. CHOICERenovation mortgage Freddie Mac also provides CHOICERevonation financing to possess homeowners trying money a home searching for solutions. Present residents can pay for solutions with your finance too. This type of money can be used for your primary household, the second home, plus a residential property. The fresh new LTV can go up so you can 97% on a single-family members residence when combined with House You can easily, that loan program to possess lowest-to-moderate-income borrowers. Mortgage limits to have CHOICERenovation fund try $548,250, but people in higher-cost parts can be acquire around $822,375. Debtor fico scores should be at the very least 660 with lower than a 25% advance payment at the very least 720 getting a moment household or investment property. As with the latest HomeStyle mortgage explained above, new rehabilitation budget is restricted in order to 75% of cheaper of the combined cost and project costs or property’s blog post-recovery appraised well worth. Proceeds from this type of fund will pay in order to remodel and you can fix the fresh new home as well as improvements to guard against future catastrophes. Fees having preparations, it allows, inspections, or other associated can cost you normally integrated. Around 6 months from money is included for folks who are unable to reside in your house from inside the recovery. not, our home is almost certainly not razed and you will rebuilt. Whom that it financing is good for: Brand new Freddie Mac CHOICERenovation loan is a good choice for first residences, second property, and you will resource qualities. This type of funds in addition to work very well to have residential property that want repairs or defense against natural disasters. Before you go down the highway of shopping for a unique family that needs remodeling, you will find some important things to learn: Hidden trouble There’s a difference ranging from to purchase a house that is merely dated and one who has sustained hurricane or fire destroy. The existing home aged home might have invisible troubles, such mildew and mold, architectural factors, and other expensive solutions. Rehabbing a house is like starting a gift. You really have wise regarding what is actually in to the, however try not to fully learn until you begin looking in it. Your own renovate may start aside having a funds that includes tearing out of the kitchen, then again you can even discover poor floorboards, busted pipes, or code abuses that need to be managed too. Many of these products are huge unknowns if you do not begin this new demolition process. To cover such unexpected will cost you, fixer-higher loans need a backup set aside ranging from ten% and you can 20% of your repair budget. The backup reserve is essentially an emergency finance for your restoration one assures there was currency set aside to pay for unexpected solutions that have been not a portion of the amazing scope of your own venture. Do not have over control You will...
Read MoreHow can Figuratively speaking Affect Financial Approvals? What you need to Discover
How can Figuratively speaking Affect Financial Approvals? What you need to Discover If you are considering a home buy, first inquire whenever you are to your strong economic footing and you can ready in order to to go. Of several young perform-feel property owners try unable to address that it question when you’re strained which have student loan loans. Affecting more than forty million Us citizens, millennials, particularly, was impact the extra weight. To possess prior years, to be able to purchase a property is thought to be an important action so you can adulthood. But study once investigation shows that the current young adults was delaying homeownership commonly due to challenging personal debt. So why don’t we evaluate some of the suggests pupil funds make a difference your capability to acquire a home loan. From the the center, a financial obligation-to-earnings proportion is strictly one: an evaluation between the quantity of personal debt you really have in place of new amount of cash you make. DTI is one of the most techniques a financial tend to thought when people try making an application for home financing because support lenders see both exactly how much much more obligations you can deal with and just how much from a risk your twist. Everyone has a great DTI proportion, although all the way down your very own is actually, the higher chance you’ve got to be recognized to possess a home loan. In most cases out-of flash, 36% is ideal for people. If you find yourself inside deferment, loan providers will however envision education loan financial obligation up against your DTI proportion because they learn you will fundamentally initiate paying down a loan once more. That have an easily affordable financial into the 6 otherwise one year your have deferment is very good unless you is using student loan payments as well and it’s really out of the blue a burden. By offering a growing catalog of mortgage money services strengthening the partners to simply help each and every consumer pick the best selection, we are worried about as being the most readily useful and you may most powerful financial within the the brand new Southeast Your student loans count facing the DTI plus dictate your own credit history since they are advertised towards the a credit history simply like most most other commission duty. Later otherwise missed repayments and defaulting into a loan normally damage they. Very lenders imagine Fico scores out of 740 or higher to be good, yet, if your score are not as much as 640, it will be difficult to qualify for home financing without paying high rates. Should your score is actually lower than 620, you’ve got trouble qualifying to possess a home loan within all of the. Keep in mind plus one to lenders don’t use their large get. Might make the center score away from three present – Equifax, TransUnion, Experian – so you can qualify you for your mortgage. Using having a partner? The lending company will need both their middle score immediately after which fool around with the lowest between the two. If you have some funds saved up, you are questioning in case it is better to pay the student loans or to get property. When you yourself have higher focus financing, it can be great for pay them off or perhaps to refinance your own loans so you’re able to a far greater speed before you buy a home. If you have low interest rates student loans already, thought getting the coupons down to possess a property. When you...
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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