The concert and lecture series, “Jewish Music, East and West,” highlights the development of Jewish music in different cultures and traditions.

The series began with a lecture last Monday and will run through April 8, concluding with another lecture.

Jan Radzynski, professor of music, coordinated the events. Planned performers include OSU students, faculty and others from around the world.

“We have managed to put together a wonderful array of performers,” said Radzynski.

Professor Edwin Seroussi of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem gave the lecture last week discussing the sound and music of synagogues and gave essential background for the rest of the series. Radzynski said Seroussi was also helpful in selecting materials for the series.

“There are many Jewish studies programs at universities around the U.S., but the topic of Jewish music has largely been neglected,” said Helena Schlam, program director for the Melton Center of Jewish Studies. “Professor Seroussi sees this as an important beginning of the academic examination and study of Jewish music. It’s a very rich and potentially promising field for the general study of music.”

Radzynski said there seemed to be much interest shown by students, faculty and the community, because the first lecture was filled. He hopes that interest will continue throughout the series.

The first musical performance in the series was yesterday at Weigel Hall. It featured 19th century synagogue music from Hamburg, Paris, Vienna and Livorno, Italy. The concert featured performers from countries all over the world.

Radzynski said the music had not been performed for at least 150 years, so it had to be re-transcribed into modern notation. The OSU Chorale and Symphonic Choir performed cantorial music along with music by composers Jacob Bauer, David Garzia, Emile Jones and Michael Boulaffi.

Continuing in the series, chamber music from Russian composers in the St. Petersburg School will be performed on Wednesday. Music from Israeli composers in the Mediterranean School will be performed on March 14. Both concerts will take place at 8 p.m. in Weigel Hall.

Guest lecturer Professor Kay Kaufman Schelemay of Harvard University will deliver the series’ final lecture at 4:30 p.m. on April 8 at the Faculty Club. The lecture will be entitled “Echoes from Beyond Europe’s Borders: Music and the Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jewish) Transformation.”

The series is co-sponsored by the OSU School of Music and the Melton Center for Jewish Studies. Grants were provided by the OSU Office of International Affairs and the Jewish Arts Endowment of the Columbus Jewish Foundation.

Schlam said the grant from the Columbus Jewish Foundation will be used to produce CDs of the concerts, which will be distributed to music libraries at different universities for future research.

“Jewish Music, East and West” is this year’s installment of the annual Thomas and Diann Mann Distinguished Symposium Series. Since 1997, the Melton Center has sponsored a Jewish-themed lecture series.

Radzynski said this is the first year that performances have been combined with lectures for the series. Such topics covered in the past include the Holocaust, Jewish assimilation and dissimulation, and sexuality in Jewish history.

This year, the concept of Jewish musical development as the series topic was conceived of by Radzynski. Schlam said the series is a reflection of Radzynski’s expertise and connections.

“We conceived of this program as bringing something to both the general and academic community. It provides new opportunities to both,” said Schlam.

Schlam said the series is an interdisciplinary collaboration between the School of Music in the College of the Arts, and the Melton Center in the College of Humanities. She said the center brings together the study of Jewish subjects through many disciplines. This series in particular focuses on seeing music through the lens of Jewish studies.

The lecture is free, while tickets for the concert are available at the door. Student admission for the concert is free with a valid OSU student ID. For information, call 292-2300.