Indiana Jones: “We do not follow maps to buried treasure and X never, ever marks the spot.” (Last Crusade)
Dr. Randall Goldberg, Asst. Prof of Music History at the Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University in Ohio has been digging for “treasure” at the Judaica Sound Archives at the Wimberly Library on FAU’s Boca Raton campus.
He has no map and so far has not discovered a spot marked with an “X.” But he has spent weeks tirelessly searching at FAU’s Judaica Sound Archives through thousands of 78 rpm recordings for information about how Jewish identity was expressed in 20th-century music. Like Indiana Jones, Randy Goldberg feels like he is on a quest. Allowing his intellectual curiosity to lead him on a fantastic journey back in time, he relishes finding little known tid-bits of information.
Prof. Goldberg crouches between the stacks to check the record numbers he is looking for.
“For me the passion is in the records. There is a childish love that I have for it. I used to watch Indiana Jones films and that is the sense of adventure I have. I am always looking for some hidden treasure whether it is here at FAU’s Judaica Sound Archives or in an old record store in Pittsburgh.”Read More About This…
Deeply emotional and rooted in the ancient songs of Judaism, the music of RebbeSoul brings a modern vibe that re-imagines the music of our ancestors. This is not your grandmother’s Jewish Music. This is not some crazy mash-up of eclectic sounds. This is spiritually-based music with modern sensibilities and a deep respect for the past.
After earning a degree in engineering, Bruce Burger(aka RebbeSoul)set off to explore L.A.’s music scene.
Leaving parental expectations and upstate New York’s brilliant autumns and wintry snows behind him, it was in L.A. that he finally found his sound….and his voice.Read More About This…
You may ask yourself… how did a Yiddish story by Sholem Aleichem, based on a surrealistic painting by Marc Chagal, become one of the world’s most popular shows?
You may ask yourself…. how could a 1964 Broadway musical touch audiences after 50 years?Read More About This…
The last time it happened was in 1888. Chanukah and Thanksgiving…..at the same time!
Some might call it “Thanksgivukkah.” But whatever you call it, you can be sure that it won’t happen again for tens of thousands of years to come.
This year American Jews may be enjoying crispy, hot latkes with their Thanksgiving turkey. Sounds like a delicious combo to me. Yummmm.
Yet, despite this year’s rare opportunity to celebrate a double dose of survival and gratitude, some things will always remain the same. The Story of Chanukah reaches back in time way past the struggling Pilgrims on New England’s rocky coast. It reaches back to 167 BCE when the Syrian king Antiochus desecrated the Temple and outlawed Jewish practices. The five sons of the Jewish priest, Mattithius, were incited to revolt. Chanukah celebrates their victory and the miracle of the light that lasted for eight days during the Temple’s re-dedication.Read More About This…
Player pianos, pianolas and piano rolls were all the rage during Prohibition.
By the early 1920’s new advances in piano-roll technology gave rise to a complex, performance-oriented style of music that became the soundtrack of an era.
All types of music were recorded on piano rolls, from Ragtime to folk songs; from Jazz to Cantorial masterpieces. So….can these “Boardwalk Empire” era Jewish piano rolls still find an audience in today’s fast-paced electronic world?Read More About This…
Comments (0) 
