The Recorded Sound Archives has digitized a collection of cantorial music by Cantor Shloimele Rothstein , one of over 260 Cantorial voices to choose from in the RSA’s Cantorial Collection.

Born in Bessarabia on May 1, 1891 in the town of Falesty. He was the first Cantor to sing on KDKA radio in Pittsburgh in 1926 and was contracted by Columbia Grafonola to produce phonograph recordings along with being Cantor at Synagogue B’nai Israel in Brooklyn, NY.

Shloimele’s only teacher was Jerome Hayes of whom he learned several operas with. As a result, he was offered the leading tenor role in “La Juive” by an Opera Co., but refused the offer to give his attention to the Synagogue, Phonograph and Concert work. He passed away on October 19, 1966, at the age of 75.

He is also known as Shlomo Rothstein, Sol Rothstein & Solomon Rothstein.

To listen the voice and recordings of Shloimele Rothstein, click here.

To discover other cantorial voices, please visit the Recorded Sound Archives Cantorial Voices collection.

Looking for something to do on campus? Check out these music events taking place at FAU’s University Theatre in October. For other FAU Events, click here.

FAU Faculty & Friends
Saturday, Oct. 17, 7pm, University Theatre

Directed by Tim Walters, Rattette features South Florida’s best jazz musicians in concert.

Tickets are $15. To purchase your tickets, click here.

 

 

 

FAU Classical Guitar Society
Saturday, Oct. 24th, 7pm, University Theatre

Maxine was nominated for the prestigious Jeffrey Gabor Exemplary Employee Award by Rita Pellen, Interim Dean of FAU Libraries. In her nomination letter Pellen praised Schackman for her hard work building up the Judaica Sound Archives since the early 2000’s.

In 2009, when she stepped in as director, Schackman expanded the scope of the online archives by including rare historic vintage and jazz recordings.

In 2013 the Recorded Sound Archives made the news when, with the help of Peter Muldavin, the “Kiddie Rekord King,” they rescued over 800 vintage children’s recordings from a flooded storage facility after SuperStorm Sandy hit Long Island. Schackman and her crew worked tirelessly for a year to digitize the sound and images that had been damaged. Now this wonderful collection of recordings are available online. For more about this story see video here.

Pellen also praised Schackman for being a leader in the development and expansion of the Judaica Sound Archives, making it the largest online collection of Jewish recordings in the world. “Under her leadership the RSA at FAU Libraries has become known as the ‘go to’ place for rare and difficult to find recordings of Jewish and other vintage music.”

According to Schackman, “When I became director in 2009 my first goal was to totally revamp our very popular website. It was a great website and had an amazing number of digitized sound tracks but it was old technology and I knew we just couldn’t survive in the 21st century without going mobile. Now the JSA and other RSA recordings are available on mobile devices using streaming audio technology. Now people can take the music with them wherever they go.”

“This award means a lot to me. I have dedicated the past 13 years of my life to the Judaica Sound Archives and more recently, the Recorded Sound Archives. I worked very hard but I loved every minute of it. I loved talking to groups and introducing them to the wonderful music we have rescued and preserved. I am very proud of the contribution that I have made to FAU Libraries. I am very grateful to my dedicated staff and to the many students who have worked for us over the years.  I am especially grateful to the volunteers without whom none of this would have been possible. This award is a wonderful capstone for my career since I will be retiring on June 30, 2015.”

‘Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War’ Exhibition

Friday, March 20 – Thursday, April 30

Florida Atlantic University will host “Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War,” a traveling exhibition from the National Constitution Center, from Friday, March 20 through Thursday, April 30 at the Wimberly Library, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton campus. The exhibition features photographic reproductions of original documents, including a draft of President Abraham Lincoln’s first inaugural speech, the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment. “

American Civil War Highlights from Special Collections (March 20 – April 30)

Abraham Lincoln and the Crisis of Federalism Discussion (March 20 @ 3pm)

Florida Atlantic University professor Stephen Engle, Ph.D., and Kate Dahlstrand, an FAU alumna and U.S. Army veteran, will host a discussion titled “Abraham Lincoln and the Crisis of Federalism,” on Friday, March 20 at 3 p.m. on the fifth floor of the Wimberly Library. The lecture is free and open to the public. Metered parking is available at the Wimberly Library.  For more information, contact Jackie Simpson at 561-297-3921 or visit http://www.library.fau.edu/news/flyers/lincoln_ala2015.pdf.

Prisoners of War and the Loyalty Oath Lecture (March 23 @ 10am

Kate Dahlstrand, a Florida Atlantic University alumna and U.S. Army veteran, will present “Prisoners of War and the Loyalty Oath: The Rhetoric of Unionism and Reflections on Reconciliation,” on Monday, March 23 at 10 a.m. on the fifth floor of the Wimberly Library. The lecture focuses on unionism, reconciliation and citizenship. The lecture is free and open to the public.

While recording devices were not in existence during the Civil War, this didn’t stop people from re-enacting famous speeches by President Lincoln at the beginning of 20th century. Here at the Recorded Sound Archives we’ve digitized a collection of speeches by President Lincoln along with some military related recordings in conjunction with a traveling exhibit about Lincoln: The Constitution and Civil War highlights from Special Collections.

 

What are sound recordings made of?

Initially sound was recorded on wax cylinders. By the end of the 1920s, however, recordings were made of a heavy, fragile shellac compound.

Producers began looking for better options and started experimenting with materials that were lighter, flexible and less fragile.

One of these experiments, Hit of the Week records, were actually made of resin coated brown paper! This lightweight, flexible, “unbreakable” composition was unique and provided a 78 rpm recording with sound equal to or better than ordinary shellac.

Beginning in February 1930 a new recording featuring a current “hit” song was released each week. They were sold at newsstands, likemagazines, with past issues being available by mail order. They were recorded on one side only and sold for 15 to 20 cents per recording. The unrecorded side was often printed with advertising or the performer’s portrait. They had a tendency to curl up over time and came in flimsy rice paper sleeves.

These recordings were a big hit with the public in the early days of the Great Depression and provided easy, cheap entertainment to the masses. However, as the depression wore on sales slumped. the last Hit of the Week issue was released in June 1932.

The Recorded Sound Archives at FAU Libraries is pleased to share 39 of these original recordings with our website users. Due to US Copyright laws only 45-second snippets are available on our public website.  Full recordings are available to RSA Research Station users.

Click here to see and hear the Hit of the Week collection.

Portraits of two beloved icons–Sholom Aleichem and Theodore Bikel–are woven together in this enchanting new documentary. The two men have much in common: wit, wisdom and talent, all shot through with deep humanity and Yiddishkeit.

Theodore Bikel, the unstoppable performer whose career spans more than 150 screen roles (including an Oscar-nominated turn in “The Defiant Ones”) and countless stage and musical productions, is also the foremost interpreter of Sholom Aleichem’s work. Now 90, Bikel has played Tevye the Milkman on stage more than 2,000 times, and he has animated Aleichem’s work through his creation of two celebrated musical plays about the great Russian author.

The new film Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem combines Bikel’s charismatic storytelling and masterful performances with a broader exploration of Aleichem’s remarkable life and work.

A pioneer of modern Jewish literature who championed and luxuriated in the Yiddish language, Sholom Aleichem created dozens of indelible characters. His Tevye the Milkman, Motl the Cantor’s Son, and Menachem Mendl–“shtetl Jews” for whom humor and pathos were two sides of the same Yiddish coin–remain invaluable windows into pre-war Eastern European Jewish life, real and imagined.

Watch the Trailer!

Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem (Trailer) from National Center for Jewish Film on Vimeo.

The National Center for Jewish Film is a unique, independent nonprofit motion picture archive and distributor. This month several screenings of Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem will be presented across Florida.

Below you will find information on these screenings and where tickets can be purchased.

	Sarasota, FL – March 8 & 10 2015 Jewish Film Festival of Sarasota-Manatee OPENING NIGHT WITH THEODORE BIKEL RECEPTION FOLLOWING Sunday, March 8, 6:30 pm at Hyatt Regency Sarasota Encore Screening (film only) Tuesday, March 10, 3pm at Jewish Federation See Festival website for tickets
	Tampa, FL – Friday, March 13, 2015 Tampa Bay Jewish Film Festival  Friday, March 13, 1:15 pm at Villagio Cinemas North Tampa Buy Tickets! LIMITED SEATING
	Delray Beach, FL  – March 13-19 Week Theatrical Run March 13-19 Tickets and showtimes coming soon!
	Lake Worth, FL  – March 13-19 Week Theatrical Run March 13-19 Tickets and showtimes coming soon!

Did you know Star Trek’s Mr. Spock was Jewish?

Leonard Nimoy  passed away February 27, 2015 in Los Angeles at the age of 83.

The son of Yiddish speaking Orthodox Jewish immigrants from Iziaslav, Soviet Union, Nimoy began acting at the age of 8.

He starred in minor movie roles through the 1950s,  but he is probably best remembered for his role as Spock. Nimoy captivated audiences in his role as the half Vulcan, half human Spock in the original Star Trek TV series (1966-1969), and earned himself three Emmy nominations. He later appeared in numerous Star Trek and other films and directed Nimoy directed Star Trek III: The Search for Spock in 1984 and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home in 1986.

The Vulcan salute, which became identified with him was created by Nimoy from his childhood memories of the way kohanim (Jewish priests) hold their hand when giving blessings.

In the clip below Leonard Nimoy explains the origin of the Vulcan hand signal.

Video by Yiddish Book Center on Publish Date February 27, 2015.

Beyond acting and directing Nimoy was a recording artist and released five albums.

The Recorded Sound Archives at FAU Libraries is delighted to share the following recordings by Alberto Mizrahi and the Western Wind, featuring Leonard Nimoy as the narrator.

The Birth of the World, Part 1: Rosh Hashanah

The Birth of the World, Part 2: Yom Kippur

Taste of Eternity – A Musical Shabbat Part 1: Friday Night Service

Taste of Enternity – A Musical Shabbat, Part 2: Saturday Morning Service

Chanukah in Story and Song

February 28 – March 7, 2014

7th Annual Kultur Celebration

Click here for full schedule and more information

                    Florida Atlantic University Libraries

Festival Highlights

---

	Klezmer Company Orchestra FAU – Carole & Barry Kaye Performing Arts Auditorium, Boca Raton, FL Sun, Mar 1, 2015 03:00 PM Aaron Kula leads KCO in vintage Klezmer melodies re-mixed …more
	Great Jewish Composers of the 20th Century FAU – Wimberly Library, Boca Raton, FL Tue, Mar 3, 2015 02:00 PM Discover musical treasures featuring iconic Jewish composers …more
	Moroccan Soul with Aaron Bensoussan FAU – Wimberly Library, Boca Raton, FL Thu, Mar 5, 2015 07:30 PM Listen to a unique soulful mix of genres including Judao Moro …more
	Jewish Melodies in Jazztime – Brian Potts Vibraphone Quartet FAU – Wimberly Library, Boca Raton, FL Sat, Mar 7, 2015 07:30 PM Vibraphonist Brian Potts brings his accomplished jazz quartet …more

 

Over 300 FAU students and invited guests participated in the Recorded Sound Archives Vinyl Record Give-away event on October 20 and 21, 2014 at the Wimberly Library’s fifth floor on FAU’s Boca Raton campus.

More than 1,500 vinyl LP records were distributed as well as cassette tapes, and 45 rpm records (singles).

Established in 2002 to collect, organize and protect vintage audio recordings, the RSA houses more than 250,000 classical, jazz, Judaic and other vintage recordings, making FAU Libraries one of the top academic libraries in the nation for sound recordings.

All the recordings in the archives were donated to the university by collectors and institutions. Recent efforts to organize and inventory the back-log of thousands of donated recordings resulted in the identification of duplicate and excess records that were not needed for the RSA collection. The RSA regularly receives about 10,000 donated recordings each year.

Some students expressed disappointment when they learned that classic rock icons such as the Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen and Alice Cooper were not among the recordings being offered. One student commented, “Man, these are really, really old records.”

Yet, they were scooping up albums by Frank Sinatra, Petula Clark, Jack Benny and Robert Goulet. “Why did you choose this record I asked?” Very often the answer was something like, “I’m not sure but I think I remember my grandmother mentioning that she liked this singer.” For many adults of my age these recordings represented a “walk down memory lane”, but for these students it was a treasure trove of discovery. They asked for historical information about shows like “My Fair Lady” and “Oklahoma.” They showed me recordings of operas and wanted to know if Leontyne Price or Robert Merrill were good singers.

A group of young men scooped up a bunch of 45 rpm records and were surprised when I mentioned to them that they would need a special insert to fit in the large hole in order to play them on a standard phonograph. Many students said they had phonograph players and some said that they would go out and buy one just so they could listen to the music they had collected. A few lucky students were able to find used turntables at the give-away which also included several pieces of used equipment.

Take Jewish music with you wherever you go!

Now you can listen to your favorite Jewish songs on your i-phone, i-pad, smart phone or other mobile device!

New online registration for the JSA Research Station makes it quicker and easier than ever to research and study Jewish music and performers.

The current JSA website is merging with the Recorded Sound Archives at FAU website (rsa.fau.edu).

All the music, images and information on the JSA site that you are familiar with will also be available on the new RSA website. . . plus a lot more!

Click here to visit the new RSA website

• Be among the first to see the newly updated, expanded and totally redesigned website.

• Browse among Jewish recordings for the songs and performers you like or expand your search to include our Vintage and Jazz collections.

• Access the music you want with your mobile device.

• Any user of the Research Station can log in directly from our website. No additional downloads or special procedures are required.

The current JSA website will only be available until January 1, 2015.

After 1/1/15 you will automatically be re-directed to the new RSA website.