Dedication Concert for Hebrew College’s New Musicant Cohen Center for the Performing Arts at Ordis Hall
Join us on Thursday, March 2, 2023 for the dedication of the Musicant Cohen Center for the Performing Arts at Ordis Hall on Hebrew College’s new shared campus. Doors open at 7 p.m. Concert will begin at 7:15 p.m.
The evening will feature a live musical performance by the five-woman band Divahn, led by world-renowned Middle Eastern vocalist and composer Galeet Dardashti. Infusing traditional and original Jewish songs with sophisticated harmonies and entrancing improvisations, Divahn has an international following, performing in venues ranging from top concert halls in Poland to the most prestigious clubs in New York City.
Tickets are $15 for general public, free for Hebrew College students. Seating is limited, so make your reservation today!
This special event is hosted by Hebrew College and campus partner Jewish Arts Collaborative (JArts).
Myra Musicant & Howard Cohen
Myra Musicant is Treasurer of the Hebrew College Board of Trustees. She graduated magna cum laude from Smith College with a major in religion. She studied in the Near Eastern and Judaic Studies Department at Brandeis University for 3 1/2 years while in graduate school. She received a master’s degree from the Simmons Graduate Program in Management. She obtained her CPA and had 7 years’ experience with the firm of Coopers & Lybrand. Myra was a member of the board of trustees at the Solomon Schechter Day School of Boston, serving as Treasurer and First Vice President. She is an alumna of the Me’ah program at Hebrew College. Myra has dedicated her life to volunteering in non-profit organizations. Currently, she is a hospice volunteer at Hebrew SeniorLife.
Howard Earl Cohen is the founder and chair of the board of Beacon Communities LLC. He serves on the boards of the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation, Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency Advisory Committee, and the Department of Housing and Community Development Housing Preservation Advisory Committee. Howard holds a BA summa cum laude in economics from Washington University of St. Louis and a JD cum laude from Harvard Law School. He also co-founded and served as chair of the board of New Lease for Homeless Families. He serves as chair of the real estate committees at both Hebrew College and Hebrew SeniorLife. He chaired the community committee that resulted in the creation of Jewish Arts Collaborative and served as its initial board chair.
About Divahn
Lead singer Galeet Dardashti (right) follows a family tradition of distinguished musicianship dating back to 19th-century Persia. But it was down in Austin, Texas, where this bold, all-woman Mizrahi/Sephardi ensemble began dazzling audiences with its Middle Eastern grooves, infusing traditional and original Jewish songs with sophisticated harmonies and entrancing improvisations.
Galeet is the first woman to continue her family’s tradition of distinguished Persian and Jewish musicianship. Her grandfather (Younes Dardashti) was one of the most highly acclaimed singers of Persian classical music in Iran and her father, Farid Dardashti, is a renowned cantor in the United States.
The group’s live shows include lush string arrangements, eclectic Indian, Middle Eastern, and Latin percussion, and vocals spanning Hebrew, Judeo-Spanish, Persian, Arabic, and Aramaic. Dardashti’s diverse background performing Persian and Arab classical music, Ashkenazi cantorial music, Western classical music and jazz enhance Divahn’s unique and innovative sound.
The group has appeared at music festivals and live television and radio shows internationally and has shared the stage with some of the world’s most renowned master musicians. As one of the few groups performing Mizrahi and Judeo-Arab music in the United States, Divahn welcomes its audiences to a beautiful sphere of shared Jewish and Muslim culture. Learn more here.
Dr. Jonathan Sarna