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Jewish musicians

Victor Urbancic conducts a makeshift orchestra in Reykjavik, Iceland, sometime after World War II. (Courtesy Árni Heimir Ingólfsson via JTA)
August 12, 2026, 4:02 am
How 3 Jewish refugees from the Nazis built Iceland’s classical music scene from scratch
Closed borders and antisemitism made the country’s musical genesis story all the more unlikely, but as a newly translated book shows, perseverance and luck helped make history
By Jenna Gottlieb
Woody Guthrie (left) and Yiddish poet Aliza Greenblatt. After Guthrie married Greenblatt's daughter, Marjorie Mazia, the two developed a close bond, explored in the new documentary 'Dust Bowls and Jewish Souls.' (Woody Guthrie Publications via JTA)
August 6, 2026, 2:27 am
Woody Guthrie was surprisingly in tune with Judaism. A new documentary explains why
‘Dust Bowls and Jewish Souls,’ now making the rounds on the Jewish film circuit, shows a little-known side of the legendary American folk singer that was steeped in Jewish culture
By Andrew Silow-Carroll
French Jewish DJ Barbara Butch reacts during the 20th edition of the Rock en Seine music festival, in Saint-Cloud, outside Paris, on August 25, 2024. (Anna Kurth/AFP)
July 23, 2026, 6:48 pm
French Jewish DJ sues after anti-Israel activists disrupt her gig, lawyer says
Barbara Butch files complaints alleging incitement to hatred and violence, assault, and obstruction of artistic freedom, after she says protesters threw objects at her on stage
By AFP
French paralympic athlete Helios Latchoumanaya (R) holds the paralympic flame flanked by French-Iranian writer Marjane Satrapi (2nd L) and French DJ Barbara Butch (C) during the 20th edition of the Rock en Seine music festival, in Saint-Cloud, outside Paris, on August 25, 2024. (Anna KURTH/AFP)
July 23, 2026, 1:55 am
French Jewish DJ Barbara Butch is defiant after concert disrupted by anti-Israel protesters
Performer says attackers threw objects including glass bottles that shattered near her DJ console in Grenoble on Saturday; local far-left party official doubles down on boycott call
By Kelly Hartog
San Francisco Symphony conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, who composed 'From the Diary of Anne Frank.' (Spencer Lowell/ courtesy SFS)
April 24, 2026, 6:23 pm
Famed Jewish conductor Michael Tilson Thomas dies at 81
LA-born Tilson Thomas, the scion of Yiddish theater royalty, conducted a wide range of symphonies around the world, including in Israel; died of brain cancer
By Penny Schwartz
Country singer Joe McDonald plays during the Heros of Woodstock concert at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel, New York, August 15, 2009, marking the 40th anniversary of the original 1969 Woodstock concert. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File)
March 9, 2026, 6:56 am
‘Country’ Joe McDonald, ’60s US rock star, proud protest counterculture icon, dies at 84
Named after Stalin by his once-Communist Jewish mother and Presbytarian father, anti-war activist starred at Woodstock after rising to fame with ‘I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die Rag’
By Hillel Italie
Marc Shaiman is the author of a new memoir, 'Never Mind the Happy: Showbiz Stories from a Sore Winner.' (Robert Trachtenberg via JTA)
February 21, 2026, 2:28 am
In new memoir, acclaimed ‘Hairspray’ composer tells a showbiz story shaped by Jewish humor
In ‘Never Mind the Happy,’ Tony winner and 7-time Oscar nominee Marc Shaiman recounts collaborations with Bette Midler and Rob Reiner, and the musical liberties he took at his bar mitzvah
By Stephen Silver
Semyon Bychkov meets with media after being appointed the Czech Philharmonic new chief conductor and music director at the Rudolfinum concert hall in Prague, Czech Republic, October 16, 2017. (AP/Petr David Josek, File)
January 7, 2026, 6:48 am
Semyon Bychkov to succeed Gustavo Dudamel as music director of Paris Opera
The conductor, who was born to Jewish parents in the Soviet Union, says he agreed to take post after some of the opera’s musicians ‘assaulted’ him, saying, ‘You must come to us’
By AP
Carole King performs in New York's Central Park on May 26, 1973. (AP Photo/Ray Stubblebine, File)
December 28, 2025, 2:33 am
How ‘Natural Woman’ Carole King defied societal expectations to achieve pop stardom
Former Forward editor Jane Eisner’s new biography tracks the Jewish artist from her native NYC to California, where she recorded hit album ‘Tapestry,’ through multiple marriages in Idaho
By Rich Tenorio
Derek Shulman. (Courtesy)
November 14, 2025, 12:33 pm
Jewish rocker who discovered Bon Jovi charts journey from stage to boardroom
With memoir ‘Giant Steps,’ Derek Shulman sounds off on a career that saw him play with Elton John, get snubbed by the Beach Boys and sign some of the greatest acts in music history
By Jordan Hoffman
Leon Botstein, Bard College president and director of its orchestra, leads a concert in Nuremberg, Germany, May 8, 2025. (Anton Doppelbauer via JTA)
July 29, 2025, 4:45 pm
80 years after WWII, Bard orchestra performs Mendelssohn at site of Nuremberg Nazi rallies
Conductor and college president Leon Botstein, son of Holocaust survivors, says concert was not just a commemoration, but a pledge to fight intolerance and uphold democracy
By Shira Li Bartov
Singer Connie Francis during a press conference in Los Angeles on Nov. 27, 1978. (AP Photo/Wally Fong)
July 19, 2025, 9:26 am
Connie Francis, 20th-century star, recorded 60s album of Jewish songs
Francis, who dies this week, was not Jewish, but released ‘Connie Francis Sings Jewish Favorites’ in 1960, which included Yiddish, Hebrew songs
By PHILISSA CRAMER
Hasidic duo Zusha performing in 2019. (Wikimedia Commons via JTA)
July 16, 2025, 3:31 am
Woodstock, but make it Orthodox: A Jewish music festival comes to the Catskills
On Aug. 7, Israeli singer Ishay Ribo will headline the Yamim Ba’im concert, which seeks to put a spiritual stamp on a venue with a very different Jewish legacy dating back to 1969
By Jackie Hajdenberg
Lenny Solomon (singing) performs with Shlock Rock at the Young Israel of Oceanside synagogue in 2018 (Courtesy)
May 20, 2025, 7:19 am
In ‘King of Shlock’ documentary, an Orthodox rocker tries to parody like it’s 1999
Short film takes intimate look at the four-decade career of Lenny Solomon, whose niche cover act Shlock Rock became an iconic staple for religious American Jews in the 80s and 90s
By Zev Stub
Jill Sobule poses for a portrait on Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP, File)
May 2, 2025, 6:49 pm
Jill Sobule, pop star who also composed songs for a new ‘Yentl,’ dies at 66
Her hit ‘I Kissed A Girl’ topped charts in the 1990s, marking one of the first mainstream songs to chronicled a same-sex flirtation
By PHILISSA CRAMER
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