As part of a course on “Sephardic Cultures” being taught this fall through the Clark Honors College, a trio from the Boston-based international band, the Guy Mendilow Ensemble, will visit Eugene and present a public concert. Multi-instrumentalist, singer, and arranger Guy Mendilow, together with two of his musical collaborators—Argentinian vocalist Sofia Tosell and Palestinian percussionist Tareq Rantisi—will present “Tales from the Forgotten Kingdom” on Sunday, October 9, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. at The Shedd, 285 E. Broadway. The performance is described as “a narrative journey through the Balkans and the Mid-East, beginning in Sarajevo and winding through Salonica and Jerusalem….[It] provides a sonic adventure, masterfully brought to life.”

The Guy Mendilow Ensemble offers “an emotionally powerful, artistic voyage awash with warm harmonies, intricate textures and spellbinding rhythms.” The award-winning ensemble recasts traditional Sephardic songs and legends—sung in the endangered Judeo-Spanish language, Ladino—which were carried by Sephardic Jews as they settled along the Mediterranean’s northern coast to Greece and Turkey after being expelled from Spain in 1492. By digging deeply into Sephardic scholarship and revitalizing the sounds preserved on gritty field recordings, Mendilow and his ensemble have brought the ancient Sephardic culture to life, “intertwining voices, percussion, and soulful playing to render these songs in all their color, drama, and heart.” “The tales are amazing,” says Mendilow. “The melodies twist and turn, like the culture of adaptation Sephardic musicians embraced.”

In addition to the concert, Mendilow and his colleauges will give a free public lecture “Myths, Lies and Truths: The Re-Invention of Ladino Song as Ancient” on Monday, October 10 at 6 p.m. in 145 Straub Hall. During their Eugene residency the ensemble will also visit classes at the UO and at Temple Beth Israel’s Hebrew School.

The Guy Mendilow Ensemble’s visit is sponsored by the Robert D. Clark Honors College in collaboration with The Shedd; the OHC’s Endowment for Public Outreach in the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities; and Temple Beth Israel. For concert information and tickets ($9–$26) visit: theshedd.org. For further information about the other events, please contact balbuena@uoregon.edu