The Jerusalem International Oud Festival will take place November 10th to November 19th. Performances will take place at the Confederation House. The oud is a Middle Eastern guitar-like string instrument often used in Sephardic music as well as other ethnic cultures in the Middle East. Israeli pop star Meir Banai will perform the opening concert with a mix of rock and Sephardic Jewish piyyutim. Banai's most recent CD was entitled "Shma Koli" and featured modern rock arrangements of traditional Jewish prayers. Yasmin Levy will pay tribute to Greek-Jewish vocalist Roza Eskenazi. Levy is the daughter of Yitzhak Levy, who was responsible for preserving traditional Ladino Jewish prayers and songs. Well-known Turkish musicians will also perform in Israel as part of the festival. The 2011 Oud Festival will take place November 10th through November 19th at the Zionist Confederation House, overlooking the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. The historic site serves as a home for poetry, music and theater. For more information visit: http://www.confederationhouse.org/english/. Oud Festival 2011 poster http://www.confederationhouse.org Ben Bresky is a music journalist and host of the Israel Beat Jewish Music Podcast on Arutz Sheva - Israel National Radio. For show archives click here .
