On the Margins of History: The Music of Greek Jewish Women in the Early 20th Century

The first musical lecture by the award-winning American ethnomusicologist Christopher C. King entitled "On the Margins of History: The Music of Greek Jewish Women in the Early 20th Century" was completed with great success. As a strategic partner, the Gennadius Library hosted the event in Cotsen Hall at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens.

The evening focused on the Romaniote Jewish singer from Ioannina Amalia Vaka (Matsa) and the Sephardic Jewish singers from Thessaloniki Rosa Eskenazi and Stella Haskil.

After the Director of the Gennadius Library, Dr. Maria Georgopoulou, welcomed the guests, Christopher King had a discussion with journalist and moderator of the event Marianna Skylakaki. The discussion was interspersed with several recordings played on original  “78” rpm shellac discs dating back nearly a century. The evening concluded with a live musical performance featuring students from the University of Ioannina’s music department Eleni Vratti (ut), Demosthenes Karachristodoulou (Constantinopolitan lyre) and the singer Evangelia Flitouri, who offered a musical journey through the multifaceted and marginalized history of Jewish women's music in Greece of the early 20th century.

The event was honored by the presence of the Deputy Minister of Finance Mr. Theodoros Skylakakis, the New Democracy M.P. Mr. Philippos Fortomas, Mrs. Shanna Surendra, Cultural Attaché of the U.S. Embassy, the General Treasurer of the Central Jewish Council of Greece Mr. Daniel Benardout and the Greek composer, lyricist and producer Mr. Minos Matsas.

The next two lectures of the same series will take place in Thessaloniki on May 26 and Ioannina on May 29. They are all carried out with the support of the U.S. Embassy in Greece, the U.S. Consulate General in Thessaloniki, the Central Jewish Council of Greece, under the Auspices of the Municipality of Ioannina.

Apart from the Gennadius Library of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, strategic partners are the Central Jewish Council of Greece, the Jewish Community of Athens, the Jewish Community of Ioannina and the Department of Music Studies of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.