Out & About
We’re not Haydn! Learn more about our activities around the world.
Lynn Syms of the Sy Syms Foundation on Life-Long Dedication to the Arts
Lynn Syms (center) at an American Friends of Israel Philharmonic benefit event at the Pierre New York. Photo by Chris Lee. Recently, the Sys Syms Foundation announced a $100,000 matching grant dedicated to American Friends of Israel Philharmonic’s digital programming, which reaches with millions of viewers across the globe in over 84 countries. To celebrate this generous gift, we had the pleasure of chatting w...
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Assucena Assucena on Creative Expression and Identity
Wee had the opportunity to chat with up-and-coming Jewish Brazilian artist Assucena Assucena, as she celebrates her two consecutive Latin Grammy nominations with her band As Baías—and breaks barriers as the first trans artist to be nominated for the award alongside her fellow bandmate Raquel Virgínia. Read more about our conversation where we talk everything from Jewish and LGBTQ+ identity in Brazil, music and culture...
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When the Core Values of a Financial Company and an Orchestra Merge to Make A Better World for the Children
The Israel Philharmonic has always been about bringing out the positivity in humanity through the arts. Part of that comes from taking a hard look at what the Philharmonic can do better. That is why this month’s theme for the American Friends of the Israel Philharmonic is “Think Green.” The peril of being a renowned musical orchestra that tours the world is that excessive use of air travel increases one’s carbon f...
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Thinking Green with Young Patrons Circle Member Sydney Krueger
To further celebrate “Think Green,” we sat down with Young Patrons Circle member Sydney Krueger, a leading consultant in clean energy transportation and classical music enthusiast, who shared her thoughts on sustainability, symphonic sound, and supporting the AFIPO x Aspiration partnership. Tell us about how you got involved with clean energy and why you feel so passionate about this work. It’s in my blood—...
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Hans Lewitus: Music and Memories
Go back in time to the earliest beginnings of the Israel Philharmonic, then called the Palestine Symphony Orchestra, with Eva Lewitus, widow of original founding member Hans Lewitus, clarinetist. Eva’s first-person testimony is a riveting oral history of the fascinating but little-known members that made the Israel Phil what it is today. Read our interview with Eva, and view her private collection of photos below. My name is Eva Lewitus. My husband, clarinetist Hans Lewitus, was one of the founding members of the I...
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Five Questions on Life, Loss, and Moving Forward with Rabbi Steve Leder
Steve Leder is the senior rabbi of Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles and author of the #1 new release on Amazon (Love & Loss), The Beauty of What Remains. In January 2021, Rabbi Leder joined CEO and Executive Vice President Danielle Ames Spivak in a profound Schmoozic! discussion about what it takes to find love through loss, how the music of our childhood can provide us comfort in difficult times, and how w...
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