WASHINGTON, DC – Sephardic Heritage International (SHIN-DC) is partnering with the Embassies of Greece, North Macedonia, and Bulgaria to host a joint cultural program called Cosmopolitan Journeys. The event will take place in Washington, DC, on Sunday, May 1, 1-2:30 PM ET.

“This program will explore the connections between the traditional music of the Balkan countries, highlighting also the Jewish Ladino music of the region,” according to SHIN-DC director Franz Afraim Katzir.

“We believe this concert also shows how Greece, North Macedonia, and Bulgaria can work together in order to build friendship, peace, security, and prosperity in the Balkan region. SHIN-DC is proud to host this first-ever cultural collaboration among these three bordering nations,” Katzir said.

The featured musicians will include Spyros Koliavasilis (Greece; Romaniote music), Sarah Aroeste (North Macedonia; Ladino music), Vedran Boškovski (North Macedonia), Orfeia Vocal Ensemble (Bulgaria), Rosa Vocal Ensemble (Serbia), and Dr. Judith Cohen (Ladino music in Greece and the Balkan countries).

Ladino musician Sarah Aroeste succinctly expressed the underlying theme of the event. “As we come together as musicians to celebrate both the uniqueness and the connections of the music across the Balkans, including Ladino and Romaniote Jewish music, we find that music can connect people around the region in beautiful and surprising ways,” she said. Aroeste, who has Sephardic roots in North Macedonia and Greece, recently completed the Monastir project featuring music of over 30 Jewish musicians from Israel and North Macedonia.

Persons wanting to join the upcoming event on May 1, should register to receive the Zoom information free-of-charge via the following link: http://shindc.org/cosmo2/.