Erik Friedlander Presents Solo Cello Performance at The Jewish Museum Tonight, 10/18

Cellist Erik Friedlander will respond to the medieval manuscripts in the current exhibition Crossing Borders: Manuscripts from the Bodleian Libraries with a solo performance premiering new, original compositions in The Jewish Museum's galleries tonight, October 18 at 6:30pm. This event continues Writers and Artists Respond, a series of thought provoking discussions and performances by artists, musicians and writers in the Museum's galleries.

Tickets for the October 18 performance are FREE with Museum admission. A limited number of stools will be provided to attendees on a first come-first served basis.

For further information regarding programs at The Jewish Museum, the public may visit TheJewishMuseum.org/publicprograms.

Upcoming participants in the Writers and Artists Respond series include sculptor Kiki Smith and Alexander Nagel of the Institute of Fine Arts on January 17 and writer and poet Amir Parsa on January 31.

Erik Friedlander is a highly regarded composer, improviser and veteran of New York's downtown music scene. His fifteen releases include American Power, a suite of six solo pieces released on a limited-edition LP; the rustically soulful Bonebridge; The Broken Arm Trio, a tribute to jazz bassist Oscar Pettiford; and Block Ice & Propane, his solo cello reinterpretation of American roots music. His compositions and his improvising style are informed by an understanding of classical and popular styles and an evolving vision of what a cellist can be pushed to achieve. Nate Chinen of The New York Times called Friedlander "an ingenious cellist who makes an art of soulful rusticity." Billboard wrote, "Friedlander [is] one of today's most ingenious and forward-thinking musical practicioners."

England's Bodleian Library at Oxford University, established by Sir Thomas Bodley in 1602 and now the largest of the University's group of 'Bodleian Libraries', is renowned for its great treasures. Among them is one of the most important collections of medieval Hebrew illuminated manuscripts in the world. The Jewish Museum is presenting Crossing Borders: Manuscripts from the Bodleian Libraries through February 3, 2013. This exhibition features over 60 works - Hebrew, Arabic, and Latin manuscripts - the majority of which have never been seen in the United States. Several paintings and printed books are also on view. Included is the splendid Kennicott Bible, the most lavishly illuminated Hebrew Bible to survive from medieval Spain, as well as two works in the hand of Maimonides, one of the most prominent Jewish philosophers and rabbinic authorities. This exhibition is based on Crossing Borders: Hebrew Manuscripts as a Meeting-place of Cultures co-curated by Piet van Boxel and Sabine Arndt for The Bodleian Library. The New York City presentation has been organized by The Jewish Museum's Curator Claudia Nahson.

An infrared assistive listening system for the hearing impaired is available for programs in the Museum's S. H. and Helen R. Scheuer Auditorium.

Public Programs at The Jewish Museum are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Major annual support is provided by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. The stage lighting system has been funded by the Office of Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer.

Widely admired for its exhibitions and collections that inspire people of all backgrounds, The Jewish Museum is one of the world's preeminent institutions devoted to exploring the intersection of art and Jewish culture from ancient to modern times. The Jewish Museum organizes a diverse schedule of internationally acclaimed and award-winning temporary exhibitions as well as dynamic and engaging programs for families, adults, and school groups. The Museum was established in 1904, when Judge Mayer Sulzberger donated 26 ceremonial art objects to The Jewish Theological Seminary of America as the core of a museum collection. Today, a collection of 26,000 objects is maintained - paintings, sculpture, works on paper, photographs, archaeological artifacts, ceremonial objects, and broadcast media. The collection is among the three largest of its kind in the world and is distinguished by its breadth and quality. It is showcased in the vibrant, two-floor permanent exhibition, Culture and Continuity: The Jewish Journey, examining the Jewish experience as it has evolved from antiquity to the present.

Museum hours are Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, 11am to 5:45pm; Thursday, 11am to 8pm; and Friday, 11am to 4pm. Museum admission is $12.00 for adults, $10.00 for senior citizens, $7.50 for students, free for children under 12 and Jewish Museum members. Admission is free on Saturdays. For general information on The Jewish Museum, the public may visit the Museum's website at TheJewishMuseum.org or call 212.423.3200. The Jewish Museum is located at 1109 Fifth Avenue at 92nd Street, Manhattan.

Photo Credit: Angelo Merendino