ENCOUNTERS: Intercontinental Dialogues in The Language of Music

An evening of intercontinental classical/jazz/world fusion featuring a quartet of Berklee grads led by Yotam Ishay, an award-winning composer and pianist from Afula, Israel. The other members are vocalist Harshitha Krishnan of Nigeria, Ivanna Cuesta of the Dominican Republic on drums, and Youngchae Jeong of South Korea on upright bass (full performer bios below).

Yotam's compositions and arrangements express a unique dialect blending influences such as western classical music, Middle-Eastern sounds, and Jazz. The group will perform music by Yotam, songs in Hebrew, and compositions drawing on sources from each of the group's members home countries.

This concert was postponed from November 13, 2022 to February 23, 2023.

NOTA BENES:

Doors Open at 7:00. Concert begins at 7:30.

All seating except FRONT ROW is unassigned.

Tickets cannot be refunded but can be transferred to a different attendee.

We recommend buying tickets online whenever possible. Tickets will be available at the door with payment in cash or check only, for $35.

CONGREGATION KEHILLATH ISRAEL is a traditional inclusive synagogue that actively embraces individuals, its community, and the world. An innovative and prominent voice in North American Jewish life since 1917, it is one of Brookline's oldest synagogues.

YOTAM ISHAY is a Brooklyn Based award-winning composer & pianist from Afula, Israel. His compositions express a unique dialect through blending various influences such as western classical music, Middle-Eastern music, and Jazz. Yotam graduated from the prestigious Berklee College of Music, earning a composition degree with a full scholarship. He collaborated with renowned and Grammy-winning artists such as Zakir Hussain, Michael League and Bill Laurence of Snarky Puppy, Javier Limón, Berklee Indian Ensemble, Shankar Mahadevan, and Shreya Goshal, to name a few. Music from his debut album "Opus 1" was placed in Netflix shows, and his solo piano album "SEED" was covered by the Japanese magazine "JAZZ LIFE" and the French magazine "Djolo." Yotam has also been active in the classical composition field and is a twice finalist of the International Antonin Dvorak Composition Competition in Prague, the Czech Republic.

Vocalist HARSHITHA KRISHNAN is a performing and recording artist and music educator of Indian origina from Lagos, Nigeria. Hailing from a strong background in western classical music, she embraced soul, R&B, alternative, jazz, Indian folk and other world music styles, creating her own distinctive and eclectic sound: a fusion of Indian and contemporary western elements. A graduate of the prestigious Berklee College of Music, vocalist Harshitha has already worked with an impressive roster of renowned musicians including A.R.Rahman, Ilayaraaja, Gary Burton, Vijay Prakash, Michael McDonald, Shankar Mahadevan, Shreya Ghoshal, Pablo Ziegler, Bill Whelan, Alejandro Sanz, Clinton Cerejo, Javed Ali, Sivamani, and Javier Limone to name a few, on various film, studio and live projects. Since 2021, she serves on the Faculty at Berklee College of Music.

IVANNA CUESTA is a professional Drummer and Composer born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, who has been producing and performing music since 2010. A graduate of the DR Conservatory and Berklee College of Music. Ivanna has been a part of important groups in the Dominican Republic such as Carijazz, Gustavo Rodríguez Trio, Javier Vargas and Atre, The Big Band of the Conservatory of Music directed by Javier Vargas, etc. She has also performed in numerous important events such as the Dominican Jazz Festival, Soberano Awards, Santo Domingo Jazz Festival, Stella Artois Fest. In 2017 she started her own group The Unity Ensemble. Ivanna performs and tours around the world with artists such as Concha Buika, Kris Davis, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Cassandra Wilson, Leo Blanco, Jacques Schwarz-Bart, Nando Michelin Quartet, Tia Fuller, Luisito Quintero, Sócrates García Big Band, Jane Bunette and Maqueque, Sona Jobarteh, etc., while constantly expanding her composing repertoire for TV/Films licensing business.

Bassist YOUNGCHAE JEONG hails from Seoul, South Korea and graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2018. He has performed with Ralph Peterson Jr., Neal Smith, Javon Jackson, Darren Barrett, Russell Taylor, and Jonathan Hoard. He has performed sold-out shows at famed venues, including Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola (NYC), Smalls (NYC), Side Door Bar (Connecticut), Jazz Loft (Stony Brook, NY), Scullers (Boston), Regatta Bar (Boston), Wally’s Café Jazz Club (Boston), Berklee Performance Center, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston), Museum of Fine Arts - Boston, Rockwood Music Hall in New York City, and Lilypad. He has supported the Voice Department as a bass accompanist since 2015. He shares his talent for jazz, soul, funk, hip-hop, gospel, and classical music as well as his joy for the bass with audiences everywhere.