People in Jewish Music
Frank London
Bio
Frank London is a Grammy Award-winning American klezmer trumpeter and composer, who also plays jazz and world music. He is a member of The Klezmatics, Hasidic New Wave, and he leads Frank London’s Klezmer Brass Allstars. He was a co-founder of Les Misérables Brass Band and the Klezmer Conservatory Band. He is also a prolific composer, having written a “folk opera” and numerous film scores. He has worked alongside countless other musicians, such as John Zorn, LL Cool J, LaMonte Young, and Dabid Byrne.
Area of Specialization
Klezmer, film soundtracks, trumpet
Selected Recordings/Performances
- The Klezmatics, Rhythm and Jews (1993)
- Frank London, Invocations (2000)
- Frank Londond’s Klezmer Brass Allstars, Di Shikere Kapelye (2000)
- Michael Alpert, Frank London & the Klezmer All-Stars – Klezmer at its best! (2011 performance)
- Kleztival 2021 – Frank London’s Klezmer Brass Allstars – The Roof Concert
Elizabeth Shammash
Bio
Cantor Shammash has recorded extensively for the Milken Archive of American Jewish Music. As a performer, her opera credits include the role of Idamante in Mozart’s Idomeneo with the Wolf Trap Opera, and her concert appearances have included an all-Bernstein program with the National Symphony Orchestra, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Seattle Symphony under Gerard Schwarz. She holds degrees from Brown University, Manhattan School of Music, Boston University Opera Institute, and the Jewish Theological Seminary. She recently joined the clergy staff at Adath Israel in Philadelphia, after serving Tiferet Bet Israel in Blue Bell, PA from 2007 – 2020. In addition, she works with the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, mentoring rabbis and cantors in Jewish mindfulness practices.
Area of Specialization
Vocal (mezzo-soprano), art songs, liturgical music
Major Recordings
- “Third Seder of the Arbeter Ring (excerpts),” from The Milken Archive Volume 12: Legend of Toil and Celebration (2013)
- “Mazl (Good Fortune),” from Abraham Ellstein: Great Songs of the Yiddish Stage, Vol. 1 (2003)
- Avodat shabbat from The Milken Archive Volume 7: Masterworks of Prayer (2011)
- “Shloymele, malkele” Live Performance
- Cantor Elizabeth Shammash sings Heal Us Now