Mandala / Yofiyah

Mandala's eclectic EastmeetsWest music has been heard in churches, colleges and other venues on both coasts. Here in Philadelphia, Mandala has performed in the Philadelphia Cathedral, the Crossroads Concerts series, the PSALM Salon and area interfaith events. Mandala comprises composer Scott Robinson on tabla (Indian hand drums,) percussion and voice, Andi McGraw Hunt on harmonium, guitar and voice, and Paul Butler on clarinet. Mandala's music is influenced by Turkish and Indian Sufi song, Gregorian chant and jazz as well as traditional kirtan. Their original music features lyrics in both Sanskrit and English, from both Indian and Biblical sources. Scott Robinson, PhD, TSSF, founded Mandala an offshoot of his Balkan folk band Gypsophilia as a vehicle for his original Sufiinspired Christian Devotional music. He is a professed member of the Third Order of St. Francis, and taught at Eastern University from 1999 to 2009. Though classically trained as a composer, he has spent much of his life in and around folk music of various kinds. Scott attends the Church of St. Martin in the Fields in Philadelphia. Paul Butler, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Alto and Tenor Saxophone, Native American Wood Flutes, Bawu, Ocarinas, WX7 Wind Synthesizer is a spirited passionate musician and gifted improviser whose music has been heard throughout the world both live and on numerous recordings. In 1999, Paul and the Hot House trio were honored by being selected Jazz Ambassadors to the Middle East by the United States State Department and the Department of Cultural Exchange. Their Ambassadorship consisted of performances and teaching residencies throughout Syria, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, Morocco, and Tunisia. He has performed concerts of improvised music with Grammy nominated Cellist David Darling that encompass this gift, most notably at the International Cello Festival in Montreal, Canada. Paul has collaborated with David on the Massage Music Balance and Massage Music In Tune CDs, and on the soundtrack for the Knosis film, The Song of the Stars. Paul¹s improvisational work with David Darling and others has fostered a delicate intuitive ingenuity in his music. Andi McGraw Hunt's musical experience ranges from playing flute in her university wind symphony to improvising with adults recovering from addictions to busking with her guitar on the streets of London. She also deeply enjoys singing sacred music, with many years of choral experience in church choirs. Andi is also as a past member of Sine Nomine, a vocal ensemble specializing in 16th and 17th century English church music. She holds a bachelor's in music therapy from Michigan State University and a master's in music therapy from Temple University. Andi has been a practicing music therapist since 1997 and is currently a Future Faculty Fellow at Temple University pursuing a Ph.D. in the music therapy program. She and her husband Neil live in Media, PA where they host a house concert series.. www.mandalaband.net Come in from the cold and warm up your winter heart with an evening of chanting! Join Yofiyah on a joyous journey of mystic chant to open the heart and awaken the soul. Call and response singing of powerful, ancient text accompanied by the inspiring music of tabla, harmonium, percussion and bells create a feeling of "ahavat olam," Infinite Love. Kabbalah Kirtan is a a fusion of Indian and Middle Eastern musical form with Jewish mystical contenta trippy, trancie, sensuous journey to ecstasy. Hebrew or Kabbalistic Kirtan is a new expression of Jewish spirituality, offering to everyone what was once reserved for mystics alone: a direct experience of the presence of God. Hebrew Kirtan is the intense devotional chanting of Hebrew texts, and the Names of God found in the Jewish tradition. The simplicity of the words, and the hypnotic energy of the music transforms Kabbalistic Kirtan into a broad highway to Heaven open to men and women regardless of their level of Hebrew fluency and religious training and background. Hebrew Kirtan is the practice of calling out to God. As the intensity of our calling grows, we enter into a vibrational harmony with God. We are enveloped in a mysical union marked by deep joy and even ecstasy, expressing a sense of Oneness and unity with all in All. Yofiyah will be joined by Judah Prince and Aaron Rosenbloom, and will be performing songs from her new CD, "Open". www.kabbalahkirtan.com General Admission $16.00