Velvel Pasternak facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Velvel Pasternak
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Velvel Pasternak in 2011
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| Born | October 1, 1933 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | June 11, 2019 (aged 85) New York City, U.S. |
Velvel Pasternak (born October 1, 1933 – died June 11, 2019) was a very important person in the world of Jewish music. He was a music expert, a conductor, an arranger, a producer, and he helped publish a lot of Jewish music. In 1981, the New York Times newspaper called him an "expert" on the music of the Hasidic people. They also said he was probably the biggest publisher of Jewish music anywhere.
Velvel Pasternak's Life Story
Velvel Pasternak was born in Toronto, Canada, in 1933. His parents had moved there from Poland. He grew up with an Orthodox Jewish education. He went to Yeshiva University High School for Boys and then to Yeshiva University. He also studied music at the famous Juilliard School. Later, he earned a master's degree in music education from Teachers College, Columbia University.
Velvel Pasternak started a company called Tara Publications. Through this company, he helped publish many important works. Since 1971, he released 26 music recordings and over 150 books of Jewish music. This music included many different styles, such as:
- Israeli music
- Yiddish music
- Ladino music
- Cantorial music (music sung by a cantor in a synagogue)
- Hasidic music
- Music related to the Holocaust
He also often gave talks about the music of the Hasidim. Velvel Pasternak passed away on June 11, 2019, in New York City.
Books and Music by Velvel Pasternak
Velvel Pasternak created many books and collections of Jewish music. Here are some of his published works:
- Songs of the Chassidim (1970)
- Songs of the Chassidim II (1971)
- The Best of Israeli Folk Dances (1997)
- The Jewish Fake Book (1997)
- Z'Mirot and Kumzitz Songbook (1997)
- Beyond Hava Nagila (1999)
- The Jewish Music Companion (2003)
- Songs Never Silenced--The Folk Music And Poetry of the Shoah (2003) (with Shmerke Kaczerginsky)
- The Best of Hasidic Song: Selections from 7 Acclaimed Music Books (2012)
- The Big Jewish Songbook (2014)
- Shlomo Carlebach Anthology: Compiled, Edited and Arranged by Velvel Pasternak (2016)
- Behind the Music, Stories, Anecdotes, Articles and Reflections (2017)
See also
- Jewish music
