Acclaimed Jewish Musician Danny Maseng to Perform
at UNC Asheville

UNC Asheville will host a performance of “Wasting Time with Harry Davidowitz” by celebrated Jewish singer Danny Maseng at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 16, in UNC Asheville’s Highsmith University Union Alumni Hall. This one-man show is the third annual Deutsch Family Concert. Tickets are $10 general admission and $5 for seniors.

In “Wasting Time with Harry Davidowitz,” Maseng incorporates the stories of his grandfather into the tale of his own spiritual journey. Maseng weaves his intimate story around the songs of Shabbat and other classic Jewish songs. Folk tales are featured in the hour-and-a-half performance, intertwined with familiar and original songs in Hebrew, Yiddish, English and Ladino, a nearly extinct Romance language spoken by Sephardic Jews.

Born in Israel to American parents, Danny first came to the United States in 1971 to star on Broadway in “Only Fools are Sad.” A playwright, actor, singer and composer, Maseng has served as evaluator of New American Plays and Opera-Musical Theater for the National Endowment for the Arts. He is director of the Spielberg Fellowships for the Foundation for Jewish Camping, and has recently served as artistic director of The Brandeis-Bardin Institute in California, a center for Jewish culture and education.

Maseng has become one of the most respected composers of contemporary liturgical and synagogue music. He has been the invited guest of the American Conference of Cantors, the Cantor’s Assembly, and the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. When Maseng is not appearing on shows like “Law & Order” or narrating “Wild Discovery,” he is a frequent faculty member of The Wexner Heritage Foundation, Synagogue 2000, The Whizin Institute, Limmud and many other national institutes and conferences.

The event is sponsored by the Center for Jewish Studies at UNC Asheville, in cooperation with Congregation Beth HaTephila, Congregation Beth Israel, the Asheville Jewish Community Center and WNC Hillel.

Seating is limited; advance purchase of tickets is strongly advised. Tickets are available at UNC Asheville’s Highsmith Union Box Office or by calling 828/232-5000. Tickets are also available at Congregation Beth HaTephila, Congregation Beth Israel and the Jewish Community Center of Asheville.

While in Asheville, Maseng will conduct three other events. Maseng will lead services at Congregation Beth HaTephila at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 15, and will deliver a d’var Torah and lead singing and chanting at Congregation Beth Israel at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 16. He will offer a workshop for musicians and vocalists, “The Teachings and the Music of the Hasidim,” at The Jewish Community Center of Asheville at 10 a.m. on Sunday, April 17.

For more information, call Richard Chess, UNC Asheville Center for Jewish Studies director, at 828/251-6576.

Media Contacts:

• Richard Chess, UNC Asheville Center for Jewish Studies director, 828/251-6576
• Jill Yarnall, UNC Asheville Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526