Ian Pomerantz

Books & Media, Culture

De-Orientalizing Sephardic Music – Part I

The jewel case cover of the 2016 recording by a well-respected baroque orchestra is indeed evocative. A panorama of mosques rises out of the sand of medieval Cairo in earthy tones and we see the outlines of covered Muslim women carrying ceramic vessels on their heads as they disappear into a dusty sunset. Faux-Arabic letters…

Ian Pomerantz

Ian Pomerantz is a professional bass-baritone specializing in historical performance, and one of America’s foremost scholars and interpreters of Judeo-Spanish secular song. He currently performs with America’s leading baroque ensembles. He currently teaches at the Hartt School of the University of Hartford, where he is completing his doctorate in performance. He was recently named a Vytautas Marijosius Scholar and a Dino Casali Fellow of the Hartt School. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from Westminster Choir College and a Master of Music from the Longy School of Music of Bard College. A descendant of Romanian Sephardim, Ian speaks French and Ladino.