We have been very pleased to have Dubi Lenz, an international leader in the World Music scene, in residence this semester as a Schusterman Visiting Israeli Artist, hosted jointly by the Jewish Studies program and the Department of Music.
Lenz has had a distinguished career as a radio broadcaster and music festival producer. His two-hour program on world music has been broadcast for the past 30 years on Israeli public radio, making him a well-known and popular figure throughout the country. He also edits daily shows and creates special broadcasts with musicians releasing new CDs. He serves as co-artistic director of the Red Sea Jazz Festival summer edition, Israel’s largest music festival, and has been a producer and broadcaster of Israeli music around the world, from New Zealand to the Ivory Coast to Denmark.
This fall, Lenz has been teaching a Music course entitled “Music Without Boundaries.” It examines the ways in which music crosses boundaries and offers a global perspective on festival and concert production through the lens of world music. “My aim was to open the minds and ears of music students to genres and sounds they are not familiar with,” comments Lenz. “I think the students were really thankful for getting an opportunity to meet some other music than Spotify gives them.”
While at Northeastern, Lenz has also been collaborating with Bob Lyons, Visiting Lecturer in the Music Industry program, on a internet radio channel for the university. Their aim is to create an original approach to radio programs, with eclectic offerings to broaden listeners’ minds. Lenz has also given fascinating guest lectures in Jewish Studies classes – for example, on Ethiopian Jewish culture and the use of Jewish texts in Israeli popular music – and participated actively in campus life.
Off campus, Lenz is collaborating with the Israeli Consulate on a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Alexander (Sasha) Argov, the most noted composer of Israeli songs, at Berklee College of Music. He has also lectured at Harvard University, in Killington, VT, at Gann Academy, and for the Israeli Consul General.
Last but by no means least, Lenz has been enjoying spending time with his three-year-old grandson Noam and his parents.
We will miss him greatly when he returns to Israel in time for the winter edition of the Red Sea Jazz Festival in Eilat in February 2015
