(GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.) – The Hevreh Ensemble, an instrumental group dedicated to the performance of music that reflects or was inspired by Judaism and Jewish culture, will perform at Simon’s Rock College in the Kellogg Music Center on Sunday, September 25, at 3pm.

The concert is free and open to the public.

Hevreh Ensemble performances feature original contemporary American compositions, by group member Jeff Adler, that combine classical, jazz and world music elements. The works often are inspired by themes from Jewish spirituality, religious and racial tolerance, and environmental sustainability. Their performances have been called: “spiritually uplifting” and “strikingly original.”

The Hevreh Ensemble was formed in 2004 by oboist Judith Dansker. Since that time, the ensemble has performed throughout the United States and Europe at such places as the Newport Chamber Music Festival, St. Gaudens National Historic Site, Northampton Center for the Arts, Harlem School of the Arts, the Hudson River Museum, Synagogue for The Arts-NYC, Hofstra University-Emily Lowe Art Gallery, the National Yiddish Book Center and St. Marks in the Bowery, NYC. They have performed concerts in Eastern Europe, where they presented concerts in the Czech Republic and Poland and were invited to perform in a Gala performance for the Spanish Synagogue in Prague. Their second CD, “Between Worlds,” was released in July 2012.

The members of the group have been honored and affiliated with organizations such as the Juilliard School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Hofstra University, the Blossom Music Festival among many others and have performed with ensembles such as the Galliard Woodwind Quintet, American Symphony Orchestra, New York Baroque Consort, Trio Sonata, New York Kammermusiker, and at such locations as Alice Tully Hall, (Lincoln Center), Carnegie Recital Hall, the Library of Congress, the Frick Museum and the Philips Collection in Washington, DC. They have recorded for Opus One, CRI Records and Gasparo Records.

The group was recently invited to participate in The American Society for Jewish Music’s annual “Music in Our Time” Festival to be held at the Center for Jewish History in New York City and was also awarded a grant from the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, to present a series of concerts in the Pioneer Valley in Massachusetts. Under the auspices of a grant from the D’Addario Foundation, they recently presented a concert for PS 19Q, as part of the El Sistema Corona Youth.

They also have received numerous travel grants from Hofstra University. The Hevreh Ensemble traveled to Germany in August 2013 where they presented concerts in Berlin, Bonn and Hamburg and the group performed for the prestigious Newport Chamber Music Festival in July 2014.  They traveled to the Netherland and Germany in October 2014. They have just completed a return tour to Europe in September 2016 with concerts in Vienna and Prague.

Bard College at Simon’s Rock, the Early College is the only college in the country specifically designed for bright, highly motivated students ready to enter college after the 10th or 11th grade. Simon’s Rock offers a challenging program in the liberal arts and sciences, taught exclusively in small seminars by a supportive, highly trained faculty, who are leading scholars in their fields. The College grants degrees in more than 35 majors. The Princeton Review’s Best 380 Colleges rates academics at Simon’s Rock higher than Harvard and Princeton.

Bard Academy at Simon’s Rock is the nation’s first two-year boarding and day program designed to prepare 9th and 10th graders to start college early. A student entering Bard Academy as a high school freshman will earn an Associate of Arts degree from Bard College at Simon’s Rock after only four years and a Bachelor of Arts degree after only six years. The Academy curriculum is designed and taught by students’ future college professors who are leading scholars in their fields.

For further information, call 413-528-7212.