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Ramón Tasat is a gem. He sings with passion and true bel canto
technique. I was also impressed by the seamless weaving of the operatic
and Jewish liturgical traditions.
Rabbi Samuel Weintraub, after attending a Serenata
Italiana concert.
Dear Ramon,
Your recent visit to Champaign-Urbana (14-16 February 2002) as Artist-in-Residence
for Champaign-Urbana Jewish Federation and Sinai Temple was amazing. Everyone
who heard you is singing your praises and your melodies and wants to know
when you are coming back.
Since you left, I have received dozens of comments, in person, emails, and
phone messages, about your performance. All are compliments. From this feedback,
several themes have emerged that I thought you might appreciate hearing.
Listeners were delighted by the beauty and purity of your voice, which some
likened to a musical instrument and many described as angelic. Your contra
tenor, at once powerful and graceful, drew special praise, as did your striking
arrangements and masterful guitar playing. Keep in mind that these appraisals
come from a highly sophisticated audience accustomed to hearing world-class
vocalists and musicians at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.
The tremendous range of your repertoire was also savored. Audiences were
thrilled by your ability to move freely from popular tunes to opera to cantorial
selections to folk music and beyond and to construct a concert, at once
fluid and cohesive, that encompassed selections from six languages, spanning
ten centuries.
Since you trained as a musician, you may be used to compliments of this
nature. I wonder, however, if you are fully aware of your gifts as an educator.
Regardless of the forum in which you shared your music and knowledge (classroom,
radio, interview, workshop, bima, concert), you inspired curiosity, respect,
and rapt attention. The depth of your knowledge about Judaism, Jewish music,
Sephardic culture, Argentina, and the connection between music and spirituality
was greatly appreciated. In each performance, your audience was pleased
to learn about the music that they were hearing and able to experience it
more deeply for knowing its origin and history.
Finally, your personal warmth and sincerity are compelling. Open, down-to-earth,
flexible, kind, and generous, you endear yourself to everyone you meet.
Indeed, you would have won all our hearts even if you had not sung or played
a note! Traits such as these are what make your workshops so successful:
participants simply cannot resist your invitation to sing. Together, your
love of music and your love of people ensure transmission of Sephardic music
for another generation.
It is an honor to have been your host. I look forward to your return to
our community and am eager to do whatever I can to facilitate this.
B'shalom,
L. Lee Melhado, Executive Director
Champaign-Urbana Jewish Federation
April 2001
Ramón, I don't even have the words to express the gratitude I feel
for the most wonderful Shabbat we just celebrated. My mother felt so honored
and celebrated, and was so moved by it all. I had dozens and dozens of thank
yous from people at TI after services –you made our davvening so special
and meaningful. Every word you sang was truly a pearl. You transported all
of us with you as you sang to ha-Shem. Your Torah trop was beautiful, as
was the haftorah trop. Your talk after services –the songs but also
your teaching about the prayers– was extraordinary.
Loretta
Saks
Congregation Tiferet Israel
Washington, DC
April 2000
Dear Cantor Tasat,
On behalf of the Adult Education Committee, I want to express to you our
deepest appreciation for the marvelous evening of Sephardic music you provided
our sizeable audience with last evening. Your concert with Jon Seligman
as accompanist was one of the most entertaining, informative, and crowd-pleasing
of the four “world of Jewish Music” series this year, and, in
large part, that was due to your huge talent.
You are truly a superb musician. Your beautifully controlled and melodious
tenor voice, your excellent musicianship on the guitar, the valuable commentary
you provided as introduction to each of your songs, and the genuinely warm
and engaging personality you conveyed all contributed to a memorable evening
for us.
We’d welcome you back anytime and hope your considerable talents as
both educator and entertainer in some of our future programming. You were
most generous with your time after the program, answering individual questions
and warmly greeting our audience members.
Please know that we are deeply grateful to you for sharing you/our culture
with us, as well as your exquisite voice. Many of us came away with an increased
knowledge of Sephardic music and spent an enchanting hour of listening as
well.
Continue to inspire your audiences. You are a total professional and a pleasure
to work with!
With warm regards,
Allan Lipsitz
Beth El Congregation, Baltimore, Program Director
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