Judith Wachs
Encyclopedia
Judith Wachs was an American
singer and songwriter who promoted Sephardic music
through her musical group, Voice of the Turtle
of which she was the artistic director.
and raised in Brooklyn
. She attended Queens College
(part of the City University of New York
), and played on the school's tennis team. She later attended Columbia University
, where she wrote a thesis on women's antiwar poetry for her master's degree in English literature.
She married Stanley Wachs while in her 20s, and moved to Boston
in the late 1960s; the two divorced after 16 years. Wachs had always had an interest in music, but her serious passion for the field started after her husband had signed up for recorder
lessons but could not participate and Wachs took his place to avoid wasting the money that had been laid out for the course.
in the 1990s that "It was entirely Spanish, unlike anything I had ever heard, and yet it was unmistakably Jewish and totally reminiscent of everything I had ever heard". The centuries-old tunes of the Jews of Spain
became her focus for the subsequent three decades, as she sought to share her love of Sephardi music with people worldwide through the Boston-based quartet Voice of the Turtle that she founded (together with Derek Burrows, Lisle Kulbach, and Jay Rosenberg) and led as its artistic director.
The New York Times
reviewed Voice of the Turtle's 1990 release From the Shores of the Golden Horn: Music of the Spanish Jews of Turkey, describing the album's 19 songs as a "fascinating cultural blend" of Arabic, Spanish and (close to) Eastern European music, with a "powerfully expressive repertory will leave no one unmoved."
in her home in Cambridge, Massachusetts
, having been diagnosed with the disease a year earlier.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer and songwriter who promoted Sephardic music
Sephardic music
There are three types of Sephardic songs—topical and entertainment songs, romance songs and spiritual or ceremonial songs. Lyrics can be in several languages, including Hebrew for religious songs, and Ladino....
through her musical group, Voice of the Turtle
Voice of the Turtle
Voice of the Turtle is a musical group specializing in Sephardic music. VotT is unique in its emphasis on doing original historical research before making recordings. The band members travel the world looking for documents of Sephardic songs, and also interview community members who may remember...
of which she was the artistic director.
Early life
Wachs was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and raised in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
. She attended Queens College
Queens College, City University of New York
Queens College, located in Flushing, Queens, New York City, is one of the senior colleges of the City University of New York. It is also the fifth oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning. The college's seventy seven acre campus is located in the heart of the...
(part of the City University of New York
City University of New York
The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...
), and played on the school's tennis team. She later attended Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, where she wrote a thesis on women's antiwar poetry for her master's degree in English literature.
She married Stanley Wachs while in her 20s, and moved to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
in the late 1960s; the two divorced after 16 years. Wachs had always had an interest in music, but her serious passion for the field started after her husband had signed up for recorder
Recorder
The recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple...
lessons but could not participate and Wachs took his place to avoid wasting the money that had been laid out for the course.
Music career
It was through happenstance that Wachs first discovered Sephardic music in the late 1970s, when she heard the Sephardic folk song "Skalerika de Oro", and realized that this was part of a tradition of Jewish music that she had never heard before, despite the fact that she had spent her whole life listening to Jewish music from around the world. Wachs told The Boston GlobeThe Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
in the 1990s that "It was entirely Spanish, unlike anything I had ever heard, and yet it was unmistakably Jewish and totally reminiscent of everything I had ever heard". The centuries-old tunes of the Jews of Spain
History of the Jews in Spain
Spanish Jews once constituted one of the largest and most prosperous Jewish communities under Muslim and Christian rule in Spain, before the majority, together with resident Muslims, were forced to convert to Catholicism, be expelled or be killed when Spain became united under the Catholic Monarchs...
became her focus for the subsequent three decades, as she sought to share her love of Sephardi music with people worldwide through the Boston-based quartet Voice of the Turtle that she founded (together with Derek Burrows, Lisle Kulbach, and Jay Rosenberg) and led as its artistic director.
The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reviewed Voice of the Turtle's 1990 release From the Shores of the Golden Horn: Music of the Spanish Jews of Turkey, describing the album's 19 songs as a "fascinating cultural blend" of Arabic, Spanish and (close to) Eastern European music, with a "powerfully expressive repertory will leave no one unmoved."
Death
Wachs died at age 70 on October 9, 2008 of cancerCancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in her home in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, having been diagnosed with the disease a year earlier.