Highland audience swept away to another time, place
Baladino performs for a packed house Oct. 12

By David Sickels Eastern Medina Post editor | Posted: Tuesday, October 15, 2013 3:00 am | Updated: 1:45 am, Thu Oct 17, 2013.

GRANGER TOWNSHIP – Locals sitting in the Highland High School auditorium were sent on a journey to the land of falafel and Masada Oct. 12 as Israeli musicians from the band Baladino performed for a packed house.

The ensemble came to the area the week of Oct. 6 through the support of the Ohio Regional Music Arts Cultural Outreach receiving a grant from the Arts Midwest World Fest. The grant will afford the community to have four ensembles, including Baladino, from other parts of the world visit the area within the two-year program.

“When we found out we received this grant, Highland High School really embraced it,” ORMACO Executive Director Thomas Sigel said. “To bring in top-notch professional music ensembles, it’s a wonderful thing just for people to learn more about the world. So often people live within their own microcosm, but to learn about another country’s music and culture, it helps us move a little bit more towards world peace and understanding.”

Band members include Tomer Moked, string player and arranger; Adam Ben Ezra, double bass player; Yael Badash, singer, Yonnie Dror, wind player; and Yshai Afterman, percussionist.

Although Baladino’s sound is entirely Middle Eastern, the band showed incredible versatility and range from song to song. Band members played a variety of instruments, songs were sung in different languages and, while some songs were written hundreds of years ago, others were written in today’s era.

Tunes were inspired by Jewish Sephardic and Ladino sounds, along with Turkish, Arabic, Egyptian and even Yiddish music.

“Most of our songs come from a time in the Middle East where Jewish and Christian and Muslim people lived in harmony. It was kind of a renascence,” Badash said. “This is kind of proof that beautiful things come out of peace and harmony.”

The name “Baladino” is a combination of two words that come from different languages. The first, “baladi,” is an Arabic word that means “land.” The second word, “ladino,” is a Spanish word that refers to both the language and the culture of Sephardic Jews who lived in Spain up until the 15th century.

Prior to their Highland debut, Baladino musicians also presented workshops for students at Highland schools as well as Northwest students in Canal Fulton. The band not only offered locals an opportunity to learn about their culture, but took in some of the local sights the area has to offer as well, such as the Hinckley Reservation.

“It’s like a cultural exchange for us and them,” Sigel said. “(What they do,) it’s more than a musical performance or a workshop. It’s about international peace, friendship and getting to know a different culture. It’s a really beautiful thing.”

Medina and Stark counties were selected of only nine midwestern areas to host the 2013-15 Arts Midwest World Fest and are the only partner regions chosen in Ohio. Other ensembles from Québec, China and Brazil will visit the area within the next two years as well.

Just before the band’s Highland performance, The Galaxy restaurant in Wadsworth presented diners a full-fledged, custom-designed menu based on flavors from Israel. Courses during the meal included traditional and roasted red pepper hummus, barley risotto with marinated feta and lamb on the bone.

ORMACO is a nonprofit organization focusing on music, arts and cultural outreach for northeast Ohio.

In the spring, ORMACO will welcome the Canadian progressive folk band Le Vent du Nord, from Quebec.