The Jewish Music Institute Library was inaugurated on Tuesday 18 March 2003 by Dr Christian Meyer, Director of the Schoenberg Institute, Vienna. He spoke of Schoenberg's support for the study of Jewish music.

The Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport, Tessa Jowell, expressed in her message for the inauguration, that 'Jewish music traces the development of a race with a recorded history of some 4000 years and one that has occupied just about every quarter of our inhabitable world. As a musical form it has a richness and variety that can hardly be equalled anywhere else. It is music that spans the spiritual and secular worlds of the Jewish people - from the cantillation of the scriptures to the joyous folk tunes played at family gatherings and celebrations. It is a form that gives meaning to Jewish identity and that has helped to sustain that identity throughout some of the darker days of world history. Indeed, music is a strong thread that helps to keep alive the link between the traditional and modern Jewish worlds'. She continued, 'I see one of the library's roles as helping to strengthen that link and to maintain the coherence of the Jewish communities across our country. But, more than that, I hope the library can play a full part towards what I believe is our growing interest and understanding of the diverse cultures that do so much to enrich the fabric of modern Britain. May I extend my warmest congratulations to all concerned on the opening of the new Jewish Music Library and my particular thanks to all those that have made it happen'.

The inaugural event, hosted by JMI Presidents Lady Solti and Leopold de Rothschild featured live performances by members of the World Music department at SOAS to illustrate the treasures of the library such as Judeo-Arabic, Judeo-Spanish, Yiddish and liturgical music as well as the 25 member Klezmer Band that regularly studies at SOAS.

Messages were delivered by the Head of Information services at SOAS Keith Webster, and David Hughes the head of the Department of Music. Keith Howard, Senior Lecturer in Music, and Director, AHRB Research Centre for Cross-Cultural Music and Dance Performance said, 'I am delighted that the Jewish Music Institute Library can now be inaugurated here at SOAS, bringing to students and researchers a new and very comprehensive collection of materials. On this occasion, though, another aspect of Jewish music is being showcased, that of live performance. It is my hope that the next development in our relationship will be to enhance research on performance, with the aim to bring performers and academics closer together. And so, in addition to celebrating the opening of the Jewish Music Library, let us look forwards to additional collaborations!

Alexander Knapp, Joe Loss Lecturer in Jewish Music at SOAS said that, 'The JMI Library, inspired by the vision of Geraldine Auerbach, founded by Doris and Bertie Black, and administered by Lloica Czackis, is proving to be an invaluable resource for those who profess an interest in any aspect of Jewish music: liturgical, paraliturgical, folk, popular, or classical. This impressive archive of recordings, text books, manuscripts and printed sheet music is generating and supporting musical, musicological, ethnomusicological and intercultural research into, and performance of, a wide variety of Ashkenazi, Sephardi and Oriental Jewish repertoires.

Pamela Thompson, Immediate Past-President of the International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres and Head of the Royal College of Music Library said that new specialist resources for music researchers and performers are a rarity. We look forward to working alongside the Jewish Music Institute in bringing the work of the library to the attention of all who have an interest in Jewish music and culture.

Dr Janet Topp Fargion, Curator, International Music Collection, British Library Sound Archive commented that the British Library Sound Archive has known and watched the activities of the Jewish Music Institute from the early days and said 'we've recorded concerts and conferences for our collections and collaborated on the production of some CDs, notably Live on the South Bank by Gregori Schechter's Klezmer Festival Band. Geraldine and Gregori Schechter who is also the JMI software consultant have consulted me and other information managers at the British Library in the development of their research tool, Keynote. Their efforts to come up with a system that would bring all formats and types of information together in a single database was challenging, but when I saw the final product I wished I'd had something like it available to me when I was a research student. I'm looking forward to our future collaborations'.

Lord Moser KCB CBE FBA, Chairman The British Museum Development Trust welcomed the establishment of the Jewish Music Library at SOAS saying Jewish music has been of great interest and influence since early days and so has Jewish involvement in the music world generally. Certainly in Britain we have reason to be grateful to Jews for their devotion to music as composers and performers, also as impresarios and managers, and not least, as audiences. This new Library will provide resources for everyone and contribute to Britain's rich cultural life.

Beyond our shores, Professor David Bloch, Director of the Terezin Music Memorial Project, Tel Aviv said, 'My introduction to your library was to be taken directly to your Keynote database by a search engine, so I am sure this augurs well for the future!

Chana Mlotek, Music Archivist, YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in New York sent warm greetings and said that since its inception in Vilna, Poland, in 1925, YIVO has always served as a repository for Jewish folk, art, liturgical, and theater music. Its Library and Archives contain important publications and manuscripts of Jewish composers, cantors, choral directors and musicologists. We look forward to a fruitful and friendly association with your Institute'. Judith Pinnolis of Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA, and webmistress of the influential Jewish Music WebCenter www.jmwc.org said that the gathering, cataloguing and dissemination of information about Jewish music that will take place within your halls will contribute widely to the understanding and preservation of Jewish musical traditions and culture. She added that 'The added task that you have assumed, in serving as an archive for the suppressed music from the Shoah, lends a unique responsibility to this library's mission. This archive will allow that music which survived to breathe anew, and keep the spirit of those musicians alive.

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last modified: 20 April 2004