ENGLISH CORNER, CON LINDA JIMÉNEZ – This week’s trivia question: Where was a mikveh found on the island of Ortygia in Syracuse, Sicily?

Dr. Judith R. Cohen has visited us here on English Corner many times before, so for those of you who follow our program, she probably needs no introduction. She is a Canadian ethnomusicologist specializing in Judeo-Spanish Sephardic music and its relationship with other traditions such as Balkan, Yiddish and Medieval Iberian music, and pan-European balladry. In her seminars and performances, Judith sings songs from all of these sources and also accompanies herself on traditional string, wind and percussion instruments.

Although much of her work has been focused on the Iberian Peninsula, notably Portugal, this week she is speaking with us about a new project of hers, in which she is researching emerging Jewish communities in Sicily.