Sheva, an ensemble from Israel, performs transformative world music from the ancient cultures  of the Middle East.  Playing instruments from around the world, Sheva uses motifs derive from the roots of Hebrew and Arab cultures, while also incorporating various worldwide tribal esthetics.

Ammiel Alcalay, author, essayist, poet and translator, will be a guest speaker during Sheva's concert on Saturday, October 23.  Alcalay's important work on Sephardic and Middle Eastern cultures is "After Jews and Arabs, Remaking Levantine Culture" (University of Minnesota).  He also edited  and translated the anthology, "Keys to the Garden, New Israeli Writing" (City Lights). His new book of essays, "Memories of the Future," will be published  by City Lights in November.  Alcalay is a co-founder of Ivri-NASAWI.

For more information, call Eran Glantz at 212-377-5757.