Yehuda Glantz

Musical Pioneer - World Latin Rock Jewish Fusion

 

Yehuda Glantz is the pioneer in incorporating the charango, the Bolivian native instrument, to the Israeli culture and fuses his music with melodies and autochthonous instruments.

Yehuda adopted the charango to express the psalms of King David and the prayers of the people of Israel to integrate music and South American rhythms with his own compositions.

 Playing and composing on multiple instruments, Yehuda is an original artist and producer in the Israeli music scene. A musical renaissance man, he is bound by a vision of promoting faith, peace and happiness to people from different cultures around the world.

Yehuda (Julio) Glantz was born and raised in a secular family in Argentina. When he was 5 his sister began studying accordion and he went with her to the class. When they returned home he was secretly taking the big and heavy instrument and played what the teacher taught, as he lay on the bed above the accordion. One day his father saw him playing and took him to a music school.
At 6 he began to sing solo in the choir of the synagogue Max Nordau in Buenos Aires with his father brothers and cousins

At the age of 9 began studying violin at the Conservatory while playing the piano and guitar.

At 16 he started performing with a band of young people, at 17 he went to Brazil wher

'\e he learned to play the bossa - nova samba guitar skills acquired various percussion.

After composing music for theater and touring across Argentina, Uruguay and Buenos Aires, he returned to Argentina and studied classical guitar under the maestro Luis Casares. At 21 Yehuda moved to Israel and received a scholarship from the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem, studying piano and composition with Nahum Perperkovich. He also met his wife Hadassa there, a classical guitarist. At 22 he returned to his roots and discovered the Chasidic music and connected to deeper roots. This search has resulted in his own personal style of music inspired by the richness of Jewish philosophy, scripture and culture. Yehuda began composing music and performed his original style, a fusion of contemporary folklore and traditional Chasidic Kleizmer melodies, with a taste of Latin American rhythm. Yehuda's lyrics spring from sources in Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino, Spanish and English. The combination sparked great interest in Israel and abroad and appears in many communities around the world. Yehuda's range of instruments, his singing talent and electrifying stage appearance has attracted large audiences worldwide. Yehuda has twice received the first place award in Zafed festival for his performance and compositions.

 

Glantz's break-out album was Golden Tunes in 1985. In 1988 he learned analog sound, pre-production and editing and mixing.  In 1990 he created the independent record company Jerusalem Music Network (JMN). Yehuda had recorded albums and projects that include: music for movies, classical and instrumental jazz, children stories, music for theater, standup comedy, rock, pop, and more. In 1992 he released the album "Naale" which sold thousands of copies and was distributed in Diaspora communities.

Between 1992 and 2007 he appeared annually at the Chabad Telethon fundraising event in Hollywood. In 2002 Yehuda released the album Gotta Dance, with words based on the philosophy of Rav Shlomo Carlebach.
In 2004 Yehuda began to work with Doron Toister, first cellist from the Israel Symphony Orchestra, and they decided to write a symphony based on Yehuda's compositions. In 2005 they produced the Nomade show, meaning wanderer. It included 75 musicians from the Israel Symphony Orchestra, a rhythm section, piano, and saxophone behind Yehuda's guitar, charango, accordion, and vocals. The result is World Beat sounds emerging from Latin American rhythms in Jewish Contemporary Soul Music.

In 2008 he initiated and established Regalim Festival in Jerusalem where he lives. The outdoor festival lasts for several days, and provides a stage for young artists.
Yehuda believes in the integration of people and their cultures through the diversity of all human beings, based on acceptance, tolerance, understanding and mutual collaboration of the great universal family.

He has brought his music and personality to arenas throughout the world, including USA, Canada, France, Holland, Germany, Uruguay, Argentina, Russia, Chile, Australia , Israel, and more. Yehuda is soon to release his new album "Jerusalem my life"

Married to Hadassa, Yehuda is the father of ten children and five grandchildren.

 

TOURS:

 

In the USA :  

v   New York, Manhathan, @ Town Hall, Hevron’s eighth Annual Benefit Concert,

v   Los Angeles, Hollywood, @ The Century Club, For The Chai Center

v   Atlanta - Georgia  @ The Rialto Center for the Performing Arts 

v   Texas, San Antonio, @ Empire Theatre, for the Tora Learnig Center of San Antonio.

v   New York, Manhathan, @  Lincoln Center 3 World Class with Abraham Fried/Dudu Fisher

v   San-Fransisco, DownTown @ Square, Chanucca Festival

v   Los Angeles, Hollywood,@ Channel TV13 "Chabad Telethon"  (every year from 1993)

v   Los Angeles, @ Square, Chanucca Festival

v  New York concert tour (Pesach 2002)  3 concerts @ Granite Hotel /

v  New Jersey @ Legend Resort 

v  Maryland, Cumberland @ Wisp resort.

v  Baltimore, @ Shombrei Emuna Shull

v  New York, Manhathan, @ Town Hall, Hevron’s Seventh Annual Benefit Concert 2002.

v  New York, Manhathan, @  Lincoln Center  HASC Concert

v  New York, Manhathan, @ Lincoln Square Synagogue concert

v  Houston,@ "Shalom Amigo concert"

 

In the South America: 

Sao Paulo (Brazil)

v  “Hopi Hari” and Beit Chabad, Sao Paulo (Brazil)

Montevideo (Uruguay),

v  Centro de Convenciones Punta Carreta Shopping Center (Uruguay)

Tours in Santiago (Chile),

v  Auditorium de la comunidad sefaradita

Buenos Aires (Argentina),

v   "In Concert"- Teatro Astral Buenos Aires (Argentina)

v  "Pionero Unity Tour " at Coliseo, Buenos Aires (Argentina)

Mexico City (Mexico),

v  "In Concert" Comunidad  Judía de México, Mexico City (Mexico)

Buenos Aires (Argentina), Montevideo(Uruguay)

v  Cool Am concerts series

 Puerto Rico

v  Raul Julia Theater

 

In South Africa: 

v  Johannesburg, Jewish community center

v  Pletenberg Bay, Synagogue innauguration

v  Captown, Chabbad annual concert

 

 

In Autralia & New Zeeland

 

v  Sidney, the three legends, convention center

v  Melbourme,

v  Auckland, community center

 

 

 

Asia:

 

v  Banckock, chabad annual concert

 

 

In Eastern Europe:  

v  Saint Petersburg,

v  Moscow,

v  Riga

v  Krakow

 

In Western Europe:

v  Zurich Chassidic Festival (Switzerland)

v  Cologne Yom Yerushalaim (Germany)

v  Amsterdam Kleismer Festival (Holland)

v  Paris, (France)

v  Lyon, (France)

v  Marseille, (France)

v   Strasbourg (France)

 

In Israel:

v  1st Prize of the Safed International Kleizmer Festival

v  Park Hayarkon Concert (12.000 persons)

v  Jerusalem Gerard Bachar Yehuda G. with Guidi Gov

v  "Yom Hastudent" Bar Ilan University

v  Shalom LeDorot Concert at Ramat HaGolan Heights

v  Jerusalem Hilton Hotel “Adon Olam” Concert

v  "Yom Yerushalaim"  at Beth Orot

v  Jerusalem Grand Synagogue Succoth Concert

v  Jerusalem Gan Saker Concert

v  Kikar Rabim "Festival Haguela"

v  Guesher "Succoth Concerts', etc, etc, etc………

 

 

On TV:  

v  Channel TV13 "Chabad Telethon"  (from 1993), Los Angeles

v  Channel 2 Rafi Reshef Show (Y.G. together with ETHNIX), Israel

v  Channel 1, Specials, Israel

v  CBS News for Latin America

v  Channel 8 (Cable) “Fiends” Program (USA)

 

 

Albums:

 

v  Golden Tunes - 1985

v  Kasach - 1986

v  In Concert in South America - 1990

v  Pionero -1992

v  Naale - 1994

v  Rak Litzhok - 1996

v  Unplugged - 1998
Adon Olam - 1998

v  Granite - 1999

v  Gotta Dance - 2002

v  Nomade – 2010

v  Jerusalem My Life - 2011