Ya Elah: News

Ya Elah will be playing April 5th in Ashland OR, and we'd love to build a tour around this anchor date. If you know of a venue or house concert possibility in Northern CA and OR, please contact us!

Listen to a live interview and performance here:
http://kpfa.org/archives/index.php?arch=20620
Thank you Joanne at KPFA!

Ya Elah took the main stage at the Berkeley World Music Weekend (www.berkeleyworldmusic.org), and were honored to be surrounded by so many other fabulous musicians! Thanks Giana for organising this wonderful event again.

Ya Elah performed at a house concert hosted by Wendy in Oakland, and we love the format. House concerts are so intimate and in many ways are the perfect venue for sharing our music. Please let us know if you might be interetsed in hosting us!

We are delighted to welcome a new member, Erica Leonard. Her beautiful voice and presence adds so much to the group.

Many of you have requested more information on the text/lyrics from our Each of Us CD. I am so happy to be finally posting this as the meaning of the poetry/prayers we sing are near and dear to our hearts and truly connected to our mission and purpose. AND we want you to be able to sing along!!!
So let's begin with track 1, Mayan Ganim.
This song combines text from the Sacred Hebrew book, Shir Ha Shirim (song of songs) and poetry from the Catholic Mass.
The Hebrew Lyrics are
Mayan Ganim, Be'er Mayim, mayim Chayim. Be'er Mayim mayim chayim, v'nos livim L'vanon.
And the Latin words are: Gloria in excelsis Deo
Benedicimuste Gloria, Gloria. Glorifi camuste Gloria Gloria.
The rough translation for the Hebrew is: You are a fountain of Living waters, waters of the gardens....flowing from lebanon
and the Latin: Glory to God in the Highest!!
Enjoy!!!
I'll post more later!

Do you love Ya Elah's music? Do you sing along to the CD at home or in your car? We are currently seeking to add a member or two to our vocal roster. Here is the ad we've been posting:

Ya Elah seeks additional female vocalists. Our ensemble is currently 5 women and we'd like to expand!!! We are looking for women with big spirits, great voices, and small egos (and some experience with ensemble singing.) Ya Elah performs the compositions of Bon Singer (former director of Kitka Ensemble for 14 years.) You can listen to tracks from our CD and find more information about the group at www.yaelah.com. Experience in classical, Balkan, Middle Eastern music and performance a plus. Ya Elah performs throughout California. Rehearsals are once a week in Albany. All new members are given a three month period to determine if the group is a good match. Please contact Bon for an interview/audition. 510 528-3735.

As I meditate on the coming year and the energies that I would like to cultivate two things come to heart....Gratitude and Healing. Beginning with Gratitude it's easy to understand why many spiritual paths have a practice of making blessings over the everyday things in our lives: Our food, our children and families, our friends, our safe and comfortable homes etc....we are truly blessed and there is much to be grateful for. We in Ya Elah want so much to express our gratitude to YOU. Just a month or so ago we reprinted our CD "Each of Us." We had to because we sold out of our first printing. Believe it or not, it is through this little plastic disc that we are able to sustain the group, repay our investors and keep moving forward with our mission to affect transformation and healing through music. And it is the generosity and support of each of you that has made this a reality for our merry band of women....and we deeply thank you. In an age where "downloading" music and copying CD's is so easy, every time you choose to direct your energy through your purchases toward something or someone with whom you feel an alignment you are doing the work of a peaceful warrior. Whether it's buying organic groceries, tickets to an amazing piece of theater or supporting musicians through CD sales and concert attendance, it all adds up to keep the wheels of positivity, creativity and healing turning. And the world needs it!!! Which brings me to the topic of Healing. We are each healers in our own way. Just yesterday I was buying a new hairbrush and chatting with the women behind the counter. We were laughing and sharing stories and suddenly one of the women looked at me and said "it's so nice to have a kind customer!" She said this as if a "kind customer" hadn't come through in a while.(: In that moment I felt the healing energy that a simple kind word and exchange of laughter can bring. We all have this capacity within us each day. This is certainly one of the strong energies and intentions behind and within the women and the music of Ya Elah. That the music we share with you should uplift, expand, and bring healing to the planet and to each heart.

So what's in store for Ya Elah this season? Look for upcoming concerts this Spring, A new look and new features on our web site, and of course new music.

Ya Elah
Greetings!
Hello Dear Friends, we send you warm greetings and blessings wherever this message finds you. Some of you may be looking out your window at drifts of snow and conifers, or bare frosty open spaces. As I write this from the SF. Bay Area in California there is still frost on the ground from the cold wave we've been in and the sun is now up and melting it away.... It has been a while since our last newsletter as we've been swept up in the musical elements of Ya Elah and less on the email/computer related parts (: but at the beginning of this new year we thought we'd take a minute and say Hello!

We thank you again for your continued support and send you blessings for an abundant and joyous new year!

Blessings,
Cyrise Beatty
Ya Elah
cyrise@hotmail.com
http://www.yaelah.com