About The Artist:

Noah Solomon, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and mandolinist , was born in Mendocino California. In addition to his solo performing career he also fronts the band Soulfarm. He has toured extensively playing festivals, colleges and concert halls on a regular basis around the US and worldwide. In addition he fronts the popular New York Bluegrass band Citigrass. He has continued to explore new musical territories by working and collaborates on various projects and recording. On this track Noah is joined by: Dave Richards, bass; Andrew Frawley, drums; and Gilad, percussion.

Song: El Yivneh HaGalil

Contribution to: Memorial Sloan Kettering

El Yivneh HaGalil is the quintessential Palestinian folk melody, so popular that at least three variations on its tune have been documented. The best known of these utilizes the distinctive interval of the augmented second that is well known in both the Eastern European repertoire (think “Hava Nagilah”) and Middle Eastern music, making its origins a real mystery whose resolution hardly matters. While the egalitarianism of the kibbutzim (and the challenge to traditional family life represented by the “children’s houses” they created) did not initially draw religiously observant settlers, there were certainly pioneers among the second aliyah settlers who were driven by the theological imperative to rebuild the homeland of their forefathers. The notion that “God will build the Galilee” gave spiritual as well as physical strength to the young people who stereotypically worked the fields all day and danced a horah around the campfire all night. As they sang “Blessed is He Who builds the Galilee” they helped make this tune a “crossover hit” popular among secular farmers and yeshiva students alike.

About Memorial Sloan Kettering

As one of the world’s premier cancer centers, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center is committed to exceptional patient care, leading-edge research, and superb educational programs. The close collaboration between our physicians and scientists is one of our unique strengths, enabling us to provide patients with the best care available today as we work to discover more effective strategies to prevent, control, and ultimately cure cancer in the future. Our education programs train future physicians and scientists, and the knowledge and experience they gain at Memorial Sloan-Kettering has an impact on cancer treatment and the biomedical research agenda around the world.