Rabbi Uri Barnea of Hattiesburg’s Congregation B’nai Israel will present “A Survey of the History of Jewish Music from Biblical Time to Contemporary Blues and Hip Hop” Thursday, Aug. 11 from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. at The University of Southern Mississippi’s Cook Library. This program is free and open to the public.

Barnea’s presentation is the second event to be held on the Hattiesburg campus in conjunction with the traveling exhibit “In a Nutshell: the Worlds of Maurice Sendak” and will include a discussion and demonstration of the rich tapestry of Jewish music over 4,000 years. Barnea, who holds graduate degrees in conducting and composition, will use rare recordings and live performances on the violin, recorder and vocals in his presentation.

 “In a Nutshell: The Worlds of Maurice Sendak” was organized by the Rosenbach Museum & Library, Philadelphia, and developed by Nextbook, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting Jewish literature, culture, and ideas, and the American Library Association Public Programs Office. The national tour of the exhibit has been made possible by grants from the Charles H. Revson Foundation, the Righteous Persons Foundation, the David Berg Foundation, and an anonymous donor, with additional support from “Tablet Magazine: A New Read on Jewish Life.”

For more information, contact associate professor and curator of special collections Peggy Price at peggy.price@usm.edu.