Can you tell us more about your independent study this past summer?

The name of the course was Sephardic Jews and Their Music, and what I wanted to do was combine Sephardic Judaism and my background in music. I grew up in a pretty musical household and I’ve played trumpet for about 12 years now, and being part Jewish, I always really connected with the musical aspects of the religion. Something I didn’t really know about because I grew up in an Ashkenazi household, which is Eastern European, is that there’s a whole other side to Judaism, which is Sephardic Judaism. And their heritage comes from the Iberian Peninsula, near Portugal. I wanted to connect the musical aspect to Jewish topics in this study because music is a really big part of Jewish tradition.

I started the course with a historical analysis, exploring how Jews got to the Iberian Peninsula, and then throughout the Middle Ages they lived in coexistence alongside Muslim and Christian communities. Then in 1492 there was the Grand Inquisition, when the Jews were forced out of the Iberian Peninsula. Since then, Sephardic communities have popped up all over the world, in South America, the Middle East, and North Africa especially, so it was really cool to be able to explore the different traditions of each. Their music traditions are different because they take inspiration from where they settled. Then I did some interesting musical analysis. I found music websites and archived websites, listened to some older recordings, and then at the end of the study I was able to compose one of my own songs. The Sephardic Jewish community used to speak a language called Ladino, which is a mix of medieval Spanish and Hebrew, but when they were kicked out of the Iberian Peninsula, a lot of the community lost that language. I wrote the final piece in Ladino, which was difficult because it is pretty much an extinct language now, but I used online resources to learn the use of the language. 

How did your independent study contribute to your learning as a sociology major and what will you take from this study into the classroom setting?  

As a sociology student, your studies are pretty broad and can be applied to so many different directions. I’ve always been interested in anthropology and studying different cultures, so the ability to create my own study and focus on different cultures with a sociological background was beneficial because I could explore different cultural topics that aren’t always offered in sociology classes. Since then, I’ve tried to pursue these studies further. For example, for my next co-op, I hope to work with the UPenn Cultural Heritage Center, which looks at anthropological work and focuses on different cultures. This experience was a jumping-off point for me to venture into anthropology, which I’ve always been very interested in.  

What motivated you to do this independent study in the first place and how did you come up with this idea?  

I was looking through the Jewish Studies course offerings and there weren’t any options that involved music. My adviser told me about the independent study opportunity, so I thought it was the perfect way to create a project around the things that I love. 

What made you choose your major in sociology and minor in Jewish studies? 

In high school I took a course in sociology that I really loved. When I came to Drexel, I was undecided, and I was initially interested in global studies. But after talking with my friend, they convinced me to switch to sociology. Freshman year I took a History of Antisemitism class with Professor Toni Pitock, and she recommended I check out the new Jewish studies minor program, which was starting up that year, so I jumped on the opportunity to start taking some more interesting classes. Through the Drexel experience, you really have to find your own niche and find out what works, and that might take some time, but I recommend just sticking with what you're passionate about and reaching out to people to find opportunities. 

What are your career goals and how does your minor in Jewish studies contribute to them?  

Right now it’s hard for me to narrow down my options, but I think the major and minor I have allow me to explore different topics and options, so I really want to take that curiosity with me wherever I go. I really enjoy the social sciences, so this has allowed me to explore that area of life more.

When you compose your music, is there a creative process?  

The first thing is to get into the mindset of what I am writing. With Sephardic music, depending on the community, there’s a certain style and scale that they use. So the first thing I did was listen to a lot of Sephardic music. Once I got the feeling down, I started messing around on piano and trumpet and I came across a melody. It took me a while to build it up, a lot of writing and re-writing, but the first thing I had to do was write lyrics in Ladino. I wrote a poem in Ladino talking about the Sephardic Jews and what they’ve gone through as a community and put a melody over top of it. It was a lengthy process and took a while, but I finalized it recently and I’m practicing it with the Mediterranean ensemble.

Has this inspired you to write more music in the future?  

Definitely. It’s made me see what’s possible because music writing is really difficult but if you break it down and you know the kind of feeling you want out of a song it’s easier to obtain. I definitely will be trying some more after this.

Theo Abrams will perform his piece at Drexel’s Mediterranean Ensemble Fall Concert in the Mandell Theater on Wednesday, December 4, at 7:30 p.m. You can register for free tickets here: Drexel University |Performing Arts Ticketing - Mediterranean Ensemble: Fall Concert