Susana Behar

Music has been a constant presence in my life. Being Jewish, Sephardic, Cuban, and Venezuelan by adoption, each project I have embarked on, has been inspired by my rich heritage and the beautiful music found within it. Music has the wonderful ability to act as connective tissue between people with vast cultural differences and even between people without a common language. It has the paradoxical silent power to break down barriers. 
My main interest is in the diversity of traditional music and its dynamic character, as well as its relation to history, culture and storytelling. Through my performances, my goal is to keep it authentic and relevant while making it fresh and universal.
Collaborating with musicians from both the classical and traditional music worlds, has been very enriching and rewarding, allowing me to explore music from different genres and different parts of the world.
Throughout my professional life, I have been most interested in how we engage with each other while we make art and receive art. I care about my audience and I want to connect with them in a direct, deep and emotional way. I want to pass on what I know and love of our universal musical heritage. It is what drives me to learn and perform a hundred-year-old Sephardic folk song, or that exquisite, anonymous Cuban love tune or set to music an 11th century Hebrew poem.
What truly resonates with me are the songs that serve as timeless bridges, spanning across generations and cultures.