Yamma Ensemble: A Special Presentation featuring instruments from the gift of Mary Levin Cutler is part of a season-long series of digital segments that bring you up close and personal with artists from a variety of art disciplines. In this special episode, the artists share knowledge and demonstrate the ancient instruments gifted to Cal State LA by Mary Levin Cutler.

Yamma Ensemble’s members stay true to the character of the Middle East, the region where they were born and raised. Their soulful Sephardic and Mizrahi music is accompanied by ancient musical instruments typical of the region, including kopuz, duduk, and hand drums. They perform the traditional music of the various Jewish diasporas (from Yemen, Babylon, Sepharad, and beyond) in Hebrew, Arabic, and Ladino (Judeo-Spanish), among others.