About the agency

Our agency is dedicated to promoting the musical repertoire of Jewish artists. Seven decades after the end of the Holocaust, Keshet has taken on the task of rescuing the works of Jewish composers from oblivion – particularly those forgotten composers whom the Nazis persecuted, expelled or murdered between 1933 and 1945 – because these works are musical treasures waiting to be discovered.

Keshet is Hebrew for rainbow and violin bow. Figuratively speaking, a bow represents a connector, bringing different elements together. In this sense we also wish to use music to create a cross-cultural link that awakens curiosity about great artists. Whether as synagogue cantors, heroic tenors in an opera house or arrangers of film music, many Jewish musicians have contributed to the worldwide renown of culture and art from Germany.

Works by Jewish composers and writers are a precious treasure that must be preserved and shared. We are taking on this task, and our agency represents young artists who share our commitment.

Jewish composers always have worked in dialog with non-Jewish contemporaries and their works were influenced by their home cultures. This, too, must be emphasized and incorporated into a platform for cultural dialog. Because there is not and never was such a thing as “purely” Jewish music. Artistic creation knows no geographical or spiritual boundaries.

Since the early 1990s, Germany’s Jewish population has increased to more than 120,000 members, thanks to the emigration from countries of the former Soviet Union. This development has also contributed to bringing greater colour and diversity to the cultural landscape of Germany and German-speaking areas. We wish to build on this success, bringing the works of Jewish composers and artists to the fore.

We emphasize diverse themes, including Jewish film music, coffee house music or music from the concentration camps; we are in search of interesting and original event and performance spaces; we organize concert series and offer our services in organizing Jewish festivals.