From Her Nona's Drawer

Susan Gaeta is a vocalist and guitarist. She performed jazz and both American and Argentine folk music as a soloist in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Under the auspices of a Folklife Apprenticeship Program of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, Susan completed studies with National Heritage Fellow, Flory Jagoda, a Bosnian Sephardic composer, singer and musician honored by the National Endowment for the Arts for her contribution to preserving a traditional art form. This apprenticeship included studying and performing with Flory in numerous venues. Susan performs nationally as a soloist, as well as a guest accompanist of Flory Jagoda. She has appeared at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, at the Greater Washington Jewish Folk Arts Festival, the Holocaust Museum and before numerous Jewish and Inter-faith communities. From Her Nona's Drawer, was recorded to preserve and continue the music of her mentor. This recording traces the evolution of the authentic a cappella women's Sephardic vocal tradition and Ladino language that Flory learned from her grandmother, to Susan's interpretation of the composer's more contemporary pieces.