Youth Project: The Gates of Sepharad

THE GATES OF SEPHARAD:
The History of the Sephardic Jews – a Documentary Musical Theatre

Composition: Gustavo Strauss and Evgeni Orkin
Musical Director: Daniel Grossmann
Text and concept: Martin Valdés-Stauber
Director: Asisa Hafez

Participating school choirs: Gymnasium Oberhaching, Nymphenburger Gymnasium, Theresia Gerhardinger Gymnasium am Anger
Narrator: Martin Valdés-Stauber
Conductor: Daniel Grossmann
Orchestra: Musicians of the JCOM and young instrumentalists

Martin, a young theater maker with Spanish roots, traveled from Munich via Sarajevo to Thessaloniki. He unexpectedly encountered a language he understood: Ladino – the language of the Sephardic Jews. He follows the traces of a nearly forgotten history.

A personal road trip becomes a documentary musical theater piece: 150 students sing, play, and tell the story of the Sephardic Jews who were expelled from Spain in 1492, together with professional musicians from the Jewish Chamber Orchestra Munich. Old Ladino songs blend with new compositions and texts.

Immediately afterwards, the JCOM will present an excerpt from an evening-long concert program, The Keys of Toledo , which also deals with Sephardic music, history and culture.

Visit free of charge
Ticket booking required - Tickets available from October 2025

The project is funded by the Foundation for Remembrance, Responsibility and Future (EVZ) and the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) as part of the Nazi Injustice Education Agenda.

From the 2025-26 season, the JCOM will be the 'Orchestra in Residence' at the Munich Kammerspiele.