Basya Schechter is an American

singer-songwriter A singer-songwriter is a musician who writes, composes, and performs their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies. In the United States, the category is built on the folk- acoustic tradition with a guitar, although this role has ...

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments, often but not exclusively at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as woodwind doubler, doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and mor ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, producer,

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

, and

music teacher Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do origina ...

. She is the lead singer and founder of the

world The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that Existence, exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk ...

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

band Pharaoh's Daughter and has released two solo albums. She has also collaborated with the groups

Darshan Darshan, a Sanskrit word meaning "sight" or "viewing", may refer to: Ceremony and religion * Darshan (Indian religions), the auspicious sight of a divine image or holy person; also a school of Hindu philosophy * Darshan (Judaism), a Scriptural ...

and The Epichorus. Raised in the

Hasidic Jewish Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those aff ...

community of Borough Park, Schechter left Orthodoxy after high school but maintained a love for the traditional Jewish music of her youth. Her own music often blends concepts from Jewish music with a variety of styles and sounds from

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

, the

Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

, and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, among others.

Early life

Schechter was born to an

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...

family and grew up in the Borough Park neighborhood of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. Her father was in a short-lived

barbershop quartet A barbershop quartet is a group of four singers who sing music in the barbershop style, characterized by four-part harmony without instrumental accompaniment (a cappella). The four voices are: the lead, the vocal part which typically carries t ...

managed by

Don Kirshner Donald Kirshner (April 17, 1934 – January 17, 2011) was an American music publisher, music consultant, rock music producer, talent manager, and songwriter. Dubbed "the Man with the Golden Ear" by ''Time'', he was best known for managin ...

during the 1950s; after the group's demise, he returned to school and became an

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certif ...

. During Basya's childhood, he often sang with her on

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

and exposed her to Israeli artists like Tzvika Pick,

Shimi Tavori Shimshon "Shimi" Tavori (; born February 9, 1953) is an Israeli singer. He performs mostly in Hebrew but also in French. Biography Shimshon Tawili was born in Ness Ziona, Israel, to a Yemenite Jews, Yemenite-Jewish family. He was the youngest of ...

, and

Kaveret Kaveret (, lit. "beehive"), also known as Poogy (, nickname of band drummer Meir Fenigstein chosen for their performances abroad), was an Israeli pop rock band, which operated originally from 1973 to 1976. Representing Israel in the 1974 Eurovisi ...

. Her parents divorced when she was nine; she went to live with her father, who remarried when she was 14. She has said that due to her chaotic family life, she was less restricted than others in her community. She attended the local

Bais Yaakov Bais Yaakov (, also Beis Yaakov, Beit Yaakov, Beth Jacob or Beys Yankev; ) is a genericized name for full-time Haredi Jewish elementary and secondary schools for girls worldwide. Bais Yaakov, started by Sarah Schenirer in post-World War I K ...

for much of her schooling, where she choreographed several high school dance performances. After high school, she briefly attended an Orthodox girls'

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

before being asked to leave due to her rebellious behavior; she subsequently spent time in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, where she was introduced to

Arabic music Arabic music () is the music of the Arab world with all its diverse List of music styles, music styles and genres. Arabic countries have many rich and varied styles of music and also many linguistic Varieties of Arabic, dialects, with each countr ...

. Returning to New York, she attended

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

as an English major, during which time she began writing and performing songs. In her late twenties, she held various jobs, including a brief stint as editor of the '' Street News'' homeless poet page, and went

backpacking Backpacking may refer to: * Backpacking (travel), low-cost, independent, international travel * Backpacking (hiking), trekking and camping overnight in the wilderness * Ultralight backpacking, a style of wilderness backpacking with an emphasis on ...

throughout

, the

Aegean Region The Aegean region () is one of the 7 Geographical regions of Turkey, geographical regions of Turkey. The largest city in the region is İzmir. Other big cities are Manisa, Aydın, Denizli, Muğla, Afyonkarahisar and Kütahya. Located in w ...

, and

Kurdistan Kurdistan (, ; ), or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo- cultural region in West Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. G ...

, studying the music and instruments of various countries.

Career

Pharaoh's Daughter

Schechter formed Pharaoh's Daughter in 1995 while in college. The band's name is a reference to Schechter's given name, a

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

variant of the Biblical daughter of

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

Bithiah The Pharaoh's daughter () in the story of the finding of Moses in the biblical Book of Exodus is an important, albeit minor, figure in Abrahamic religions. Though some variations of her story exist, the general consensus among Jews, Christians, a ...

. They debuted in 1999 with the independent album ''Daddy's Pockets'' and were signed to

Knitting Factory Records Knitting Factory Records is an indie music, independent American music label that is notable for promoting a variety of artists, including the music of deceased Nigerian political activist Fela Kuti. The label promotes a variety of music artist ...

later that year. The label then released the band's second album, ''Out of the Reeds'' (2000). Their most recent album, ''Dumiyah'', was released in 2014.

Solo career

Schechter released her debut solo album, ''Queen's Dominion'', in 2004 on

Tzadik Records Tzadik is a record label in New York City that specializes in avant-garde and experimental music. The label was established by composer and saxophonist John Zorn in 1995. He is the executive producer of all Tzadik releases. Tzadik is a not-for-p ...

. The album was conceived by Schechter and percussionist Jarrod Cagwin and was produced by her and Albert Leusink (

Swingadelic Swingadelic is a jazz/blues ensemble founded in 1998 in Hoboken, New Jersey by bassist Dave Post. Alto/tenor sax player Buddy Terry joined the group in 2000 and remained in the band until having a stroke in December 2010 when his duties were ...

, System Band). In 2011, she released ''Songs of Wonder'', an album of musical arrangements of the Yiddish-language

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

of Rabbi

Abraham Joshua Heschel Abraham Joshua Heschel (January 11, 1907 – December 23, 1972) was a Polish-American rabbi and one of the leading Jewish theologians and Jewish philosophers of the 20th century. Heschel, a professor of Jewish mysticism at the Jewish Theolo ...

. She had been introduced to Heschel's poetry in 2005 after receiving a volume of it from a congregant at B'nai Jeshurun. Prior to its release, the album was premiered at Tzadik's Radical Jewish Culture Festival.

Other work

Schechter is a

and musical director for th
Romemu
congregation. She has also been the cantor at the

Fire Island Fire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy once again divided Fire Island into two islands. Together, these two isl ...

Synagogue since 2012. She previously played

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

during Friday night services at B'nai Jeshurun Synagogue on the

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper We ...

. In 2015, she,

Suzanne Vega Suzanne Nadine Vega ( Peck; born July 11, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter of Folk music, folk-inspired music. Vega's music career spans 40 years. In the mid-1980s and 1990s she released four singles that entered the Top 40 charts in the ...

, and Roma Baran provided vocal support at a

Passover seder The Passover Seder is a ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the eve of the 15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar (i.e., at the start of the 15th; a Hebrew d ...

hosted by

Laurie Anderson Laura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson (born June 5, 1947) is an American avant-garde artist, musician and filmmaker whose work encompasses performance art, pop music, and multimedia projects. Initially trained in violin and sculpting,Amirkhanian, Cha ...

at Russ & Daughters. Later that year, she appeared with writer

Shulem Deen Shulem Deen (born 1974) is an American author, essayist, former Skver ''Hasid'', and critic of Hasidic Judaism. He is the author of the memoir ''All Who Go Do Not Return'' (2015), and is a regular columnist at ''The Forward''. He is also the foun ...

at a ''

Jewish Week ''New York Jewish Week'' (formerly ''The Jewish Week'') is a weekly independent community newspaper targeted towards the Jewish community of the metropolitan New York City area. History In March 2016, ''The Jewish Week'' announced its partners ...

''-sponsored literary forum at Congregation Rodeph Sholom on the subject of leaving Orthodoxy. She is a former arts

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

at the

Drisha Institute The Drisha Institute for Jewish Education is a center for advanced Jewish learning located on the Upper West Side of New York City. Though initially founded to promote advanced scholarship for women, it has since expanded to offer text-based learnin ...

Personal life

Schechter was romantically involved with Rabbi

Shaul Magid Shaul Magid (Hebrew: שאול מגיד ; born June 16, 1958) is a rabbi, Visiting Professor of Modern Jewish Studies at Harvard Divinity School, and Distinguished Fellow in Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College. From 2004 to 2018, he was a professor ...

beginning in 2013 and created an album together. As noted in a review of the album in ''Musica Judaica'', "Cantor Basya Schechter and Rabbi Shaul Magid developed a localized musical tradition of setting Kabbalat Shabbat texts to Appalachian old-time music... over the course of a decade" together at

, resulting in "a timeless, transcendent musical experience"

Discography

Albums

Solo

*''Queen's Dominion'' (2004,

Tzadik Tzadik ( ''ṣaddīq'' , "righteous ne; also ''zadik'' or ''sadiq''; pl. ''tzadikim'' ''ṣadīqīm'') is a title in Judaism given to people considered righteous, such as biblical figures and later spiritual masters. The root of the word ...

) *''Songs of Wonder'' (2011, Tzadik)

With Darshan

* ''Deeper and Higher'' (2015) * ''Raza'' (2017)

With Pharaoh's Daughter

*''Daddy's Pockets'' (1999) *''Out of the Reeds'' (2000) *''Exile'' (2002) *''Haran'' (2007) *''Dumiyah'' (2014)

With Mycale

* '' Mycale: Book of Angels Volume 13'' (2010)

Other credits

The Klezmatics The Klezmatics are an American klezmer music group based in New York City, who have achieved fame singing in several languages, most notably mixing older Yiddish language, Yiddish tunes with other types of more contemporary music of differing or ...

, '' Rise Up! Shteyt Oyf!'' (2003) – chorus (on "Yo Riboyn Olam") * Frank London, ''Divan'' (2003) – vocals *

Anthony Coleman Anthony Coleman (born August 30, 1955) is an American composer and avant-garde jazz pianist. During the 1980s and 1990s he worked with John Zorn on ''Cobra'', ''Kristallnacht'', ''The Big Gundown'', ''Archery'', and '' Spillane'' and helped push ...

, ''With Every Breath: The Music of Shabbat at BJ'' (1999) – percussion, background vocals * Various, ''W.O.W. Women of Williamsburg Project'' – main artist ("In A Box") * Sanda Weigl, ''Gypsy Killer'' (2002) –

hand percussion Hand percussion is a percussion instrument that is held in the hand. They can be made from wood, metal or plastic, and are usually shaken, scraped, or tapped with fingers or a stick. It includes all instruments that are not drums, or any instrum ...

* B'nai Jeshurun Synagogue, ''Tekiyah: High Holy Days'' (2004) – vocals, percussion * Dan Zanes, ''The Welcome Table'' (2008) – vocals, oud * EarthRise Soundsystem, ''The Yoga Sessions'' (2010) – featured artist, oud * The Epichorus, ''L'Oud and the Abstract Truth'' (2016) –

kanjira The kanjira, khanjira, khanjiri or ganjira, a South Indian frame drum, is an instrument of the tambourine family. As a folk and bhajan instrument, it has been used in the Indian subcontinent for many centuries. The Kanjira's emergence in Sout ...

Filmography

Documentary appearances

*''Divan'' (2003) *''

Leaving the Fold ''Leaving the Fold'' is a 2008 documentary film on the lives of young men and women who left the Hasidic world of their youth. The young people featured in the film live in Canada, America, and Israel. The film was directed by Canadian filmmaker, E ...

'' (2008) – Canadian documentary on young men and women who left the Hasidic Jewish community, featuring former Hasidic Jews in the United States, Israel and Canada. *''All of the Above: Single, Clergy, Mother'' (2014)

As composer

*'' Thunder in Guyana'' (2003) *''Beyond Eyruv'' (2006) *''Leaving the Fold'' (2008) *''Fidelity'' (2008)

References

External links

Pharaoh's Daughter official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schechter, Basya Living people 1969 births American women singer-songwriters Jewish American musicians Pharaoh's Daughter members Barnard College alumni American world music musicians Jewish folk singers People from Borough Park, Brooklyn Tzadik Records artists Singers from New York City 21st-century American Jews Singer-songwriters from New York (state) 21st-century American women Former Hasidim Jewish women musicians