For the second annual Pittsburgh Jewish Music Festival, founder and director Aron Zelkowicz has programmed four concerts devoted entirely to Sephardic culture, the rich traditions of the Jews expelled from the Iberian Peninsula after the Spanish Inquisition.

		Pittsburgh Jewish Music Festival: "Sephardic Suites" featuring: Lucas Richman, conductor; Shira Adler, soprano. Where: Jewish Community Center, Squirrel Hill. When: 8 p.m. Tuesday. Tickets: $12-$18; 412-394-3353.

The festival's second concert on Wednesday at Rodef Shalom Congregation was exquisitely performed, fresh and full of passion.

The program seamlessly juxtaposed the past and present. The compositions combined musical elements of medieval Spain (where the Sephardim had lived for centuries), various places around the Mediterranean (where they resettled) and contemporary compositional techniques -- everything on the program was composed after the mid-20th century.

The first half opened and closed with works by German-born Israeli composer Paul Ben-Haim. It was the program's "old music," written after World War II.

"Three Songs Without Words" is essentially a vocalise playable by any instrument with piano, in this case Zelkowicz's cello. His tone was full-throated and expressive, particularly on the low strings. Violinist Jennifer Orchard turned "Sephardic Lullaby" into a moment of shimmering rapture. Collaborating on both pieces, pianist Luz Manriquez added another dimension and boosted the music to a higher level.

Moroccan composer Avi Eilam-Amzallag's four-movement "Little Popular Suite" draws heavily on North African Jewish melodies and modes. The second movement is derived from an Aramaic chant, accentuated by sonorous playing by violist Marylene Gringras-Roy.

"Eastern Winds" is a theme and variations that amalgamates young composer Yoel Ben-Simhon's diverse ancestries and influences. Israeli-born of Moroccan parentage, he has studied Middle-Eastern, jazz and classical music. The piece, arranged as a quartet for violin, viola, cello and harp, featured stellar work by Zelkowicz and harpist Gretchen Van Hoesen.

The bulk of the concert was given to two song cycles, "Cancionero Sefardi" by Roberto Sierra and "Juego de Siempre" by Betty Olivero. Both were settings of Ladino texts, a Judeo-Hispanic language that was a hybrid of Hebrew and Castilian Spanish. Backed by various combos, soprano Katherine Soroka performed the 19 songs masterfully. Every interpretation was spot on -- one didn't need the printed translations to know what she was singing about.

"Juego de Siempre" featured an ensemble of eight under the baton of David Stock. Contemporary music maven that he is, Stock brilliantly communicated the essential elements of the score.