Watch: How Jewish heritage echoes in musical sounds and storytelling

Is there a set of musical elements that define music as Jewish?

Michael Beckerman, dean of the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, says the answer is nuanced. He studies what he has coined the "-ness" question: What shared, abstract features or styles cause people to characterize music as Jewish or belonging to other cultures, and why do people link different traditions together?

Whether it's 19th century composers, classic Western film scores or modern musical theater, Beckerman finds it an interesting exercise to examine musical elements and determine how they might be connected - or not seem connected at all. "Everything from Irving Berlin to Leonard Bernstein to synagogue chant are infused with this Jewishness," he said. "Maybe this yearning for a certain kind of pastoral sound represents a particular Jewish perspective.

"Let's take something like Maria from 'West Side Story,' he said. "Everyone involved in creating it were Jewish - [Stephen] Sondheim and Bernstein, and it was originally to be called 'East Side Story,' which had a lot more Jewish flavor. The questions around this issue, the breadth of the inquiry in the context of this month of Jewish heritage need to be asked periodically and thought about deeply."

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Visiting scholars, world-class musicians and local labor leaders will be among those participating in UCLA's programming this Jewish American History Month, as well as Bruin student performers and faculty lecturers. The public is invited to attend events that elevate narratives and histories of Jewish American identity in Los Angeles, on campus and beyond.