In this lecture, ethnomusicologist Dr. Joseph Alpar will explore ongoing transformations in the sacred musical repertoires, and the religious identities that they represent, of Istanbul’s contemporary Jewish community. Synagogue cantors (hazzanim) and laypeople alike negotiate their religious identities as Turkish Jews in the musical choices they make. While many try to maintain the community’s local music tradition, rooted in makam—the melodic dimension of Turkish music—others attempt to broaden their repertoire with musics from Israel, the United States, and Ḥabad Hasidic Judaism. Hazzanim and community members articulate ambivalent and changing attitudes about their Jewish identities, memory, and the value of local tradition in their diverse approaches to making sacred music in Istanbul today.