Rivka Amado was born in Israel in a Sephardic family and grew up listening to her grandmother singing Ladino lullabies. As a child Rivka sang Ladino songs, played the piano informally, and sang in her synagogue choir in Jerusalem. Then for over two decades, Rivka taught at several universities: Bar Ilan University, Tel Aviv Medical School, Stanford, Berkeley, and Princeton, and has received several awards for her scholarship and teaching. Since moving to the Bay Area 12 years ago, she has dedicated much of her time to researching Sephardic culture and performing traditional Ladino music. She has performed throughout the Bay Area, the East Coast, Australia, and Israel.