New Klezmer Fiddle book released by Ilana Cravitz

Ilana Cravitz has released a new book exploring traditional klezmer music. It's a teaching guide, accompanied by a CD, and helps the student delve into the style of klezmer playing. Seckund and bass parts pull out for handy playing with friends. Cravitz explains bowing techniques, includes a brief history of klezmer, and the modes of each piece. Each of the sixteen tunes has a listening track to help learn performance technique. She also gives suggestions for effective variations and interpretations from the written score. In the appendix is a helpful chart explaining the dance style that goes with the various tunes, a Yiddish glossary and pronunciation guide, a bibliography and a discography. She also gives helpful suggestions about arranging melodies in sets, or groups of tunes that will work well together without a break. This book can be offered by teachers or be used as a self-study for learning klezmer music. This item, published by the music division of Oxford University Press, has a very nice clear and readable print style. The tune selections consist of the currently played repertoire and are intended for intermediate to advanced players who already have a fairly good mastery of general violin technique. This score and CD set is recommended for home use as well as for purchase by college music libraries. The item can be purchased throught the Oxford University Press website.

Amsterdams Synaogaal Koor at Podium Twente in December

Amsterdams Synagogaal Koor
will appear as part of the 11th Jewish Music Festival in Amsterdam, co-sponsored by the WIZO in December Singer Lucette van den Berg will appear on Dec. 20 singing Yiddish songs, a klezmer workshop will be held on Dec. 21 in the morning at Synagoge Enschede led byAnton Molenaar, and the concert by the choir at noon featuring western chazzanut with choir.

For more information:

zangeres Lucette van den Berg. Van den Berg heeft een uitzonderlijk warme, expressieve stem en een grote passie voor Jiddische muziek. Lucette is met het Jiddische repertoire veelvuldig te zien op grote festivals en in zalen als het Amsterdamse Concertgebouw, Muziekcentrum en Kavehoyz in New York. Zij oogst veel succes met haar openhartige, hartverwarmende en poëtische vertolking van Joodse liederen, een genre dat Lucette beschouwt als haar ‘roots’. In maart 2005 kwam haar debuut-cd ‘Zing shtil/ yiddish songs’ uit die door de pers met veel lof is ontvangen. In 1996 won Lucette dankzij haar poëtische kracht en bijzondere stemgeluid de tweede prijs bij het Euregio Vocalisten Concours.

Geheel in de traditie zal op zondagochtend het koorconcert plaatsvinden. Dit jaar zal het Amsterdams Synagogaal Koor acte de présence geven. Het koor, in 1985 geformeerd ter gelegenheid van het 350-jarig bestaan van de Nederlands Israëlitische Hoofdsynagoge, heeft inmiddels een staat van dienst in haar bijdrage aan de verdere verrijking van de Nederlandse synagoge-cultuur. De West-Europese chazzanut (cantoriale muziek) is de basis voor het repertoire van het Amsterdams Synagogaal Koor; een muziekcultuur waarvoor specifieke kennis van de Joodse liturgie zeker niet noodzakelijk is om de melodieën vol van geloof, liefde en verlangen te waarderen.

locatie Synagoge Enschede
aanvang zondag 21 december 2008 12:00 uur
genre Wereldmuziek
serie - normale prijs € 15,00
jeugd/jongeren € 11,00
65 plus € 12,50

New Yiddish Rep

New Yiddish Rep presents:
Straight from the former Soviet Union
Psoy Oy Oy!!!
At home in the global diaspora, four fun filled evenings of stories, songs and mishigass, with poet-singer-songwriter- performance artist and fellow traveler Psoy Korolenko. To Psoy the Jewish experience is not only a personal story, but also a metaphor of transcultural identity and ultimate otherness. He sings and tumults in English, Russian, French, and Yiddish.
Saturday, November 15th at 10 PM
Saturday, December 13th at 8 PM
Saturday, January 3rd, at 8 PM
Saturday, January 10th at 8 PM

Community Synagogue
325 E. 6th Street
Between 1st and 2nd Avenues
NYC
Trains: F to 2nd Ave., 6 to Astor Place, L to 1st Ave., Q to 8th St.
Admission: Donate as you exit.
Reservations: 917 670-1631 on line: newyiddishrep.org Psoy Korolenko, charismatic Russian/Jewish multilingual poet- singer, performance artist, and fellow traveler in the global diaspora, brings his talents to the New Yiddish Rep s stage in a series of four appearances. His unique one-man show balances folk, klezmer, rap, sound poetry and intellectual cabaret/comedy. As a writer and scholar he is known for his interest in otherness, diaspora, territory, minorities, and borderlines. The Jewish experience is to him not only a personal story, but also a metaphor of transcultural identity and ultimate otherness. He sings in English, Russian, French, and Yiddish. Two of his eight CDs recontextualise klezmer - 'Un Vo Iz Der Onheyb Fun Foterland' ("Where is the beginning of the Fatherland"-Soviet Pop Classics in Yiddish translation and Klezmer arrangements, with the All Stars Klezmer Band, Russia - Urkaine - Germany, 2006) and 'The Unternationale' (with Daniel Kahn, US/Germany and Oy Division, Israel, 2008). Recently, he has been working with Alena Arenkova and Yana Ovrutskaya on a new CD of Yiddish songs set to Kadia Molodovsky's poems. A Phd. in Slavic literature, he has been a participant, and guest and lecturer at many Klezfests in Russia and took part in the program 'East Meets West' at Klezkanada-2006. He participated in the Festival of Jewish Culture in Krakov (2005) presenting a show together with Kharkov Klezmer Band. He often performs all over Russia, as well as in Israel and the USA.

Saturday, November 15, at 10 PM
TUMID ZOL ZAYN DER ZUN HOYKH:
An Evening of Soviet Pop Hits in Yiddish, translated by Ayzik Bargteyl and Arn Vergelis, original Soviet Yiddish songs, Jewish songs by Psoy, Ayzik Bargteyl and other contemporary authors in English, Yiddish and Russian. In memory of Ayzik Bargteyl, z''l, the Yiddish poet and translator from Perm, Russia.

Saturday, December 13, at 8 PM
SPELL-ART. Foreign Element in Songs.
The focus is the use of foreign languages in Yiddish songs, as well as the use of Yiddish references in a non-Yiddish performance. The influence of musically 'foreign' elements is represented as well.

Saturday, January 3, at 8 PM
TSU VOS YIDDISH, AZ MIR ZAYNEN SAY-VI YIDN?
Yiddish, Russian, English and Gibberish songs by Psoy Korolenko and his new remakes of Tumbalalaika, Hava Nagila, Abi Gezunt, Ba Mir Bistu Sheyn and other Yiddish 'Default' Hits... And more!

Saturday January 10th at 8 PM
DI VELT DURKH YIDISHE OYGN (The World through Jewish Eyes).
International Hits in Jewish/Yiddish Culture. Music & Video.

New Yiddish Rep gladly accepts donations after the show. There is no admission charge.

A Test of Faith

A Test of Faith, a One-Act Opera
Erev Shabbat
Friday, November 21st, 2008 - 8:00 PM
Free to the Public
Valley Beth Shalom, 15739 Ventura Blvd, Encino, CA

"Test of Faith" is an award-winning one-act opera based on of the Bible's most dramatic stories, the story of the Akedah, the near-sacrifice of Isaac. Renowned opera stars Jonathan Mack and Ron Li-Paz will take the roles of God and Abraham; Jonathan Zur is Isaac. Lawrence Goldberg, the composer, will conduct.

Following the performance, Rabbi Edward Feinstein, Senior Rabbi at Valley Beth Shalom, will engage the composer and the performers in a discussion of the opera and the story of the Akedah, and its impact on world religions.

BORSCHT AND GRITS in MD

BORSCHT AND GRITS COMBINE when Margot leverett and the Klezmer Mountain Boys perform at Temple Emanuel in Reisterstown, MD, November 23rd.

“Borscht and grits never tasted so good.” That’s a critic’s comment about the magical combination of traditional Yiddish klezmer music with the foot-stompin’ rhythms of bluegrass, as performed by Margot Leverett and the Klezmer Mountain Boys. The internationally acclaimed quintet will present a benefit concert Sunday, Nov. 23rd, at 4 pm, at Temple Emanuel, 909 Berrymans Lane, in Reisterstown.

Playing with the band will be Steve Mandell (who lives in Pikesville), one of the two musicians who did the soundtrack for the Dueling Banjos segment in the film Deliverance. And Mike Munford, a local banjo master is also expected to attend.

Members of the audience will be able to jam with the artists toward the end of the concert, and enjoy a free wine and cheese reception afterwards.

All tickets will be available at Temple Emanuel before the performance. For more information call Linda at 410-521-7461 (or TEconcerttix@gmail.com) Advance general admission: $36; Seniors (60+) $25; Students $15. Day of concert: $5 surcharge. Special group rates are available. To charge tickets on Visa or MasterCard call Linda at 410-521-7461. Checks should be made out to Temple Emanuel (memo line: Klezmer Meets Bluegrass) and mailed or brought to the synagogue, 909 Berrymans Lane, Reisterstown, MD 21136.

Ms. Leverett also will autograph and celebrate the release of her new CD, "2nd Avenue Square Dance", on the Traditional Crossroads label, which will be available for sale.

Although klezmer and bluegrass are worlds apart, according to Ms. Leverett, she explores their shared musical spirit, combining Appalachian and southern fiddle tunes by Bill Monroe, with klezmer melodies from pre-war Russia and Eastern Europe, some of them newly discovered. “The resulting medleys and improvisations are at once raw, funny, soulful and foot-stomping,” according to Ms. Leverett’s website, where samples of the group’s playing can also be heard: www.KlezmerMountainBoys.com.

Advance general admission: $36; Seniors (60+) $25; Students $15. Day of concert: $5 surcharge. Special group rates are available. To charge tickets on Visa or MasterCard call Linda at 410-521-7461. Checks should be made out to Temple Emanuel (memo line: Klezmer Meets Bluegrass) and mailed or brought to the synagogue, 909 Berrymans Lane, Reisterstown, MD 21136. All tickets will be available at Temple Emanuel before the performance. For more information call Linda at 410-521-7461 (or TEconcerttix@gmail.com)

Poykler's Shloft Lied new CD from Matt Temkin

Matt Temkin's Yiddishe Jam Band CD Release Show and Party Wednesday, November 12, 7pm

Join drummer Matt Temkin as he celebrates the release of his band's debut CD, Poykler's Shloft Lied, in which they explore the intersection of large combo Jazz and Yiddish dance music.

The event will take place at:
Stephen Wise Free Synagogue
30 W. 68th St.
New York, NY 10023.

For information, please call 212-877-4050 or visit us at:
www.swfs.org.

Classical Music in Israel

For those living in or visiting Israel, there is now a website devoted to listing concerts of classical music. This website will prove useful in planning any trip. The site also has links to major Israeli orchestras, choirs, ensembles and some individual performers. The site features a forward looking calendar, a "music-makers" mart where performers can try to match with organizations needing musicians, and a "market-place" which is something of a classified ads section. The site is an outgrowth of the newsletter "Living in Harmony". http://www.classical-music-israel.com/

Guitar Arrangements for Jewish Melodies

Ellen S. Whitaker, a guitar teacher in North Carolina, has created an excellent book of guitar arrangements of Jewish favorite melodies. The book is intended for intermediate to advanced guitar players, with a few easier pieces. It includes a key to the guitar notation used in the work, the texts to the songs in transliteration, occasionally in Hebrew text, with English and an annotation about the meaning of the song along with performance notes about each piece. The guitar music, both solos and duets are presented in a separate section, which is an excellent arrangement of the book for learning and performance. The end of the collection includes an appendix explaining the Jewish modes, a second appendix linking each piece with the mode used, a glossary of each of the musical terms, a bibliography and discography. The thoroughness of this work is to be admired. A student new to Jewish music would gain an enormous amount of insight, and those who are familiar with the songs already will have a set of well done arrangements with suggested performance practice. JMWC recommends this book not only to individuals, but to teachers, schools and colleges for purchase. For more information and to preview some of the arrangements, go to: http://www.lulu.com/content/3660520. To learn more about Ellen Whitaker, view her website at: http://www.ellenwhitakerguitar.com/Home_Page.html

'MUSIJEUNES' in Switzerland

'MUSIJEUNES' organise prochainement un grand week-end KLEZMER:

Vendredi 21 novembre à 20h:
Concert avec: HOTEGEZUGT et la chanteuse Hélène ENGEL
Salle Paroissiale St-François, 16 av. Petit-Senn à Chêne-Bourg
Entrée libre, chapeau la sortie

et

Samedi 22 et dimanche 23 novembre:
ATELIER KLEZMER
ouvert aux musiciens de tous niveaux, animé par Michel Borzykowski (instr. à vent et danse), Pier-Yves Têtu (accordéon), Bianca Favez (violon) et Hélène Engel (chant, danse).

Enseignement par petits groupes samedi de 13h30 à 18h et dimanche de 9h à 15h. Audition des élèves (publique, entrée libre) dimanche à 16h.
Coût: 130.- Frs (110.- pour élèves de l'Accademis d'Archi), 2 repas inclus.
Renseignements:
Michel Borzykowski
Tél. 022 755 41 23
borzy@freesurf.ch
site klezmer: http://borzykowski.users.ch