Sholem Aleykhem!

Broadway musicals in Yiddish? D irector Joel Grey and his cast from the Yiddish Fiddler on the Roof have created a side-splitting medley of Yiddish versions of The Book of Mormon, Chicago, Dreamgirls, Hamilton, Legally Blonde, South Pacific, West Side Story and Wicked. It culminates in Grey singing “ Git op mayn grus tsu Brodvey” ( Give my regards to Broadway ).

A message from KlezCalifornia - It may seem odd that we are featuring something amusing in the wake of the tragedy at the Chabad synagogue this past weekend, but it is the East European Jewish way to laugh through our fears and sorrows. Our hearts are with all those impacted by bigotry - most recently Jews in Poway, Muslims in New Zealand, Christians in Sri Lanka, and many others.

KlezCalifornia Donor Party!



Save the date for our next semi-annual party: Sunday, June 2, 2-5pm , in Oakland. If you have donated in the past year, you will receive your invitation in early May. If you are not yet a donor, it's never too late! 

Donate online »

Josh Horowitz will provide an easy way through the core genres of klezmer music, beginning with the kaleh bazetsn and doina (pieces to make the bride cry), joining it to a lilting hora , a jumping freylekhs , and a hopping bulgar. The emphasis will be on fine-tuning how to play in the klezmer style, so Josh will feed simple and easy ideas to each person as we go along, making the suite more and more exciting. These sessions are fun and creative. All intermediate and advanced players welcome, young and old.

Every klezmer melody has its own particular character, and it's our job as musicians to bring these characters to life with our instruments. We can do this on the small scale, through our expressive playing. But the larger "story" of the tune comes to life through our arrangement and structure of a tune. In this class, we will examine various methods for arranging and orchestrating a klezmer tune, discovering how a creative arrangement can help tell the tune's story.

This workshop lies at the intersection of village music, Romany roots, and Sephardic sounds in klezmer music. Through playing and comparing sections of klezmer songs, folk dance music, and Romany tunes, we will explore commonalities in the beautiful musical tapestry woven across Europe and the Mediterranean.

Klezmer workshops in 2019 are made possible by a grant from the Alliance for California Traditional Arts, in partnership with the Walter and Elise Haas Fund,

William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and Surdna Foundation.

Tayereh fraynt: Mir veln zikh farzamlen zuntik, dem naynstn may 2-4pm.  Brengt epes tsu esn oder trinken.

Mir veln shmuesn vegn di temes: 

RSVP  to get the address.  

Next month's Salon : Sunday, June 16, 2-4pm, East Bay

Shtisel's Ghosts: The Politics of Yiddish in Israeli Popular Culture

(thanks to Jim Rebhan)

Yiddish poster from WPA Federal Art Project ("Learn your children's language!")

(thanks to Shana Winokur)

Jubilee Klezmer Ensemble

Friday, May 3, 5:30-8pm.

River Front Café, Petaluma

Yes, We Sang!

Concert, with Achi Ben Shalom, Nigunim Chorus, SF Jewish Folk Chorus, others 

Remembering the songs cherished by the victims of the Holocaust. 

Sunday, May 5, 3pm 

Congregation Sherith Israel, SF

The Art of Klezmer Improvisation Made Easy!

a workshop with Joshua Horowitz 

Sunday, May 5, 2-5 pm 

UC Santa Cruz Hillel

Presented by KlezCalifornia

Telling A Story: Bringing Klezmer To Life Through Creative Arrangement,

workshop with Rob Reich

Sunday, May 19, 12:30-3:30

Jewish Community Library, SF

Presented by KlezCalifornia

Yiddish Culture Workshop for Kids , with Gerry Tenney, and

Hebrew/Yiddish Sing-Along , with Claire Sherman and Judy Kunofsky

Part of Tikkun Leyl Shavuot (Tikn Leyl Shevuis)

Saturday, June 8, times TBD. Tikkun is dusk until dawn

JCC East Bay, Berkeley

 

KlezCalifornia Flisik Yidish Salon

Sunday, June 16, 2-4pm

Private home, East Bay

Presented by KlezCalifornia

To KlezCalifornia with love.

View KlezCalifornia's Honor Wall . Become a donor to post your tribute.