Three Monday Evening Events on November 22, November 29 and December 13, 2004, 8:00 PM
Curated by Deborah Strauss and Jeff Warschauer of the Strauss/Warschauer Duo, this series is dedicated to presenting performances and lectures that reflect the finest current research and creativity in the fields of klezmer music and Yiddish song.
The 2004 series begins on November 22 with THE FROG AND THE WOODCUTTER: Yiddish Story, Song and Klezmer Narrations presented by renowned Yiddish teacher and storyteller Peysakh Fiszman in a special collaboration with the Strauss/Warschauer Duo.
On November 29 acclaimed Jewish music scholar Dr. Mark Kligman will join the duo in THE SOUL YOU PLACED WITHIN ME: The Essence of Eastern European Khazones, Yiddish Song and Klezmer Music.
The series closes on December 13 with THE COLUMBIA KLEZMER BAND AND THE STRAUSS/WARSCHAUER DUO: Concert and Dance Party, featuring traditional and original klezmer music and Yiddish songs, followed by dance instruction and a dance party.
All three events will take place at Deutsches Haus, 420 West 116th Street (between Amsterdam Avenue and Morningside Drive) in New York City.
For more information, please contact Jeff Warschauer at 718 399-1147 or warschauer@aol.com, and visit www.klezmerduo.com
Deborah Strauss and Jeff Warschauer of the Strauss/Warschauer Duo are two of the most astonishing and popular performers and teachers in the international klezmer and Yiddish music scene. They were both long-time members of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, and have performed with violinist Itzhak Perlman on film and in concert. As the Strauss/Warschauer Duo, they have they have performed to overwhelming acclaim in such diverse venues as the Philadelphia Folk Festival, the Amsterdam International Yiddish Festival, the Jewish Culture Festival in Cracow, the Ashkenaz Festival in Toronto, and the Folksbiene Yiddish Theater in New York City. They lead workshops and classes throughout North America and Europe, are on the faculty of the KlezKamp and KlezKanada Yiddish culture programs, and are frequent instructors for the Jewish Music Institute/SOAS at the University of London.
Deborah Strauss (violin, accordion, vocals, dance) is one of the finest of the contemporary klezmer instrumentalists and a true musical descendent of the most eloquent traditional Jewish violinists. She has appeared on numerous recordings and was a long-time member of the Chicago Klezmer Ensemble. Deborah is also a much-loved teacher of Yiddish music and dance to students of all ages. She studied violin at Rutgers University and ethnomusicology at the University of Chicago.
Jeff Warschauer (guitar, mandolin, vocals) is internationally renowned as a mandolinist, guitarist, Yiddish singer and teacher. He is a member of the faculty at Columbia University, and is a program director for KlezKanada. Jeff is also a composer whose music has been heard in films and theater productions, on Public Radio International and on HBO. Jeff’s solo CD, The Singing Waltz: Klezmer Guitar and Mandolin, has received widespread critical acclaim.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2004, 8 PM
THE FROG AND THE WOODCUTTER: Yiddish Story, Song and Klezmer Narrations
Yiddish culture has a rich storytelling tradition. Whether told in words, sung, or expressed instrumentally, these stories provide a unique window into Jewish thought, culture and spirit. Master storyteller and Yiddish teacher Peysakh Fiszman, Deborah Strauss (violin, accordion, vocals) and Jeff Warschauer (guitar, mandolin, vocals), present an evening, in Yiddish and English, of stories, songs and klezmer music. Through gesture, translation and music, the stories come to life for listeners of all backgrounds, Yiddish and non-Yiddish speakers alike.
Pesakh Fiszman is one of the most important and beloved Yiddish teachers of our time. A native of Argentina, he received his Yiddish education from the Jewish Teachers? Seminary in Buenos Aires, Chaim Greenberg Institute in Jerusalem, and the YIVO Institute. In addition, Peysakh received his MA from the Universidad de Buenos Aires. Peysakh has taught Yiddish in Argentina, Canada, the Oxford Yiddish Summer Program in England, the Moscow State University and the Kiev Pedagogical Institute. In the U.S., he has taught at Hunter College, the State University of New York at New Paltz, the YIVO Institute, 92nd Street Y, Columbia University and the Workmen?s Circle. Most recently, Peysakh has returned from a widely acclaimed story telling concert tour of Germany with the outstanding German klezmer band, Tickle In the Heart. A gifted speaker and master teacher, Peysakh uses techniques in story telling and folklore to make the spirit and beauty of Yiddish come alive.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2004, 8 PM
THE SOUL YOU PLACED WITHIN ME: The Essence of Eastern European Khazones, Yiddish Song and Klezmer Music
In an evening of lecture, discussion and performance, Dr. Mark Kligman, Deborah Strauss (violin, accordion, vocals) and Jeff Warschauer (guitar, mandolin, vocals) will explore the deep connections between khazones (Eastern European Jewish cantorial music), klezmer music and Yiddish song. Dr. Kligman will describe the period known as ?The Golden Age of the Cantorate? (1880-1930). Using audio and video excerpts, he will focus on several of the pre-eminent exemplars of liturgical artistry and spiritual expression, including Yossele Rosenblatt and Pierre Pinchik. Deborah Strauss and Jeff Warschauer will perform and discuss examples of cantorial recitatives, as well as stylistically related klezmer instrumental pieces and Yiddish songs.
Mark Kligman, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Jewish Musicology at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York where he teaches in the School of Sacred Music. He was educated at the University of Michigan and New York University; he earned his doctorate at NYU in 1997. He specializes in the liturgical traditions of Middle Eastern Jewish communities. Dr. Kligman is a frequently requested speaker and teacher at universities and congregations throughout the United States. His research extends to historical trends in the liturgical music of Ashkenazic and Sephardic traditions. His work has been published in The Encyclopedia of Judaism (2000), Worship Music:A Concise Dictionary (2000), the American Jewish Yearbook 2001, Jews of Brooklyn (Brandeis University and University Press of New England, 2001), and The Jews of the Middle East and North Africa in Modern Times, which also includes a CD he compiled for the publication (Columbia University Press, 2003). In the spring of 2001, Dr. Kligman was Research Fellow & Visiting Professor at the Center for Judaic Studies, University of Pennsylvania. He lives with his family in Highland Park, NJ.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2004, 8 PM
THE COLUMBIA KLEZMER BAND AND THE STRAUSS/WARSCHAUER DUO: Concert and Dance Party
Join us for an evening of traditional and original klezmer music and Yiddish songs, followed by dance instruction and a dance party.
The Columbia Klezmer Band is a group of talented musicians from Columbia University who have come together to study and perform traditional klezmer music. Founded in 2000, the Columbia Klezmer Band has performed in many cities throughout the Northeast, in venues ranging from Columbia?s Rennert Hall to Rockefeller Center?s Rainbow Room. The CKB has performed for concerts, festivals, dance parties, fundraisers, and other celebrations.