–Boston–
Shed those winter blues at a lively concert on the first day of spring, Sunday, March 20, 2:30 P.M. at the intimate concert space at the Zeitgeist Gallery, 1353 Cambridge St. in Inman Square, Cambridge, MA (617-876-6060)
In a double bill of dynamic klezmer music and Yiddish song, two
up-and-coming groups will present material from their new CDs.
Di bostoner klezmer is the dynamic trio which plays rarely-heard and newly composed music, including a suite for melodica written by Brian Bender. Their accordionist, Christina Crowder is a former member of the world-famous di naye kapelye. Hankus (Klezmer Conservatory Band) Netsky says the group “breathes new life into traditional, old-country klezmer!”
The acclaimed duo Kaplan and Rushefsky bring to life rarely heard gems of traditional and original Yiddish song accompanied by the tsimbl and balaban. Rushefsky has played and recorded with some of the leading lights of the klezmer revival including Alicia Svigls, Joel Rubin, and Steve Greenman.
Suggested admission is $8/$5 for seniors and kids. For more information, see www.zeitgeist-gallery.org. For sound samples of dbk go to
www.yiddishmusic.com; for K & R go to http://cdbaby.com/cd/rushefsky.
The gallery can be reached by busses #69, 91, & 83 from Harvard
Sq/Lechmere, Sullivan Station/Central Square, and Central Square/N.
Cambridge respectively.
Artists bios are:
Christina Crowder, started playing accordion in college at the behest of her Finnish grandmother, throwing many years of classical piano lessons out the window. After being swept off her feet by an exuberant Hungarian Czardas in 1990, she lived in eastern Europe for almost10 years performing with the world-renowned Budapest-based klezmer ensemble Di Naye Kapelye, and spent two years doing field work on contemporary and archival Jewish music in Romania as a Fulbright scholar from 1999-2001.
Brian Bender, trombone, keyboard, melodica, composer, has performed klezmer
music at Carnegie Hall, the Presidential Inauguration of Bill Clinton, and in Israel, Alaska and Egypt. A graduate of New England Conservatory of Music, former instructor at KlezKamp, and a much-sought-after performer, Brian heads his own jazz band and plays regularly with world music, Celtic, contradance and Dixieland bands.
Rebecca Kaplan (voacals, piano, buben/drum) has created a vibrant performance style for Yiddish folk song. She holds degrees in music from the University of Rochester and Indian University and has performed with many klezmer bands.
Pete Rushefsky is a leading revivalist of the tsimbl, or Jewish hammered dulcimer. He performs and records with some of the finest practitioners of traditional klezmer music. A popular instructor at KlezKamp and KlezKanada including Joel Rubin, Alicia Svigls, and Steven Greenman
Dena Ressler, clarinet & bandleader is an instructor at KlezKamp, and has taught at the summer Klezmer Institute at the New England Conservatory of Music, and a seminar about klezmer history.