Fishel Bresler’s Klezmer & Hassidic Ensemble will perform their 18th
annual concert on Wednesday December 24th – 7:30 PM at
Congregation Ohawe Shalom Coffee House
Pawtucket RI
671 East Ave in Pawtucket (corner of Glenwood, nr where Blackstone meets
Hope St)
Doors open 7:00PM $10 adults, $7 children (under B-Mitzvah).
Special sponsor seating in the front rows $18 per seat
Funded in part by a grant from the RI State Council on the Arts
In honor of Chanukah, Latkes will be on sale, along with other snacks &
beverages.
For questions 401 273-9814
photo credit Irving Schild
ABOUT THE MUSICIANS
Fishel (Michael) Bresler (clarinet, flute, mandolin, harmonica) has studied
Klezmer clarinet and mandolin with the contemporary master, Andy Statman,
over the course of more than a decade. This study was partially supported
by grants from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts and the New
England Foundation for the Arts. Besides the recent Folk Arts Fellowship,
Mr. Bresler has also served as a Master Artist in three Klezmer
apprenticeships, from RISCA & NEFA. In 1997 he replaced an ailing Andy
Statman on the first half of a national tour with noted mandolinist David
Grisman. In addition to performing, he currently does therapeutic music with
multiply-handicapped children, and teaches music to both children & adults.
Shelley Katsh, MSW, (keyboard, accordion) is a Certified Music Therapist
and social worker, currently on the staff of Jewish Family Service. She has
played and sung with the famed Zamir Chorale, coauthored the book, The
Music Within You, and has been the musical director of the Jewish Theater
Ensemble, as well as Temple Emanuel’s theater productions.
Bob Rakalam Moses (drums, percussion) has been described by jazz critic
Nat Hentoff as ” one of the grander imaginations in America’s true classical
music.” Percussionist Bob Moses has played with Charles Mingus, Rahsaan
Roland Kirk, Erik Dolphy, Gary Burton & Larry Coryell, among others, in the
course of a colorful 35-year career. He is currently on the faculty of the
New England Conservatory of Music.
This year Bresler’s music is funded in part by a *grant from the RI State
Council on the Arts*; he was awarded their Folk Arts Fellowship Grant for
2008-2009. RISCA describes their fellowships as “highly competitive grants
that encourage the creative development of artists by enabling them to set
aside time to pursue their work and achieve specific career goals.”
Fishel & his wife, who is his partner in the managing of his music, hope to
use these funds to complete a CD.
For years Bresler has been collecting Jewish tunes passed down through
families for generations, which are shared with him on visits to Brooklyn’s
religious communities. Now he hopes to be able to share them by CD & Mp3,
as well as in concert.
One thing that makes Bresler’s music unusual in the world of the klezmer
revival, is his daily involvement in traditional Judaism as a spiritual
path, which is the the original source of the music. He seeks to bring out
the mystical depths in the melodies in each of his performances.