Scroll down for information and links to purchase tickets for YNY’s Online Evening/Special Events, curated by Frank London & Michael Winograd. Please check back again soon as we continue to add great programs! Entry to all YNY events are included in Full Festival Registrations. All times listed are Eastern Standard Time.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2
*SPECIAL PRE-YNY EVENT*
12:30PM – Launch Party for Inside the Yiddish Folksong
Free online event – check back for information about how to participate!
Join us as we celebrate the launch of a new website, Inside the Yiddish Folksong, which will create a home for research and pedagogy on the Yiddish folksong tradition. Directed by ethnomusicologist Mark Slobin, the website includes extensive new writings and videos by Walter Zev Feldman, Itzik Gottesman, Ethel Raim and Josh Waletzky that shine a light on one of the most understudied Yiddish art forms.
Presented in partnership with the Center for Traditional Music and Dance’s An-sky Institute for Yiddish Culture
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20
*SPECIAL PRE-YNY EVENT*
12:00 Noon – Fieldwork in Focus: A Roundtable on Research Into East European Jewish Music
For information on registering for this online event and other great programs presented by the Klezmer Institute, click here.
Join the Klezmer Institute’s Christina Crowder for a roundtable discussion with the people who have conducted some of the most important field work in Jewish music in central and eastern Europe in the late twentieth century. Tune in live to ask your own questions, and to participate in an intimate conversation about research with minority populations behind the Iron Curtain, personal reflections, and stories about working with key informants. Featuring Walter Zev Feldman, Judit Frygesi, Christian Dawid, Speranța Rădulescu (pictured right) and Vasile Chiseliță.
SATURDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 26
7:00PM Zingeray
8:00PM Featured Concert – YNY Fidls!
9:30PM Get in Line! Late Night Dance Party
Admission included in Full Festival Pass. Others may purchase a Saturday Evening Pass ($20) by clicking here.
YNY 2020 officially kicks off with an exciting evening of programs! First at 7:00PM, join Yiddish singer Sarah Gordon in a traditional Zingeray (Yiddish sing-a-long). There will be a song for everyone, and we’ll provide you with the lyrics.
At 8:00PM, our Featured Concert is YNY Fidls!, a celebration of the klezmer violin, and we are thrilled to partner this year with the Museum of Jewish Heritage in presenting nightly live-streamed concerts from the museum’s Safra Hall. YNY Fidls! features many of NYC’s celebrated klezmer violinists. Performers include Deborah Strauss, Lisa Gutkin, Zoe Aqua, Jake Shulman-Ment and Keryn Kleiman (violins) along with Pete Rushefsky (tsimbl) Christina Crowder (accordion) and Brano Brinarsky (bass).
The evening closes at 9:30PM with Get in Line! YNY’s Late Night Dance Party. In case you’re hungry for the backstory… in the mid 1980’s, world renowned line-dance instructor Jill Gellerman opened up the short lived underground line-dance club Gellerman’s, in the heart of Forrest Hills. While it only lasted a couple of months, tales of hours long epic choreographed parties are legendary. Join Jill Gellerman and Philadelphia’s DJ Danny B. for a night of virtual line-dancing, and digital euphoria!
Presented in partnership with the Museum of Jewish Heritage.
SUNDAY LUNCHTIME CONCERT, DECEMBER 27
12:30PM-1:30PM Cookie Segelstein & Josh Horowitz (USA)
Admission included in Full Festival Pass and Sunday Full Day Pass. Others can purchase a ticket by clicking here ($10).
Cookie Segelstein and Josh Horowitz are founders of Veretski Pass, named for the Carpathian mountain pass where Cookie’s father was born– much of the music for this program comes from this region.
This Berkeley-based veteran duo plays a mix of pre-WWII klezmer, along with traditional melodies from Ukraine, Carpathian-Ruthenia, Bessarabia, Poland, Romania and the Ottoman Empire seamlessly integrated into original compositions. Much of this rare music has been gleaned from field recordings gathered by the musicians in numerous trips throughout Europe, as well as from family members.
SUNDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 27
7:00PM Zingeray
8:00PM Ninth Annual Adrienne Cooper Dreaming in Yiddish Concert & Award
9:30PM Yiddish Karaoke Bar
Included in Full Festival Pass and Sunday Day Pass. Others may purchase a Sunday Evening Pass ($20) by clicking here.
For the second night of Yiddish New York, we’ll start out with a Zingeray at 7:00PM, which we think is a fine way to warm up your vocal cords, because at 8:00PM you’ll be cheering for the 9th Annual Adrienne Cooper Dreaming in Yiddish Memorial Concert & Award, always the highlight of YNY.
This year’s Adrienne Cooper Dreaming in Yiddish Award honors Shane Baker, “one of the most prominent proponents of Yiddish theater, language and culture in New York” (NY Times). In addition to the award ceremony, the program features an outlandish original Yiddish theatre performance by Baker and frequent conspirator Miryem-Khaye Seigel, and a screening of rare footage of legendary singer Adrienne Cooper’s performances from festivals all over the world.
Then at 9:30PM – while we can’t be together in person this time around, fear not! Your outlet for performing Yiddish songs to a non-biased, judgement-free audience, while accompanied by tasteful synthesized backing tracks awaits. Hosted by the King of Ocean Parkway himself, Zisl Slepovitch, this virtual edition of YNY’s Yiddish Karaoke Bar is open to performers and audience alike. See the song choices, find out how it all works, and sign up to perform at this link.
Presented in partnership with the Adrienne Cooper Dreaming in Yiddish Committee, GOH Productions and the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Image by Eric Drooker.
MONDAY LUNCHTIME CONCERT, DECEMBER 28
12:30PM-1:30PM Vira Lozinsky (Israel/Moldova)
Admission included in Full Festival Registration and Monday Day Pass. Others can purchase a ticket by clicking here ($10).
Vira Lozinsky (voice) is widely regarded as one of the greatest living exponents of Yiddish song. Born in Moldova, she grew up around the Yiddish theater, and after moving to Israel, became a protege of the great Yiddish singer Nechama Lifshitz.
Vira’s repertoire includes new songs as well as Yiddish folk songs, songs of Bessarabian, Romanian, and Polish Jewish poets, and songs of classical and modern Yiddish poets. Vira will be accompanied by Alla Dantsig, a multifaceted pianist, improviser and arranger.
MONDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 28
7:00PM Zingeray
8:00PM Featured Concert – From the Black Sea to Brighton Beach: Ukraine in NYC
9:30PM Poetry
Included in Full Festival Registration and Monday Day Pass. Others may purchase a Monday Evening Pass ($20) by clicking here.
Monday evening starts off with a 7:00PM community Zingeray. Then at 8:00PM, join us for From the Black Sea to Brighton Beach: Ukraine in NYC, a showcase of the diverse cultures of Ukraine – Jewish, Christian and Muslim – that are resident in New York.
The Ukraine in NYC concert features Zhenya Lopatnik (pictured), a celebrated vocalist/composer of Yiddish and Ukrainian songs, Nariman Asanov (violin) and Rustem Faizov (trumpet) of the spectacular NY Crimean Tatar Ensemble, Carpathian woodwind virtuoso Andriy Milavsky (clarinet/flutes), Ilya Shneyveys (accordion), Brano Brinarsky (bass), Pete Rushefsky (tsimbl) and other leading musicians of Ukrainian & Ukrainian-Jewish origins.
Into the evening’s wee hours, join us and join in Poetry (9:30PM) for a late night of words. Come to hear or recite poems, stories, plays or written pieces. Everything with a Yiddish tam (flavor) is welcome- no matter the language! The evening’s festivities will be hosted by author and poet (and Executive Director of KlezKanada) Sebastian Schulman. Sign up beforehand to read something.
Presented in partnership with the Museum of Jewish Heritage.
TUESDAY LUNCHTIME CONCERT, DECEMBER 29
12:30PM-1:30PM Fran & Flora (UK)
Admission included in Full Festival Registration and Monday Day Pass. Others can purchase a ticket by clicking here ($10).
Described as ‘a string duo bound for glory’ by Max Reinhardt (BBC Radio 3 Late Junction), London’s Fran & Flora (Francesca Ter-Berg and Flora Curzon) are quickly becoming one of the capital’s most sought-after bands. A duo with a distinctive improvisatory style and ethereal aesthetic, they draw inspiration for their material from their travels and mentors in eastern Europe and beyond.
The overwhelming response they received from releasing their debut album, Unfurl, has accelerated their growing reputation across the UK, gaining widespread critical acclaim with attention from national radio, magazines, newspapers and many online publications. They have appeared live in session on BBC 4’s Woman’s Hour, Radio 3’s In Tune, Cerys Matthews’ 6 Music show, Soho Radio and Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide FM; the duo has additionally been featured at venues such as Kings Place, The Vortex, Cafe Oto, Eastbourne Folk Club, Klezmer In The Park, Shambala Festival, Shtetl Neukeulln (Berlin), Corsica Studios and the EFG London Jazz Festivaland were selected by BBC Music Introducing to perform on a live BBC broadcast from Latitude Festival.
TUESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 29
7:00PM Zingeray
8:00PM Featured Concert – The Nigunim Trio (Frank London, Lorin Sklamberg & Rob Schwimmer)
9:30PM The Great Late Night Cabaret
Included in Full Festival YNY Registration and the Tuesday Day Pass. Others may purchase a Tuesday Evening Pass ($20) by clicking here.
After our final evening Zingeray (7:00PM), YNY 2020’s evening programs are capped off by a special performance by the Nigunim Trio at 8:00PM.
Yiddish singer extraordinaire Lorin Sklamberg and trumpeter Frank London – both of The Klezmatics – are joined by piano and theremin genius Rob Schwimmer in a program of Yiddish Hasidic spiritual songs. The Nigunim Trio has performed internationally and the concert will draw from their recordings Nigunim, The Zmiros Project; and Tsuker-zis (Sugar Sweet).
Finally, at 9:30PM, rehashing their roles as hosts of KlezKanada’s late night cabaret, join Shane Baker and Rachel Weston for…. Yiddish New York’s Great Late Night Cabaret! Jugglers, whistlers, speed-crocheters and performers of all types are encouraged to “strut their stuff” for all the world to see. Developing a new skill? Have a hidden talent? Play the harmonica? Sign up for the late night cabaret and who knows? Superstardom could be in your future. But you’ll never know, unless you sign up!
Presented in partnership with the Museum of Jewish Heritage.
WEDNESDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 30
8:30AM-12:30PM YNY Symposium: Legacies of Russian-Jewish Musical Ethnography
Admission included in Full Festival Registration and Wednesday Day Pass. Others can purchase a ticket by clicking here ($15).
YNY’s 2020 Symposium celebrates and critiques the continuing influence of early-mid 20th century Russian-Jewish musicologists on contemporary scholarship and Yiddish musical practice.
Beginning with the celebrated An-sky Expedition (1911-1914), folklorists such as Joel Engel, Zinovy Kiselgof, Sophia Magid and Moshe Bereogvski investigated a music culture that encompassed folk songs, instrumental klezmer music, Hasidic music, chidren’s songs, Purim shpils, and liturgical and paraliturgical songs. The work of these zamlers (collectors) in making audio recordings, transcribing music, archiving the manuscripts of informants, and documenting musical practices in Ukraine and Belarussia did not simply preserve repertoire. Rather, these efforts safeguarded for future generations entire artistic genres and critical contextual information that was on the verge of being lost through modernization and the ravages and migrations of the 20th century. Today, their writings are key sources for Yiddish musical scholarship and the music they collected is performed and cherished by Yiddish musicians around the globe.
The symposium will be hosted by ethnomusicologist Mark Slobin (Wesleyan Emeritus), and feature leading contemporary scholars and musicians. Confirmed speakers: Eleonore Biezunski, Clara Byom, Ilana Cravitz, Christina Crowder, Walter Zev Feldman, Steven Greenman, Craig Judelman, James Loeffler, Mariko Mishiro, Anna Rodgers, Joel Rubin, Pete Rushefsky, Lyudmila Sholokhova, Zisl Slepovitch, Alicia Svigals, and Alex Weiser.
The Symposium will be hosted by the distinguished ethnomusicologist Mark Slobin (Wesleyan Emeritus), and feature panel discussions with leading scholars and musicians whose work carries on these rich intellectual and artistic legacies.
Symposium Schedule (subject to change)
8:30am – 9:15am – Panel on Scholarly Legacy with Walter Zev Feldman & Lyudmila Sholokhova
9:20 – 10:05 – Pandemic Online Highlights with Ilana Cravitz, Craig Judelman, and Eleonore Biezunski
10:10 – 10:55 – Kiselgof-Makonovetsky Digital Manuscript Project with Christina Crowder, Walter Zev Feldman, Lyudmila Sholokhova, Anna Rogers, Mariko Mishiro, and the KMDMP Project Team
11:00 – 11:25 – Influence on Classical Music with Jim Loeffler & Alex Weiser
11:30 – 12:30 – Panel on Artistic Legacy with Steve Greenman, Joel Rubin, D. Zisl Slepovitch & Alicia Svigals (moderated by Craig Judelman)
WEDNESDAY LUNCHTIME CONCERT, DEC 30
12:30PM-1:30PM Sveta Kundish & Patrick Farrell (Germany/USA/Israel/Ukraine)
Admission included in Full Festival Registration and Wednesday Day Pass. Others can purchase a ticket by clicking here ($10).
A special performance by the Berlin-based duo of Sveta Kundish (vocals) and Patrick Farrell (accordion/piano).
Avant-garde & strikingly new, or simple & traditonal, pianist/accordionist Farrell’s compositions & reworking of traditional melodies are given life with the scintillating vocalist Sveta Kundish, who is making history as the first female cantor in Lower Saxony, Germany. The duo’s songs portray intimate and emotional inner realms of love, longing, motherhood, joy, and loss. Kundish and Farrell warmly invite audiences into this poetic musical world they have been creating together since 2013. The combination of rigorous and subtle precision, flights of virtuosity, and emotional presence they bring to the stage make their performances thrilling and satisfying experiences.
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, DECEMBER 30
2:00PM – 4:30PM The Great Yiddish Culture Crawl!!!
Admission included in Full Festival Registration and Wednesday Day Pass. Others can purchase a ticket by clicking here ($10).
Cap off your YNY 2020 experience with The Great Yiddish Culture Crawl!!! There’s something for everyone – just pick a room!
In this final event we will make use of a new Zoom feature, “self-selected breakout rooms.” In other words, you get to choose from a menu of breakout rooms. Behind every door there will be great program, and you’ll get a taste of the rich offerings of the past 5 days. Stay tuned as we will be providing a menu of programs/breakout rooms soon!
Note: In order to to use the “self-selected breakout rooms” feature, you must upgrade to Zoom 5.3.0 or later. We advise you to use a laptop or desktop computer rather than a Chromebook or a smart phone (and we’re not sure about tablets)– though even without a laptop/desktop you should be able to access the main room.