A chance encounter in Tokyo in 2017 led to the sharing of a unique corpus of klezmer music manuscripts from the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine that haven’t seen the light of day in about a century. Over the last five years, volunteers around the world have worked together to digitally notate and translate these manuscripts. This concert is an adventure in creative engagement with this previously unknown treasure trove of Ashkenazic musical heritage. 

The program is co-created by Christina Crowder in collaboration with Shpilkis trombonist Jimmy Austin, Violinist Mae Kessler, and additional featured guests from the Seattle klezmer world. Together we’re exploring S. An-ski’s radical vision that the folklore of the Jewish people is an oral Torah as important as the Talmud of the sages, which inspired his ethnographic expeditions between  1912-1914 and created the backdrop for An-ski’s most famous work, The Dybbuk. An-ski hoped that the Jewish people would become Zamlers (collectors) who would continue to engage with Ashkenazic folklore as a living, breathing legacy. We invite you to join our “community expedition” into this extraordinary discovery!  

Pre-Sales have ended. Door Sales will be available!