Mark your calendars for a weekend of Yiddish music & dance at TBH: March 27th, 28th and 29th

You are welcome to attend all, or just parts, of the programming. Please note each event has separate registration.

Read about the artists here>>

Friday, 3/27 | 6:30 pm: 

Shabbat Salon with Christina Crowder | REGISTRATION REQUIRED FOR DINNER

Shabbat Salon featuring Christina Crowder, the Executive Director of The Klezmer Institute, musician, scholar and teacher. She will present Telegrams to the Future: Niggunim of Dvekut & Joy from Ukrainian Kelsmorim.  A chance encounter in Tokyo a few years ago led to the unlikely release of thousands of unique musical manuscripts in a Kyiv archive previously unavailable to contemporary klezmer musicians and scholars. The Kiselgof-Makonovetsky Digital Manuscript Project (KMDMP) is an international digital humanities project connecting participants with the work of important klezmer musicians from late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. You’ll hear a little about KMDMP this evening, but like Jewish practice, this project is a participatory endeavor.  A nign is a wordless melody invested with spiritual intention—elevated by those who sing them. Read more>>

Saturday, 3/28 | 4-6 pm: 

Instrumental Workshop for Musicians: The Inner Secrets of Klezmer Dance Tunes | REGISTRATION

Like most traditional musics, the “klezmer” in klezmer music isn’t the notes on the page, it’s what’s between your ears. Whether you’re familiar with klezmer or new to the genre, this workshop will take a deep dive into tunes from the heart of klezmer repertoire—freylekhs, khosidl, and bulgar—to find the Jewishness “embedded" in the tunes. We will explore the distinctive elements of klezmer style through phrasing, ornamentation, elaboration, and creating groovy dance textures, along with a conversation about “rhetoric” in certain kinds of tunes that resonate with Jewish philosophy. All instruments welcome, charts provided as needed. 

Sunday 3/29 | 3-4:30 (workshop) & 6 pm (concert): 

3 pm: Yiddish Dance Workshop | REGISTRATION

Yiddish dance is a living, embodied cultural practice long marginalized and often misunderstood. In this workshop, we’ll explore the dynamic exchange between klezmer music and dance, foundational movement vocabulary, the expressive use of rhythm and tension, and cultivating safety and consent in communal dance spaces. This workshop will prepare you to dance even harder at your next klezmer night out, with your ancestors at your back.

No dance experience needed! Dancers of all kinds, dance-curious non-dancers, simkhe celebrants, and musicians will all benefit from this workshop. 

6pm: Concert & Tantshoyz  with Christina & The Zamlers | ADVANCE REGISTRATION HERE 

Join Christina and the Zamlers (Christina Crowder, Mae Kessler, Jimmy Austin) for a concert and tantshoyz (dance party), with dancing led by Maia Brown. Come ready to move to lively freylekhs and bulgars, lift your voice in soulful niggunim (wordless melodies), or simply sit back and savor the music. Dancers and listeners of all ages and abilities are welcome! Door sales will be available in addition to advance tickets.

Please contact Mae Kessler with questions: maekessler@gmail.com

A Weekend of Yidish Music is presented with support from the Yiddish Book Center's Yiddish arts and Culture Initiative for Jewish Communities, funded by Debbie Mitzner and Wayne Miller in memory of Iris Mitzner.