As war rages on in one of the cradles of Yiddish culture, we join together to sing the songs and tell the stories of our shared homeland. Tales of forbidden loves, boy soldiers, the wonders of nature and looming danger, these songs of past centuries have rarely been more tragically relevant. Ukraine is a heartland of Yiddish music and the the source of our most important collections of old-time klezmer tunes.
In this program, three of the world’s most in-demand Klezmer musicians and Yiddish singers bring this diverse repertoire together with our own new songs and tunes to paint a picture of Jewish life in Ukraine then and now, and stand in solidarity with our friends fighting for their freedom.
Michael Alpert is one of the best-known contemporary Yiddish culture bearers and a leader of the international revitalization of Yiddish music and dance since the 1970’s. A US National Heritage Fellow known for his work with Brave Old World, Kapelye, Itzhak Perlman and many others, he is joined by two of the driving forces in the vibrant Berlin klezmer scene and far beyond - celebrated Latvian singer Sasha Lurje and American violinist, composer and arranger Craig Judelman.
After teaching and performing together at Yiddish culture festivals and workshops around the world, from Lviv to São Paulo, Kraków, Montreal, New York and beyond, the three of them launched this new trio in 2020 but Covid quickly got in the way. Now they join together in the midst of another tragedy, embarking on a rare West Coast tour to raise money for Ukraine and stand in solidarity with friends and loved ones under the clouds of war and working for a brighter day. Join us at the beautiful Downtown Los Angeles Der Nister space to welcome this incredible trio.
About the Musicians:
Michael Alpert has been a transformative figure in the renaissance of East European Jewish klezmer music and Yiddish culture since the 1970s, and is a National Heritage Fellow of the United States – the nation’s highest honor in the traditional and heritage arts. Multi-instrumentalist, singer, ethnographer, scholar and educator, he is internationally known for award-winning performances and recordings with Brave Old World, Itzhak Perlman, Andy Statman, Daniel Kahn, Socalled and many others. A native Yiddish speaker and bridge to pre-WWI East European Jewish musicians, Alpert is a foremost traditional Yiddish singer and composer of new Yiddish songs but also renowned as a dancer, fiddler, guitarist and much more. With broad knowledge of the musics and languages of Europe and the Americas, he has been both instrumental and vocal in transmitting East European Jewish culture to new generations. Alpert was Musical Director of the Emmy-winning PBS Great Performances special Itzhak Perlman: In the Fiddler's House and is featured in film and media worldwide. He is translator and co-editor of Soviet Jewish ethnomusicologist Moyshe Beregovsky’s Jewish Instrumental Folk Music, and his own fieldwork recordings reside at the US Library of Congress. Hailing from both California and New England, he is now tri-coastal, at home on the coast of Scotland with literary scholar Emily Finer and two mist-shrouded cats.
Sasha Lurje was born in Riga Latvia, and when a friend invited her to join a youth theater focusing on Yiddish work, she didn’t realize how her life path had suddenly shifted. Receiving early mentorship by many of the giants of the Yiddish music revival at several festivals in the former Soviet Union and Yiddish Summer Weimar in Germany propelled her to the forefront of the contemporary Yiddish scene. It wasn’t long before she was joining her heroes on stage, and teaching hundreds of singers herself, making it her life’s work to spread Yiddish culture. Besides being a mainstay at many of the major festivals and workshops for Yiddish music, she performs in the highly renowned Semer Ensemble and her Yiddish progressive rock band Forshpil has made it clear to the next generation that this music isn’t just a delicate relic that belongs in a museum, but is rather a living cultural treasure trove ready to adapt and evolve as far as we will let it.
Craig Judelman grew up in Seattle and since the age of four, was never more comfortable than when he had a fiddle in his hand. He started with classical music but was quickly drawn to traditional folk cultures, studying Klezmer, Jazz, American and other folk music wherever he could. His passion for engaging with the sounds in old recordings and adapting to what the moment demands has led him around the world, performing and teaching klezmer and old time American folk music on both sides of the Atlantic. Highlights of his recordings include ‘Have Moicy 2’ featuring Peter Stampfel (The Fugs) and other members of the Holy Modal Rounders, and the album ‘Old Man Below’ featuring his now defunct old time string band ‘The Dust Busters’ and their mentor John Cohen (The New Lost City Ramblers) which was released on the Smithsonian Folkways label in 2012. His current bands include an old time string band called ‘Interstate Express’, klezmer trio ‘Lebedik’ with Sasha Lurje, and Sklamberg, Lurje, Judelman Trio with Ms. Lurje and the Klezmatic’s Lorin Sklamberg.