The Boston Festival of New Jewish is delighted to join the Boston Klezmer Jam for a special pre-concert workshop with Klezmatics vocalist/accordionist Lorin Sklamberg and Berlin-based violinist and leader of The Golden Thread Septet Craig Judelman.

The workshop with Lorin and Craig will be followed by a jam session led by Rebecca Mac and special guest Dmitri Gaskin. After the workshop and jam, please join us at the Multicultural Arts Center for The Golden Thread Septet!

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Designed for instrumentalists and vocalists of all levels, the workshop will have two parts. First we’ll meet all together and learn/sing a Nign (hasidic melody, often without words) all together. We’ll explore a bit of traditional style and how to make it our own while fitting in the group. In the second, longer part of the workshop we will split into two groups.

Vocalists will get the distinct pleasure of working with Lorin Sklamberg, who will share some of the inspirational material from the Golden Thread Septet’s concert program, illustrated with historical information and vintage recordings. Texts, transliterations and translations will be provided and all are welcome regardless of experience, familiarity with Yiddish, or vocal training.

Instrumentalists will join Craig Judelman and dive deep into all the things we do with the notes to make a klezmer melody tell a story. From generating variations to expressive phrasing, ornaments, accents, articulations and more, this workshop will help classical players get off the page, and even for those experienced in playing klezmer it is sure to spark some new ways of approaching tunes and opening up performance to be both groovy and eloquent! All instrumentalists are welcome to this workshop, though people without basic proficiency on their instrument may end up doing more listening than playing.

About the artists:

Lorin Sklamberg grew up in LA where he was introduced to Balkan, Jewish and other music at a young age. He was already performing as a teenager, but it wasn’t until moving to New York in the mid 80’s that he founded The Klezmatics and really found his voice and claimed his place as the most recognizable and influential voice in Yiddish music. Since then he has earned a Grammy for his work with the Klezmatics while also composing and collaborating numerous other projects, working with such luminaries as Chava Alberstein and Susan McKeown. When he’s not on stage he can be found digging for treasures at the YIVO center in New York where he works as the head archivist.

Craig Judelman (US/DE) is highly regarded as a fiddler, composer and educator on both sides of the Atlantic. He began playing klezmer in the 90s, and over the years, through his background in classical music, jazz, and American folk music, combined with intense study of Yiddish music and history, developed a unique perspective on Ashkenazi fiddling. Since moving to Berlin in 2017, Craig has developed a singular voice in the klezmer scene, recording and performing with the genre’s leading musicians including Michael Alpert, with whom he released the highly acclaimed duo album In Der Heym in 2023. Devoted not just to playing music but also to researching culture, organizing events and building bridges with other European traditions, Craig is a core organizer of Shtetl Berlin and co-founder of Seattle Yiddish Fest.

Contact the host of Boston Klezmer Jam workshop with Lorin and Craig!