Yiddish Life through Music: Love, Tragedy, Humor, and Joy in Yiddish Folk Song!

In this class on Yiddish Folk Music, we will explore the cultural and emotional lives of Ashkenazic Jews through the lens of archival folksong. Through historic recordings of singers and instrumentalists, the class will examine the melodies, texts, and underlining themes of select songs that pull back a curtain to the into the lives of Eastern European Jews and the language they speak. No ability to read music is necessary (but it wouldn’t hurt!).

Leybl Duvid (Derek David) is a composer, conductor, and music educator based in Boston, MA. He is the music director of A Besere Velt - אַ בעסערע װעלט, one of few choruses in the world dedicated to the preservation and commissioning of Yiddish choral repertoire. With A Besere Velt, Leybl has collaborated with such artists as Daniel Kahn, Lorin Sklamberg, Polina Sheppard, Anthony Russel, Frank London, Hankus Netzky and Judy Bressler. Having initially spoken Yiddish as a child with his grandmother, he studied Yiddish with the Boston and New York Workers Circle and the Institute for Jewish Research (YIVO) in their summer immersion program. Speaking frequently in academic and community settings, Leybl was recently a subject of the Yiddish Book Center’s Wexler Oral History Project, and had the distinct honor of delivering a lecture in Yiddish on his life as a Yiddishst and composer at the Sorbonne Université in the spring of 2024. He has studied Jewish Music with Hankus Netzkey and Yiddish Folk singing with Ethel Raim, where his ethnographic research of field recordings has led him to sing performances of the Yiddish folksong repertoire. Leybl has been on Faculty at Yiddish New York and will be a Teaching Fellow at KlezKandada this coming summer.

A classical composer by training, his music –much of which incorporates Yiddish folksongs, Klezmer, and Jewish themes– has been featured in settings as disparate as the LA Philharmonic’s Noon to Midnight Festival and the Boston Festival for New Jewish Music. He has been commissioned by Juventas Ensemble, Verona Quartet, Del Sol String Quartet & clarinetist Nicholas Davies, violist Jesse Morrison, and SAKURA Cello Quintet. He is currently Lecturer in Music at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Who are these classes for?

Our classes are for everyone—whether you’re brand new to the topic or have been engaging with it for years, we encourage participation from people of all backgrounds, identities, and experience levels. Unless otherwise noted, no prior knowledge or experience is needed. Not sure if a class is for you? Email us at Learning@Lehr.haus!

Why are there tickets at different prices?

Our tickets utilize a Pay-What-You-Can model so attendees can pay a range of prices based on what they are able to pay to allow for greater accessibility. Please select the price point that feels right for you.

Can I eat during class?

While we do not serve food in the study, you are welcome to order and enjoy drinks during class and join us for a meal before or after class. We highly recommend making a reservation if you know you'll be dining with us. Visit www.lehr.haus/reservation to check availability and book a table.