Official U.Va. Klezmer Ensemble webpage
The UVA Klezmer Ensemble is made up of both undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, alumni and other members of the greater Charlottesville community, and is dedicated to exploring klezmer and other Jewish musical traditions from the 18th century to the present. Now in its fifth year, the UVA Klezmer Ensemble has rapidly become a vital part of the musical community of Central and Northern Virginia. Besides performing in Old Cabell Hall, recent appearances have included the College of William and Mary, Gravity Lounge, the 214 Community Arts Center (former Prism Coffeehouse), WeArts Festival (McGuffey Arts Center), New Bridges (Harrisonburg), Congregation Beth Israel, Chabad of UVA, the Charlottesville Festival of Cultures and the Jewish Community Council (Lynchburg).
The Klezmer Ensemble at UVA performs at the end of each semester. Each semester the ensemble is coached by and plays together with a renowned guest artist. Recent guests have included the Kálmán Balogh/Ferenc Kovács Duo, violinist, Alicia Svigals, co-founder of the Grammy-winning Klezmatics, trumpeter Susan Watts (Mikveh, Klez Dispensers), trombonist Dan Blacksberg (Dan Kahn’s Painted Bird, The Other Europeans, Michael Winograd Ensemble), and klezmer hip-hop artist Socalled (Abraham, Inc., Beyond the Pale, David Krakauer’s Klezmer Madness!).
Programs vary from semester to semester. The ensemble’s guest in Fall 2010 will be composer-clarinetist Michael Winograd, who will be in residency from Nov. 7-11, culminating in a performance of his music with the UVA Klezmer Ensemble on Thurs., Nov. 11 at 8 pm in Old Cabell Hall Auditorium. Winograd is perhaps the leading voice of the younger generation of performers and composers within klezmer, Yiddish and “New Jewish Music.” Besides his own groups (Michael Winograd Klezmer Ensemble, Infection), he performs regularly with Socalled, Yiddish cabarettist Daniel Kahn, Frank London’s Klezmer Brass All-stars, Budowitz, percussionist Kenny Wollesen, singer Ayelet Gottleib, and Shtreiml, among others.
