Join us for the 6th Annual Humboldt Jewish Music And Culture Festival. Presenting music of the Jewish-Ukrainian Heartland: Ukraine is one of the main heartlands of Yiddish culture, a large and diverse land where Ashkenazi culture thrived and developed with influences from Ukrainian, Polish, Greco-Ottoman, Tater, Hutsul and other cultures. The land that gave us Sholem Aleichem, Isaac Babel, the Baal Shem Tov and more also gave us an incredibly diverse repertoire of songs, from secular to religious, folk to theater and the rich underworld songs of Odessa as well as some of the most important collections of klezmer dance tunes. This year our featured guests will center music and dance from this rich and troubled land in their workshops and concert, giving the community an opportunity to immerse ourselves in this beautiful corner of ‘Yiddishland’.

Schedule Of Events

11:00 AM-12:30 PM : Workshop 6: A Life in Yiddish Music - Michael & Craig share how they became professional international Klezmer musicians and how they envision the future of Klezmer music.

Michael Alpert grew up in California in the 1960’s. These two experiences appear as divergent as possible and yet both entered their 20’s with a strong interest in Yiddish culture and folklore, a deep connection to diverse Slavic cultures, and an array of background knowledge that helped them understand and synthesize the music they became obsessed with. This workshop will give these two beloved Yiddish singers a chance to tell their own stories, how they came to Yiddish, who their important teachers and mentors were. They will give a picture of the very different cultural, economic and social environments that nurtured them, perspectives on Judaism and Yiddishkayt they encountered, and important revelations or understandings they gained along the way. Moderated by Craig Judelman, they will do their best to leave an opportunity for questions at the end of the session or after the concert. Don’t miss this rare chance to go behind the scenes with these international stars of the Yiddish music world!

2:00 - 3:30 PM : Concert, followed by 30-minute talk with musicians: Songs of the Jewish Ukrainian Heartland, with Michael Alpert & Craig Judelman

As war rages on in one of the cradles of Yiddish culture, we join together to sing 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 source of many 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 their own new songs and tunes to paint a picture of Jewish life in Ukraine then and now, and stand in solidarity with friends and colleagues who are currently fighting for their freedom.

Michael Alpert is one of the best-known contemporary Yiddish culture-bearers and has been at the forefront of the international revitalization of Yiddish music and dance since the 1970’s. A National Heritage Fellow known for his work with Brave Old World, Kapelye, and Itzhak Perlman among others, he is joined by two of the driving forces in the vibrant Berlin klezmer scene. Celebrated Latvian vocalist Sasha Lurje and American violinist/composer Craig Judelman have built their reputations on both sides of the Atlantic for their impactful work as educators and performers, particularly invested in exploring the points of intersection between Ashkenazi Jews and their historic neighbors.

After teaching and performing together at festivals and workshops around the world, from Lviv to São Paulo, Kraków, New York and beyond, these virtuosic and captivating musicians join together to stand in solidarity and raise awareness of the beautiful culture that developed over centuries in this diverse, multi-ethnic land. Highlighting the deep connections between Ukrainian and Ashkenazi culture and the historic parallels to the current invasion, this program captures the pain and beauty that produced these rich traditions, giving a personal and artistic expression to the incomprehensible brutality of war.