Shedding New Light on Jewish Traditions

Torah Study with Scholar-In-Residence Klezmer Duo

On Saturday morning, February 25 at 9:00, Deborah and Cantor Jeff will lead a special extended Torah study on Yiddish and Hebrew Songs of Spring - texts and musical selections that anticipate and reflect the coming month of Adar and holiday of Purim.  Torah study will be followed by services at 10:30. (Please note the later time.)

Later that afternoon, a Master Class will be taught by the Klezmer Duo from 3-5 pm. That evening at 7 pm, we will close out our Scholar-in-Residence weekend with a Klezmer Celebration with the Klezmer Duo and our own New Klezmaniax.  Dessert and dancing will help make this an evening to remember! 

All events are free  and open to the wider community. 

More about the topics follows.

(Friday night) Klezmer Music: From Old World to New: A Lecture and Live Musical Demonstration with The Strauss/Warschauer Duo Deborah Strauss and Cantor Jeff Warschauer will explore the trajectory of klezmer music from its roots in late 19th and early 20th century Eastern Europe to its unique musical and cultural context in today’s world.
(Saturday morning) Yiddish and Hebrew Songs of Spring: This Shabbat is Shabbat Shekalim, one of the special Shabbatot leading up to Passover and the arrival of spring. This Shabbat we also announce the new month – Adar – the month of Purim! Deborah Strauss and Cantor Jeff Warschauer will present Yiddish and Hebrew music, folklore and liturgy related to this special time of year.

The Strauss/Warschauer Duo Biography
For over 25 years, Deborah Strauss (violin, accordion, vocals, dance) and Cantor Jeff Warschauer (guitar, mandolin, vocals) have been at the forefront of the international klezmer and Yiddish music scene. They were both long-time members of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, one of the premiere groups of the klezmer revival, and have performed with legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman and the late actor and singer Theodore Bikel. As the Strauss/Warschauer Duo, they have performed to overwhelming acclaim in such diverse venues as the Philadelphia Folk Festival and the Jewish Culture Festival in Cracow, Poland. Cantor Jeff Warschauer is internationally renowned as a one of the foremost exponents of the klezmer mandolin, as an innovator in the development of a klezmer guitar style, as an expressive Yiddish singer and as a skillful and inspirational educator. A graduate of the H.L. Miller Cantorial School at the Jewish Theological Seminary, Jeff is Cantor at synagogues in Massapequa, NY and Manchester, Vermont. He is on the faculty of Columbia University, and is a Founding Artistic Director and Senior Artistic Advisor of the KlezKanada Institute for Yiddish/Jewish Culture.
Deborah Strauss is one of the leading klezmer fiddlers of her generation. She is also an award-winning children’s educator and a highly regarded Yiddish dancer and dance leader. She is a member of the inter-continental group Voices of Ashkenaz with Michael Alpert, Sveta Kundish and Andreas Schmitges, and the groundbreaking Yiddish/North German fiddle trio, Figelin. She has performed with the Grammy-winning Klezmatics and appears in the film, Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem.