The Stranniki concert in New York, NY, USA.
April 4 @ 19:00 - 21:00 EDT
The Stranniki is a collaboration between Polina Shepherd and Psoy Korolenko, renowned multilingual artists in the Yiddish music scene for over two decades. Since 2016, the duo has toured the U.S. and internationally, performing programs like Schlepping the Steppes and the Shtetl. Their work centers on the concept of the wanderer, the nomad, and the folklore archetype of the road (path), blending Yiddish and Russian poetry, folklore, and music from the 19th and 20th centuries with their own compositions. Their first album connects themes of journeys, culture, and history, resonating today more than ever. Last year they completed a cross-America tour in various venues and universities.
Psoy Korolenko (Pavel Lion) is a multilingual singer-songwriter, translator, journalist, and scholar. Since 2023, he has been a Visiting Lecturer at Dartmouth College, hosted by the Jewish Studies Program, co-teaching the course “Jewish Folklore.” A former artist-in-residence at several U.S. universities, he has released numerous albums and books. His eclectic style combines Soviet urban folk, Yiddish theater songs, French chanson, and more. A Recording Academy voting member, he co-organizes the JetLAG festival in New York and co-created the Grammy-nominated Yiddish Glory, reviving WWII-era Yiddish songs from Ukraine in collaboration with historian Anna Shternshis.
Polina Shepherd, a Siberia-born, UK-based composer and singer, specializes in Yiddish and Russian music, blending East European Jewish, Slavic, and Turkic influences. She has collaborated with artists such as Merlin Shepherd, Lorin Sklamberg and Psoy Korolenko. During the pandemic, she launched Step Forverts and released Undzer Yiddishkayt, showcasing new songs by Eurasian klezmer artists. As artistic director of the Caravan Orchestra, a youth initiative fostering collaboration across cultures, her work spans choral direction, improvisation, and theatre, promoting Jewish music globally.
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The Stranniki concert in New York, NY, USA.
