Polina Shepherd

Soviet Yiddish Writers event by Five Leaves Publications, London.
2022-08-31 18:00 - 19:30 UTC | SOAS, University of London, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London, WC1H 0XG, United Kingdom
Soviet Yiddish writers event by the Five Leaves Publications and the Jewish Music Institute, London.
BOOK HERE, Special discount code for my followers: 5leaves will give you a half price ticket of £5.
Location SOAS. Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG, exact room TBA.
On August 12th 1952, thirteen members of the Soviet Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee יידישער אנטי פאשיסטישער קאמיטעט were murdered on the orders of Stalin. Join us to commemorate their 70th יארצייט
S. Lozovskii, J. Juzefovich, Prof. B. Shimeliovich, I. Fefer, L. Kvitko, P. Markish, D. Bergelson, D. Hofstein, B. Zuskin, L. Talmi, I. Vatenberg, E. Teumin, and Ch. Vatenberg-Ostrovska
6.30-9.30 (doors 6.00)
Speakers: Gennady Estraikh, Professor, New York University and Helen Beer, Lecturer Emerita, University College London
Music: Polina Shepherd
Followed by Song Searcher (83 minutes) a film about Moyshe Beregovsky, who recorded and studied the traditional music of Ukrainian Jewry in the 192s, 30s and 40s and who was imprisoned in a Stalinist labour camp in 1950.
For further information email bookshop@fiveleaves.co.uk

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Sing with Me online - 135
2022-08-29 18:00 - 19:00 UTC | Online
29 August – online via zoom
Sing with Me 135
6-8pm UK time, 6 -7 pm UK / New York 1-2 pm / Honolulu, Hawaii 7-8 am / São Paulo, Brazil 2-3pm / Berlin, Germany 7-8pm / Dubai, UAE 9-10pm…
Our session on 18 July was very inspiring: 30 people from 7 countries and a great discussion on Sakhi, Sakhi / Ikh Gloyb, a famous song in Hebrew which we sung in Yiddish. See the video of this session on Sing with Me Youtube playlist. I feel inspired to announce another session for a Yiddish and possibly a Russian song.
Open to all. Learn 2 songs in a one hour session, no knowledge of the languages is needed. Follow Sing with Me web page for updates and a zoom link.

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Yiddish in Berlin. Choir workshop in person and ONLINE
2022-08-25 14:00 - 15:30 UTC
23 and 25 August
Berlin. Germany
Paris Yiddish Center – Medem Library’s 3rd Summer Program for Yiddish Language and Literature in Berlin will be held at the Institute for East European Studies at the Free University of Berlin from August 8th to 26th, 2022. More here.
YIDDISH CHOIR workshop with Polina Shepherd
Two choir workshops on 23/7 and 25/7 (from 14:00 to 15:30).

workshops

Advanced Grammar, with Eliezer Niborski
Conversation for Beginners, with Malena Chinski
Conversation for Intermediate and Advanced Students, with Sharon Bar-Kochva, Malena Chinski, Natalia Krynicka, Karolina Szymaniak and Sheva Zucker
Cooking, with Annick Prime-Margules
Nigunim, with Alan Bern
Poetry, with Sharon Bar-Kochva
Reading Manuscripts, with Akvilė Grigoravičiūtė
Research Methods, with Reyze Turner
Song, with Malena Chinski, Svetlana Kundish and Polina Shepherd
Theater, with Tal Hever-Chybowski
Theater decorations, with Annick Prime-Margules

http://www.yiddishberlin.com/afternoom/
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Interview
2022-08-23 17:00 - 18:00 UTC
Interview with an artist – event with Polina Shepherd as part of Yiddish in Berlin.

The 3rd Summer Program for Yiddish Language and Literature in Berlin will be held at the Institute for East European Studies at the Free University of Berlin from August 8th to 26th, 2022.
For three weeks, the Institute for East European Studies hosts students from all around the world, offering a rich program of language courses and cultural activities.
For the first time, a hybrid program in which students in the same class can choose to learn either face-to-face or at a distance.
The pedagogical team under the direction of Yitskhok Niborski will offer an intensive program of Yiddish courses, workshops (songs, theater, conversation, cooking), visits, lectures, film screenings…
In addition to four levels of language and literature classes ranging from beginner to advanced, we will be instating a three-week pedagogical training seminar for emerging Yiddish teachers.
Scholarships will be granted to allow young students from all over the world to come and improve their skills and exchange with other Yiddish speakers.
Events will take place at Osteuropa-Institut (Freie Universität Berlin). Garystraße 55, 14195 Berlin
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Yiddish in Berin. Choir workshop. Berlin and ONLINE
2022-08-23 14:00 - 15:30 UTC

Yiddish Summer Weimar choir
2022-08-17 - 2022-08-20
Yiddish Summer Weimar Yiddish Choir workshop. More info and booking here
10 a.m. – 1 p.m. & 3 – 6 p.m.
with Polina Shepherd
Back again with one of the most popular workshops in Yiddish Summer Weimar, the masterful choir director, singer, pianist and composer Polina Shepherd is ready to show you what Yiddish sound, phrasing and expression means in a choir setting. Starting with powerful nigunim that warm up the voice, open the heart and energize the body, the Yiddish Choir weaves together all of our voices into an instrument of great beauty and power. Repertoire will also include songs related to this year’s special topic, “Greco-Turkish-Yiddish Connections.” No knowledge of Yiddish is necessary, just a love of singing together and a passion to learn!
Workshop fee: 285 € Standard / 225 € Reduced / 385 € Sponsor / 125 € under 18 >> registration
For information about the Standard, Reduced and Supporter fees >> read about

The YSW Yiddish choir workshop offers a unique opportunity to experience a fascinating repertoire in an inspiring atmosphere. For several years now, the course has been focusing on specific aspects of Yiddish singing, including language, musical style, history and cultural context.
REGISTER HERE

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Yiddish Summer Weimar Open Air in Weimar, Germany
2022-08-13 20:00 - 22:00 UTC
Celebrating musical diversity together
Admission: €20.00 / €10.00
BOOK HERE

Yiddish Summer Weimar invites you to its first ever evening-length, open-air mini-festival. Featuring the Shimon Peres Prize-winning Caravan Orchestra with young musicians from the Middle East and Europe, as well as some of the best bands of Yiddish Summer Weimar 2022, this concert displays the diverse but closely interwoven strands of Yiddish, Greco-Turkish, Moldavian and Middle Eastern music that enlivened Ottoman culture for hundreds of years. And what better place for such a concert than Herderplatz, directly in front of the church named for the philosopher of cultural plurality. So come and join the celebration of our festival, our city, and our shared worlds of music!
Location: Herderplatz, Herderplatz, 99423 Weimar
Contact: info@yiddishsummer.eu, +49(0)15776463340

Musikalische Vielfalt feiern
Der Yiddish Summer Weimar lädt zu seinem ersten abendfüllenden Open-Air-Minifestival ein. Das mit dem Shimon-Peres-Preis ausgezeichnete Caravan Orchestra mit jungen Musiker*innen aus dem Nahen Osten und Europa sowie einige der besten Bands des Yiddish Summer Weimar 2022 zeigen in diesem Konzert die vielfältigen, aber eng miteinander verwobenen Stränge jiddischer, griechisch-türkischer, moldawischer und nahöstlicher Musik, die die osmanische Kultur über Jahrhunderte hinweg belebten. Und was wäre ein besserer Ort für ein solches Konzert als der Herderplatz, direkt vor der Kirche, die nach dem Philosophen der kulturellen Vielfalt benannt ist. Komm also vorbei und feiere mit uns unser Festival, unsere Stadt und unsere gemeinsamen Musikwelten!
Ort: Herderplatz, Herderplatz, 99423 Weimar
Kontakt: info@yiddishsummer.eu, +49(0)15776463340

See some Caravan videos from 2021:

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Caravan Orchestra and Choir concert in Erfurt, Germany
2022-08-12 20:00 - 22:00 UTC
@Zughafen (Erfurt) – BOOK HERE
The Caravan Orchestra & Choir, the Shimon Peres Prize-Winning cooperative project of Yiddish Summer Weimar, Haifa University and the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt Weimar, returns in 2022 with a new team of coaches and a new program. What remains the same is the incredible energy and inspiration generated by young musicians from Israel and Europe diving deep into their own and each other’s musical traditions and re-emerging with musical hybrids that have never before existed.
Line-up:
Meral Cihan (D) – artistic co-director
Christian Dawid (D) – artistic co-director
Wassim Odeh (IL) – artistic co-director
Polina Shepherd (RUS/GB) artistic co-director
Members of the Caravan Orchestra and the Caravan Choir
Location: Zughafen, Zum Güterbahnhof 20, 99085 Erfurt
Contact: info@yiddishsummer.eu, +49(0)15776463340

Caravan Orchestra and Choir is an exchange project between Yiddish Summer Weimar (Germany) and the Department of Music of אוניברסיטת חיפה – University of Haifa (Israel), in cooperation with the International Office University of Music Franz Liszt Weimar (Germany). The project will rehearse and perform in Haifa, Israel, on 24 July to 1 August and in Weimar, Germany, on 2-11 August (dates tbc).

Together with the artistic directors, participants explore both European Jewish and Arab music. While having clear differences in the repertoire and style, Ashkenazic Jewish (Yiddish) and Arab music share some forms, tonal material and, most importantly, a performance philosophy with similar approach to improvisation, ornamentation, modality and many other concepts that we discover again each time!

Das Caravan Orchestra & Choir, das mit dem Shimon-Peres-Preis ausgezeichnete Kooperationsprojekt des Yiddish Summer Weimar, der Universität Haifa und der Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt Weimar, kehrt 2022 mit einem neuen Team von künstlerischen Leiter*innen und einem neuen Programm zurück! Was gleich bleibt, ist die unglaubliche Energie und Inspiration, die von jungen Musiker*innen aus Israel und Europa ausgeht, die tief in ihre eigenen und die gegenseitigen Musiktraditionen eintauchen und musikalische Mischformen hervorbringen, die es so noch nie gegeben hat.
Besetzung:
Meral Cihan (D) – künstlerische Co-Leitung
Christian Dawid (D) – künstlerische Co-Leitung
Wassim Odeh (IL) – künstlerische Co-Leitung
Polina Shepherd (RUS/GB) – künstlerische Gesamtleitung
Mitglieder des Caravan Orchestra und des Caravan Choir
Ort: Zughafen, Zum Güterbahnhof 20, 99085 Erfurt
Kontakt: info@yiddishsummer.eu, +49(0)15776463340

See some Caravan videos from 2021:

Related Images:

Caravan Orchestra & Choir concert in Leipzig
2022-08-11 17:00 - 19:00 UTC
Caravan Orchestra & Choir
New Routes
August 11, Do 05:00 p.m. @Marktplatz Leipzig

Free entry.
The Caravan Orchestra & Choir, the Shimon Peres Prize-Winning cooperative project of Yiddish Summer Weimar, Haifa University and the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt Weimar, returns in 2022 with a new team of coaches and a new program. What remains the same is the incredible energy and inspiration generated by young musicians from Israel and Europe diving deep into their own and each other’s musical traditions and re-emerging with musical hybrids that have never before existed.
Line-up:
Meral Cihan (D) – artistic co-director
Christian Dawid (D) – artistic co-director
Wassim Odeh (IL) – artistic co-director
Polina Shepherd (RUS/GB) artistic co-director
Members of the Caravan Orchestra and the Caravan Choir

Together with the artistic directors, participants explore both European Jewish and Arab music. While having clear differences in the repertoire and style, Ashkenazic Jewish (Yiddish) and Arab music share some forms, tonal material and, most importantly, a performance philosophy with similar approach to improvisation, ornamentation, modality and many other concepts that we discover again each time!

The Caravan Orchestra and Choir 2022 will be led by Polina Shepherd, Meral Cihan, Wassim Odeh and Christian Dawid. More about Caravan Orchestra & Choir here: https://caravanorchestra.eu/about/ – updates are appearing as we speak!

Freier Eintritt.
Das Caravan Orchestra & Choir, das mit dem Shimon-Peres-Preis ausgezeichnete Kooperationsprojekt des Yiddish Summer Weimar, der Universität Haifa und der Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt Weimar, kehrt 2022 mit einem neuen Team von künstlerischen Leiter*innen und einem neuen Programm zurück! Was gleich bleibt, ist die unglaubliche Energie und Inspiration, die von jungen Musiker*innen aus Israel und Europa ausgeht, die tief in ihre eigenen und die gegenseitigen Musiktraditionen eintauchen und musikalische Mischformen hervorbringen, die es so noch nie gegeben hat.
Besetzung:
Meral Cihan (D) – künstlerische Co-Leitung
Christian Dawid (D) – künstlerische Co-Leitung
Wassim Odeh (IL) – künstlerische Co-Leitung
Polina Shepherd (RUS/GB) – künstlerische Gesamtleitung
Mitglieder des Caravan Orchestra und des Caravan Choir
See some Caravan videos from 2021:

Related Images:

Caravan Orchestra and Choir concert in Eisenach, Germany
2022-08-10 20:00 - 22:00 UTC
Caravan Orchestra and Choir will present their first collaboration concert in Germany in Eisenach, Thuringia.
BOOK HERE

The Caravan Orchestra and Choir is an exchange project between Yiddish Summer Weimar (Germany) and the Department of Music of אוניברסיטת חיפה – University of Haifa (Israel), in cooperation with the International Office University of Music Franz Liszt Weimar (Germany). The project will rehearse and perform in Haifa, Israel, on 24 July to 1 August and in Weimar, Germany, on 2-11 August (dates tbc).

Together with the artistic directors, participants explore both European Jewish and Arab music. While having clear differences in the repertoire and style, Ashkenazic Jewish (Yiddish) and Arab music share some forms, tonal material and, most importantly, a performance philosophy with similar approach to improvisation, ornamentation, modality and many other concepts that we discover again each time!

The Caravan Orchestra and Choir 2022 will be led by Polina Shepherd, Meral Cihan, Wassim Odeh and Christian Dawid.

Das Caravan Orchestra & Choir, das mit dem Shimon-Peres-Preis ausgezeichnete Kooperationsprojekt des Yiddish Summer Weimar, der Universität Haifa und der Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt Weimar, kehrt 2022 mit einem neuen Team von künstlerischen Leiter*innen und einem neuen Programm zurück! Was gleich bleibt, ist die unglaubliche Energie und Inspiration, die von jungen Musiker*innen aus Israel und Europa ausgeht, die tief in ihre eigenen und die gegenseitigen Musiktraditionen eintauchen und musikalische Mischformen hervorbringen, die es so noch nie gegeben hat.
Besetzung:
Meral Cihan (D) – künstlerische Co-Leitung
Christian Dawid (D) – künstlerische Co-Leitung
Wassim Odeh (IL) – künstlerische Co-Leitung
Polina Shepherd (RUS/GB) – künstlerische Gesamtleitung
Mitglieder des Caravan Orchestra und des Caravan Choir
Ort: Wandelhalle, Wartburgallee 53, 99817 Eisenach
Kontakt: info@yiddishsummer.eu, +49(0)15776463340

See some Caravan videos from 2021:

Related Images:

Caravan Orchestra and Choir in Germany
2022-08-02 - 2022-08-09
Caravan Orchestra and Choir is an exchange project between Yiddish Summer Weimar (Germany) and the Department of Music of אוניברסיטת חיפה – University of Haifa (Israel), in cooperation with the International Office University of Music Franz Liszt Weimar (Germany). The project will rehearse and perform in Haifa, Israel, on 24 July to 1 August and in Weimar, Germany, on 2-11 August (dates tbc).

Together with the artistic directors, participants explore both European Jewish and Arab music. While having clear differences in the repertoire and style, Ashkenazic Jewish (Yiddish) and Arab music share some forms, tonal material and, most importantly, a performance philosophy with similar approach to improvisation, ornamentation, modality and many other concepts that we discover again each time!

The Caravan Orchestra and Choir 2022 will be led by Polina Shepherd, Meral Cihan, Wassim Odeh and Christian Dawid.

More about Caravan Orchestra & Choir here: https://caravanorchestra.eu/about/ – updates are appearing as we speak!

The project will rehearse and perform in Haifa, Israel, on 24 July to 1 August and in Weimar, Germany, on 2-11 August (dates tbc).
The Caravan Orchestra was founded in the summer of 2017, as an exchange project between Yiddish Summer Weimar (Germany) and the Department of Music of the University of Haifa (Israel), in cooperation with the University of Music FRANZ LISZT Weimar (Germany).

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Caravan Orchestra & Choir concert. Haifa, Israel.
2022-07-31 18:00 - 20:00 UTC
Caravan Orchestra and Choir will present their first collaboration concert in 2022 in Haifa. 6pm – 8pm at The Arts School at Haifa University.

The Caravan Orchestra and Choir is an exchange project between Yiddish Summer Weimar (Germany) and the Department of Music of אוניברסיטת חיפה – University of Haifa (Israel), in cooperation with the International Office University of Music Franz Liszt Weimar (Germany). The project will rehearse and perform in Haifa, Israel, on 24 July to 1 August and in Weimar, Germany, on 2-11 August (dates tbc).

Together with the artistic directors, participants explore both European Jewish and Arab music. While having clear differences in the repertoire and style, Ashkenazic Jewish (Yiddish) and Arab music share some forms, tonal material and, most importantly, a performance philosophy with similar approach to improvisation, ornamentation, modality and many other concepts that we discover again each time!

The Caravan Orchestra and Choir 2022 will be led by Polina Shepherd, Meral Cihan, Wassim Odeh and Christian Dawid.

More about Caravan Orchestra & Choir here: https://caravanorchestra.eu/about/ – updates are appearing as we speak!

See some Caravan videos from 2021:

Related Images:

Concert Livestream Watch Party - Boston chorus, Lorin Sklamberg & Polina Shepherd
2022-07-25 19:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | Online
A Besere Velt Yiddish Chorus: Singing for Peace & Freedom Livestream Watch Party.
YOUTUBE LINK
A viewing party for the mixed, edited, subtitled recording of a concert from Saturday, June 18, 2022, featuring guest artists Polina Shepherd and Lorin Sklamberg. A Besere Velt is the Yiddish Community Chorus of the Boston Workers Circle. Captions are available for all spoken text and song lyrics (in English/Yiddish/Russian). Toggle on by choosing CC, or off to view English subtitles only. For the best viewing of captions, we recommend going to Settings → Subtitles/CC → Options → Background Opacity →100%.

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Caravan Orchestra and Choir in Haifa
2022-07-24 - 2022-07-30 | Department of Music of the University of Haifa, Israel
Caravan Orchestra and Choir is back in 2022.
The project will rehearse and perform in Haifa, Israel, on 24 July to 1 August and in Weimar, Germany, on 2-11 August (dates tbc).

The Caravan Orchestra and Choir is an exchange project between Yiddish Summer Weimar (Germany) and the Department of Music of אוניברסיטת חיפה – University of Haifa (Israel), in cooperation with the International Office University of Music Franz Liszt Weimar (Germany).

Every year, Caravan invites 28 – 30 young musicians from Israel and Germany to apply for a 2-3 week residency in Haifa and Weimar, with an intensive rehearsal period and concerts in both countries, as well as fun social activities, workshops and excursions.

Together with the artistic directors, participants explore both European Jewish and Arab music. While having clear differences in the repertoire and style, Ashkenazic Jewish (Yiddish) and Arab music share some forms, tonal material and, most importantly, a performance philosophy with similar approach to improvisation, ornamentation, modality and many other concepts that we discover again each time!

The Caravan Orchestra and Choir 2022 will be led by Polina Shepherd, Meral Cihan, Wassim Odeh and Christian Dawid.

If you are an instrumentalist or a singer and you would like to apply to join the Caravan project, please click here for current information about the application process. If you want to know where you can hear and see the band, please go to https://caravanorchestra.eu. If you are a presenter and would like to book the orchestra and the choir, please contact project manager Andreas Schmitges at the Other Music Academy e.V.: andreas.schmitges@othermusicacademy.eu or by phone/WhatsApp: +49 177 6017686

More about Caravan Orchestra & Choir here: https://caravanorchestra.eu/about/ – updates are appearing as we speak!

See some Caravan videos from 2021:

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Sing with Me 134, ONLINE. Yiddish & Ukrainian songs
2022-07-18 18:00 - 19:00 UTC | Online
6 -7 pm UK time / New York 1-2 pm / Honolulu, Hawaii 7-8 am / São Paulo, Brazil 2-3pm / Berlin, Germany 7-8pm / Dubai, UAE 9-10pm…
Join ZOOM session here: https://universityofsussex.zoom.us/j/92123386601

Sing with Me Yiddish Song Sessions Online open to everyone.

A new Yiddish song in every 45 minute session.
Learn about cultural context and style.
No knowledge of Yiddish is needed.
Song sheets are shown on the screen during sessions.
Session videos are posted on Youtube.
Payments are appreciated but you can also join free of charge.
A Zoom link for each session, printable song sheet with music, lyrics, translation and transliteration appear on this page minimum two hours before the session.
Here are some basics for Yiddish transliteration

Payment is voluntary but is very much appreciated. The best option for me is if you pay directly via PayPal Friends & Family / Gift option here.
One session fee £6

Generous or two people fee £10

Sing with Me run from 20 March 2020 until 3 June 2021 regularly, from every day to twice a week, with online concerts with international musicians every fifth day, with up to 90 people turning up (one we even had a whole choir from Greece!) in the first months of the pandemic. By the end of the long 2020 – 2021 stretch we became a lovely group of people from USA, Brazil, Iceland, Canada, France, Germany, the United Arab Emirates and other corners of the world. We sung folk songs (lyrical, drinking, dance, celebratory songs…), Art songs (The Russian Romance and Yiddish art songs) plus a bit of classics like Shostakovich and Rachmaninoff.
Read and watch SWM from 2022 here
Past Sing with Me sessions 2021, 90 – 125, can be viewed here
Here is a page with our 2020 sessions, 1 – 90.

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Stencl Exhibition Launch - workshop and recital. London
2022-06-29 15:30 - 19:00 UTC | SOAS, University of London, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London, WC1H 0XG, United Kingdom
Stencl Exhibition Launch at SOAS – workshop and recital, open to public.
Rediscovering Stencl: Wednesday 29 June, 3.30pm – 7pm
Calling all Yiddish speakers and scholars! SOAS Library Cordially invites you to the launch of our exhibition on the Yiddish language poet Abraham Nahum Stencl, with a music workshop, live music and refreshments.

Public opening and recital – 5-6pm, including a talk from a scholar on Stencl and SOAS librarians about the launch of the Stencl exhibition plus Polina Shepherd’s performance. Venue: Lower ground floor The Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre.
In 1983, the manuscripts of the late poet Abraham Nahum Stencl were donated to SOAS. We have now digitised the collection, to make his work available to scholars and lovers of Yiddish poetry across the globe. SOAS commissioned Polina Shepherd to turn two of the poems in our collection into songs. Her stunning compositions brought Stencl’s poems Di Veler and Halbe Levone to life. In this concert, filmed in the BGLT (Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre) in Bloomsbury, London, we will hear traditional Yiddish repertoire and new material performed by Polina Shepherd and band, including a premiere of the two Stencl songs.
Watch the concert (2021) here
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Brighton Refugee Week event, UK
2022-06-25 13:00 - 17:00 UTC
Jubilee Library, Brighton
All are welcome at this FREE event. Come and share music and food and celebrate inclusivity & diversity in our city.
Music includes Bashir Al Gamar, Jamal & Alaa, Polina Shepherd and The Brighton & Hove Yiddish Choir with guest singers and Kurdish/Alevi musician Suna Alan and band.
There will be a finger food buffet, with food from Syria, Sudan and Ethiopia.
See the main event page here and more information here

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University of Sussex. Brighton, UK. Yiddish song workshop
2022-06-22 17:30 - 19:30 UTC
Booking link for this day will appear here closer to the date.

In collaboration with University of Sussex Students’ Union, with support from The University of Sussex Chaplaincy.

Come to the third two-hour workshop from 5.30 to 7.30pm to be held in the University of Sussex campus and help build a choir performance in Refugee Week 2022.
ALL WELCOME. Advance booking essential
All workshop participants will be invited to take part in the Refugee Week performance at Brighton Jubilee Library on 25th June 2022.
No previous singing experience or knowledge of Yiddish required.
According to University of London academic Lily Kahn, Yiddish was spoken by 11 to 13 million people at the start of the Second World War. It is a stateless language, a fusion of old German, Hebrew-Aramaic and Slavic languages. Secular Yiddish culture thrived in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Yiddish songs have been a central part of the Klezmer music revival since the 1980s. Their diverse range, combining joy, humour, romance, resignation, hope and struggle, includes important resources for these troubled times that are highly relevant to the themes of Refugee Week. For example, Yiddish songs formed resistance anthems for Jews facing pogroms in Tsarist Russia, and young newly arrived US immigrants exploited in New York’s garment industry. Some of the best known Yiddish songs were composed in opposition to fascism in the Nazi ghettoes of the Second World War.
Led by Brighton-based Russian/ Jewish composer, performer and choir director Polina Shepherd. Song sheets will be provided.
Suggested fee: £4
Solidarity fee: £7
Free participation available
Location: venue will be on the University of Sussex campus and will be accessible. Directions can be found here. Watch this space for details or get in touch.

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Boston, USA. A Besere Velt Yiddish Chorus with Lorin Sklamberg & Polina Shepherd
2022-06-18 20:00 - 21:30 UTC
More information and booking here.

You’re invited to join us, LIVE, on Saturday, June 18th at 8 pm (ET), for Singing for Peace & Freedom, A Besere Velt’s first in-person concert since 2019. Come listen to us live, or join online by tuning into a livestream, and enjoy the rousing music of our Yiddish chorus, A Besere Velt, with guest artists Polina Shepherd and Lorin Sklamberg, in a joyful, stirring concert to move us towards the dream of peace, freedom, and a better world for all.

A Besere Velt is emerging after three years of care and caution to weave new and classic Yiddish songs with visions of peace and liberation. Polina Shepherd and Lorin Sklamberg will bring us beautiful guest performances, solo and in collaboration with A Besere Velt. The concert will be live streamed on YouTube so all can join us from anywhere in the world.

Accessibility: Eliot Church is handicap accessible, and seats will be reserved in front for people with mobility, sight, or hearing needs. Music will be in Yiddish, English, and Ladino, with English supertitles for all lyrics and spoken text.

In-Person Tickets

By purchasing an in-person ticket, you attest that you are fully vaccinated & will wear a mask. All in-person tickets are general admission and come with the livestream link.

Supporter: $54
Standard: $36
Limited Income: $18

Livestream-Only Tickets: $12

Your ticket and financial support will help Boston Workers Circle continue to provide vibrant and accessible community and social justice programming.

Please consider donating generously if you are financially able, or supporting us by joining our host committee. Enjoy the music of our wonderful Yiddish chorus and guests while supporting Boston Workers Circle!

If you are unable to make a contribution now but would like to attend, please reach out to info@circleboston.org and we will try to match you with a sponsor for your ticket.

Buy tickets here

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Concert. Magdeburg, Germany
2022-06-16 19:00 - 22:00 UTC
AVIV! – Ein Abend mit jüdischer Musik aus Sachsen-Anhalt
Event link

Durch eine großzügige Förderung von Neustart Kultur findet parallel zu den Jüdischen Kulturtagen ein weiteres Projekt des Leopold Zunz e.V. statt: AVIV – Frühling für jüdische Künstler:innen und Kunst in Sachsen-Anhalt.
Von Februar bis Juni 2022 werden Musiker:innen, Literat:innen, bildende Künstler: innen und Tänzer: innen neue künstlerische Projekte schaffen und diese bei verschiedenen Events präsentieren. In Magdeburg kommen die an dem Projekt beteiligten Musiker:innen und Ensembles im Turmpark Alt-Salbke zusammen und geben ein Festivalkonzert mit mitreißender jüdischer Musik. Mehrere Generationen lassen das Publikum an diesem Abend lebhafte Tanzmelodien und melancholische Träumereien des osteuropäischen Klezmers, jiddische Lieder, Spirituals, klassische Volkslieder und moderne Songs erleben.
Mit: Luba Meyer & Rozhinkes, Evghenia Cerkes, Juri Zemski & Alexander Goldenberg, Kolorit & Polina Shepherd, Ensemble Shoshana und Zohar Lioz Aviv
Zu dem Termin gelten die aktuellen Pandemie-Bestimmungen.
Ermäßigung für Schüler:innen, Auszubildende, Studierende, Arbeitssuchende und Schwerbehinderte

EINTRITT
Regulär: 9€
Ermäßigt: 6€

Kartenvorverkauf:
Reservierung

VERANSTALTER
Leopold Zunz e.V.

VERANSTALTUNGSORT
H2O Turmpark e.V.
Alt Salbke 110c
39122
Magdeburg

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Leipzig concert with Giuseppe Sciarratta
2022-06-15 20:00 - 21:30 UTC
Klezmer with Friends series
Giuseppe Sciarratta & Polina Shepherd
This video was recorded at one of our previous concerts and I am delighted to be coming back and performing with Giuseppe again. More info here. Venue: Budde-Haus, 8pm.
Nach zwei Jahren Pause gibt sie sich wieder die Ehre im Budde-Haus: die begeisternde, vielseitige wie vielgefragte Sängerin und Pianistin Polina Shepherd. Sie ist in Sibirien geboren und lebt heute in Großbritannien. Sie ist weltweit solo wie mit verschiedenen Klezmer-Ensembles unterwegs, produzierte zahlreiche CDs, leitet und unterrichtet Chöre. Ihr Gesang ist tief in der osteuropäischen Volksmusiktradition verwurzelt. In ihrer Heimat Tatarstan kam sie in engen Kontakt mit Verzierungen und Timbre des islamischen Gesangs, was ihr zu einer unverwechselbaren Vokalstilistik verhalf.
Kooperationsveranstaltung mit Klezmer with friends e. V.
Wegen begrenzter Platzkapazitäten empfehlen wir Kartenreservierungen unter Telefon 0341 90960037 oder ticket@budde-haus.de
Eintritt:
Normalpreis: 15,00 Euro
Ermäßigter Preis: 10,00 Euro (für Schüler*innen, Studierende, Leipzig-Pass-Inhaber*innen und Schwerbeschädigte)
Solidaritätspreis: Freiwilliger Eintritt, der über dem Normalpreis liegt, um Mindereinnahmen durch coronabedingt begrenzte Veranstaltungsausfälle etwas aufzufangen. Vielen Dank!
Der Klarinettist Giuseppe Sciarratta ist in Sizilien geboren. Er lebt seit 2011 in Deutschland und beschäftigt sich seit vielen Jahren mit den historischen und performativen Aspekten von Klezmer. Er nimmt regelmäßig am Yiddish Summer Festival in Weimar teil und ist seit 2017 künstlerischer Leiter der Veranstaltungsreihe „Klezmer with friends“ im Budde-Haus.
Bitte beachten: Keine Kartenzahlung möglich.
Einlass: ab 19.00 Uhr (freie Platzwahl)
Reservierte Karten bitte bis spätestens 30 min vor Veranstaltungsbeginn an der Abendkasse abholen.
Veranstaltungsort: Die Veranstaltung findet im Saal des Budde-Hauses (Erdgeschoss) statt.
Gastronomie: Die Budde-Bar ist geöffnet.
Förderer: Die Veranstaltung wird unterstützt von Stadt Leipzig, Kulturamt.
Auf Grund der aktuellen Sächsischen Coronaschutzverordnung vom 3.4.2022 bestehen keine Einschränkung mehr für Kulturveranstaltungen. Wir empfehlen jedoch nach wie vor das Tragen einer FFP2-Maske. Bitte beachten Sie weiterhin die üblichen Hygieneregeln (z. B. Symptomfreiheit).

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Solo concert in Dessau, Germany
2022-06-14 17:00 - 19:00 UTC
Community hall, Ev. Stadtgemeinde an der Mulde Kirche St. Georg,
Georgenstraße 15, 06842
Dessau-Rosslau
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AVIV-Sommerfest - Halle, Germany
2022-06-12 16:00 - 22:30 UTC | f2 Galerie, Fährstraße 2, Halle, 06114, Germany
Event link
AVIV-Sommerfest in der f2 Galerie
Kunst, Musik, Tanz und Literatur jüdischer Künstler: innen aus Sachsen-Anhalt

Durch eine großzügige Förderung von Neustart Kultur findet parallel zu den Jüdischen Kulturtagen ein weiteres Projekt des Leopold Zunz e.V. statt: AVIV – Frühling für jüdische Künstler:innen und Kunst in Sachsen-Anhalt.
Von Februar bis Juni 2022 werden Musiker:innen, Literat:innen, bildende Künstler:innen und Tänzer:innen neue Projekte schaffen und diese bei diversen Events präsentieren. Am 12. Juni freuen wir uns auf ein Sommerfest in der f2 Galerie in Halle, bei der sich die Künstler:innen verschiedener Genres mit ihrem Publikum treffen werden. Vom Nachmittag bis in den Abend hinein werden Musik, Kunst, Literatur und vieles mehr geboten. Eine einmalige Gelegenheit, die junge Szene jüdischer Kulturschaffender kennenzulernen: seien Sie dabei!
Mit (u.a.): Luba Meyer, Evgenia Tscherkes, Lia Gets-Berman, Juri Zemski & Alexander Goldenberg, Polina Shepherd, Kolorit chorNaama Arbel, Kolorit, Zohar Lioz Aviv, Alica Khaet, Valeria Sivtsova, Valeria Liebermann, Shani Nahum, Keren Rothenberg, Lidia Beleninova und Michal Fuchs
Zu dem Termin gelten die aktuellen Pandemie-Bestimmungen.
Der Eintritt ist frei. Ihre Spende ist willkommen.

EINTRITT – Kostenlos

VERANSTALTER – Leopold Zunz e.V.

VERANSTALTUNGSORT f2_eventgalerie
Fährstraße 2
06114
Halle (Saale)

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Concert in Wolmirstedt, SA, Germany
2022-06-10 17:00 - 18:30 UTC | Soziokulturelles Zentrum Schranke e.V. Schloßdomäne 2, 39326 Wolmirstedt, Schranke e.V. Schloßdomäne 2, Wolmirstedt, 39326, Germany
I will be teaching a workshop to a local Jewish community choir and we’ll give a presentation at the end of our week together.
5pm.
Venue: 39326 Wolmirstedt Schößdomäne, 2

Der Festsaal

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The Brandenburg Choral Festival Russian concert, London
2022-06-03 19:00 - 21:00 UTC
Brandenburg Choral Festival of London presents the Russian Choirs of London and Brighton & Hove
RUSSIAN CHOIRS SING FOR PEACE

St Gabriel’s Pimlico
The choirs bring together music lovers from many backgrounds and promote culture, unity and building bridges through singing.
Come and experience deep basses in Orthodox Liturgical Pieces by Rachmaninov and Tchesnokov, gorgeous harmonies in classical scores by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov, and even a modern composition by an Icelandic composer. Hear Art Songs (Romances) from the 18th-19th centuries, traditional lyrical and dance songs and a special addition – Ukrainian songs which the choirs learnt in solidarity with Ukraine. The programme will also include solo and ensemble performances.
WE ARE COMING TOGETHER ON THIS DAY TO SING FOR PEACE.
At the concert, we will be collecting donations to Sunflower Relief – https://www.sunflowerrelief.org/, who provide assistance to people trying to reach the border to getting medical supplies and food out to the millions of stranded citizens who remain in the war zone. Profits from choir CD sales will also go to the Sunflower Relief.
More about the choirs:
https://londonrussianchoir.wordpress.com/
https://russianchoir.wordpress.com/
Fees:
Premium: Includes a reserved seat, a drink and a programme. Public – £25. Choir friends and family – £17
Standard: Public £20. Choir friends and family – £12
Child: Public £5. (Anyone in full-time education)
To get the discount, choir friends and family should use a discount code PEACE when checking out on the ticket page.
BOOK HERE

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University of Sussex. Brighton, UK. Yiddish song workshop -2
2022-05-25 17:30 - 19:30 UTC
Book the first workshop here (25 April)
Book this workshop here

In collaboration with University of Sussex Students’ Union, with support from The University of Sussex Chaplaincy.

Join a series of three Yiddish singing workshops, enjoy the broad range of Yiddish songs and help build a choir performance on 25 June in Refugee Week 2022
Each workshop is self contained though thee will also be continuity through all of them. Come to one, two or all of them! This is the second workshop.
ALL WELCOME. Advance booking essential
All workshop participants will be invited to take part in the Refugee Week performance at Brighton Jubilee Library on 25th June 2022.
No previous singing experience or knowledge of Yiddish required.
According to University of London academic Lily Kahn, Yiddish was spoken by 11 to 13 million people at the start of the Second World War. It is a stateless language, a fusion of old German, Hebrew-Aramaic and Slavic languages. Secular Yiddish culture thrived in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Yiddish songs have been a central part of the Klezmer music revival since the 1980s. Their diverse range, combining joy, humour, romance, resignation, hope and struggle, includes important resources for these troubled times that are highly relevant to the themes of Refugee Week. For example, Yiddish songs formed resistance anthems for Jews facing pogroms in Tsarist Russia, and young newly arrived US immigrants exploited in New York’s garment industry. Some of the best known Yiddish songs were composed in opposition to fascism in the Nazi ghettoes of the Second World War.
Led by Brighton-based Russian/ Jewish composer, performer and choir director Polina Shepherd. Song sheets will be provided.
Dates and times of the second and third workshops to be confirmed.
Suggested fee: £4
Solidarity fee: £7
Free participation available
BOOK HERE
Location: The Meeting House chapel is located on the University of Sussex campus. The venue is accessible. Directions can be found here.

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Xameleon Theatre night of poetry & music in aid of DEC Ukrainian Appeal
2022-05-20 19:30 - 21:00 UTC
Fundraising Concert for Ukraine. London based Xameleon Theatre presents a night of poetry and music in aid of DEC Ukrainian Appeal

UK based artists and musicians originally from Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Latvia and Lithuania come together in a fundraising concert to help raise funds for DEC Ukrainian Appeal.
The evening will include an extract from Xameleon Theatre’s poetry performance “Insomnia” based on Marina Tsvetaeva’s work, music performances by Iryna Muha, Polina Shepherd, Iryna Seleznyova, Alexey Shedko and Irina Kara , poetry readings by actors Oleg Sidorchik, Maria Blatstein and Dmitry Turchaninov.
The event is made with the support of POSK, Polish Social and Cultural Assosiation in London.
20th May 7:30 pm @POSK, 238-246 King St, London, W6 0RF
Please note: Poetry will be performed in original languages and accompanied with the libretto.
All ticket sales will be donated to DEC
Артисты и музыканты из Украины, России, Беларуси, Латвии и Литвы выступят на благотворительном концерте в поддержку DEC Ukrainian Appeal.
В программу войдут отрывок из поэтического спектакля “Бессоница” по произведениям М.И.Цветаевой (Xameleon Theatre), музыкальные выступления Ирины Мухи, Полины Шеперд, Ирины Селезневой, Алексея Шедько и Ирины Кары, а также выступления актеров Олега Сидорчика, Марии Блатштейн и Дмитрия Турчанинова.
Театр благодарит Польский Культурный Центр POSK за помощь в проведении мероприятия.
20 мая в 19:30 @POSK, 238-246 King St, London, W6 0RF
NB: Стихи прозвучат на оригинальных украинском и русском языках, также будет предоставлено либретто на английском языке.

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Brighton Festival concert, Brighton UK
2022-05-08 17:30 - 19:00 UTC
Brighton Festival, Sunday 8 May, Riwaq on Hove seafront

Read more on Best Foot Music Brighton Festival page
All events are FREE, and during daytime hours (12.00 – 7.00) ALL WELCOME.

The festival is a major cultural event, highly regarded both locally and internationally. This year’s themes are Rediscover, Reimagine and Rebuild – the themes that are just right for us!

VENUE: The Brighton Festival Riwaq will be a temporary Festival venue on Hove seafront. Riwaq is an Arabic word for colonnade. Architecturally a Riwaq is a semi-open space. Read about the venue here.

BRIGHTON FESTIVAL PARTNER BestFoot Music brings together a unique programme of international and local acts by musicians & communities who have moved to the UK from around the World.

OUR SET – 17.30 – 19.00 Sunday 8 May.

Sklamberg & The Shepherds
The Brighton & Hove Yiddish Choir
The Brighton & Hove and the London Russian choirs
a joint set of all the above!

We will present a few songs from our programme and CD 150 Voices, recorded with support from Best Foot Music:
Russian and Yiddish folk and art songs and newly composed originals sung by five choirs in the UK and USA and a duo of two international cultural activists: Siberian-born singer, composer and choir leader Polina Shepherd and the lead singer of the Grammy Award-winning Klezmatics Lorin Sklamberg.

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Sussex University Yiddish Singing workshops. Sing for a Better World
2022-04-25 17:30 - 19:30 UTC
Book here
In collaboration with University of Sussex Students’ Union, with support from The University of Sussex Chaplaincy.
Join a series of three Yiddish singing workshops and help build a choir performance in Refugee Week 2022
Come to the first two-hour workshop from 5.30 to 7.30pm on Monday 25th April 2022, to be held in the Meeting House chapel at the University of Sussex campus. Also probably 25 May and 22 June – Dates and times of the second and third workshops to be confirmed.
ALL WELCOME. Advance booking essential
All workshop participants will be invited to take part in the Refugee Week performance at Brighton Jubilee Library on 25th June 2022.
No previous singing experience or knowledge of Yiddish required.
According to University of London academic Lily Kahn, Yiddish was spoken by 11 to 13 million people at the start of the Second World War. It is a stateless language, a fusion of old German, Hebrew-Aramaic and Slavic languages. Secular Yiddish culture thrived in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Yiddish songs have been a central part of the Klezmer music revival since the 1980s. Their diverse range, combining joy, humour, romance, resignation, hope and struggle, includes important resources for these troubled times that are highly relevant to the themes of Refugee Week. For example, Yiddish songs formed resistance anthems for Jews facing pogroms in Tsarist Russia, and young newly arrived US immigrants exploited in New York’s garment industry. Some of the best known Yiddish songs were composed in opposition to fascism in the Nazi ghettoes of the Second World War.
Led by Brighton-based Russian/ Jewish composer, performer and choir director Polina Shepherd. Song sheets will be provided.
Dates and times of the second and third workshops to be confirmed.
Suggested fee: £4
Solidarity fee: £7
Free participation available
Location: The Meeting House chapel is located on the University of Sussex campus. The venue is accessible. Directions can be found here.

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Russian Easter concert for Peace with the London Russian Choir- London
2022-04-24 14:00 - 15:30 UTC
Come and celebrate the Orthodox Easter with the London Russian Choir.
Book here

LONDON: Heath Street Baptist Church
Door time: 2:00pm, start time: 2:15pm

The London Russian Choir presents a Programme for Peace on the Orthodox Easter Sunday.
The choirs bring together music lovers from many backgrounds and promote culture, unity and building bridges through singing. Come and hear classical pieces, Orthodox liturgy music, Art Songs, folk songs and a special addition – Ukrainian folk songs.
WE ARE COMING TOGETHER ON THIS DAY TO SING FOR PEACE.

At the concert, we will be collecting donations to Sunflower Relief – https://www.sunflowerrelief.org/, who provide assistance to people trying to reach the border to getting medical supplies and food out to the millions of stranded citizens who remain in the war zone. Profits from choir CD sales will also go to the Sunflower Relief.

Пасхальное воскресенье с Русским Хором Лондона – концерт ЗА МИР.
В программе – огромное разнообразие стилей русской хоровой музыки: народные лирические, песни; романсы, классические произведения Чайковского, Рахманинова, Глинки и других композиторов, немного церковной музыки и несколько сольных номеров.
В этот раз мы включили в программу несколько УКРАИНСКИХ песен и ПОСВЯЩАЕМ КОНЦЕРТ ПРИЗЫВУ ЗА МИР.
Сборе средств в поддержку гуманитарной помощи в зоне войны будет проходить на концерте в фонд Sunflower Relief https://www.sunflowerrelief.org/.

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