I Will Sing: A HMD Choral Workshop, London
2020-02-02 10:30 - 16:30 UTC
Ashirah – I Will Sing: Come and Sing Choral Workshop
Sunday 2 February 2020 10.30am – 4.30pm
In commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, London
Borough of Richmond Upon Thames and The Landmark Arts Centre are offering a special choral workshop celebrating Jewish musical culture, in particular that of East European Jews.
A wide range of material, sacred and secular, traditional and new will be explored in Hebrew and Yiddish, but no knowledge of the languages is necessary.
Enjoy singing in a warm- hearted atmosphere under the guidance of Polina Shepherd, one of the world’s most charismatic and inspiring Jewish choir directors.
All singers are welcome, although you will need to be able to follow the written music and be prepared to learn by ear. Singers will also be expected to take part in the evening concert at 6pm on the same day.

To book your place on the workshop please contact The Landmark Arts Centre.
TEL: 020 8977 7558
EMAIL: education@landmarkartscentre.org COST: £20

WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS ARE INVITED TO PERFORM AS PART OF THE EVENING CONCERT: Sunday 2 February 2020, 6pm. Doors & bar open: 5.15pm

About Polina Shepherd (Skovoroda):
Polina was born in Siberia and grew up in a home where songs were regularly sung at the family table. Now an internationally renowned performer, she brings the songs of the Steppes and the Shtetl up to date with passion and haunting soul. Her singing, though based on traditional forms, cuts a unique sound deeply rooted in east European Jewish and Russian folk sound. Growing up in Tatarstan also placed her close to Islamic ornamentation and timbre which can be heard in her unique vocal style and four octave range.
Polina’s choral workshops showcase her specially developed choral teaching methods which are based on specific East European sound, ornamentation, modal experimentation with attention to stylistic details, history and context.

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An HMD Jewish choral workshop and concert - London, UK
2020-02-02 18:00 - 19:30
An evening to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. With a special concert of Jewish secular and sacred music sung in Yiddish & Hebrew by a community choir under the direction of Polina Shepherd, an expert in Yiddish choral music and an international Jewish performer and composer, originally from Russia. The concert will also feature Merlin Shepherd, one of the world’s leading players of traditional East European Klezmer Clarinet. Organised by London Borough of Richmond upon Thames & Landmark Arts Centre in aid of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and Landmark Arts Centre.
To book the concert only, please see the link.
Fee – £5.50
tel. 020 8977 7558
There will also be an all day Choral Workshop before the concert (see below).
To book your place on the workshop please contact The Landmark Arts Centre.
TEL: 020 8977 7558
EMAIL: education@landmarkartscentre.org COST: £20

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London Schubertiade 2020
2020-02-08 14:30 - 21:00
CONCERT PARTY presents
Two concerts featuring the works of Mozart and Schubert
Saturday, 8th February
St James’ Church, Islington
Prebend Street, London N1 8PF
3.00 pm London Schubertiade 2020 Free of charge
Celebrating Schubert in time-honoured style with songs, piano solos, duets, and instrumental music plus poetry and readings. A Schubert song will be performed in Yiddish (!) by an ensemble of singers in four parts in the afternoon concert! Also, Polina Shepherd be singing a couple of songs. Come and enjoy this unusual take on Schubert in the free afternoon concert and join us for the evening too!

7.00 pm Chamber Music Recital with The Rubenstein Ensemble
Mark Lacey, clarinet Natalee Jeremic, violin Chris Brody, viola
Anna Tam, cello and soprano Robin Rubenstein, piano
Mozart: Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, K. 478
Mozart: Trio No. 7 in Eb “Kegelstatt”, K. 498 for Clarinet, Viola and Piano
Schubert: Piano Trio in B flat, D. 898 for Violin, Cello and Piano
Schubert: Shepherd on the Rock, D. 965 for Soprano, Clarinet and Piano
Tickets: £15 to include interval drinks
Available at the door or in advance from: markrichardlacey@aol.com
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Maslenitsa Choir concert in London
2020-02-28 19:00 - 20:30
St. George’s Church, Bloomsbury.
Bloomsbury Way, Holborn, London WC1A 2SA

7 – 8.30pm

Come and enjoy Russian songs during one of the most exciting folk festival, the Russian Butter Week – Maslenitsa.

The London Russian Choir

The Brighton & Hove Russian Choir

Traditional songs for pagan holidays, wedding, dance and lyrical folk songs, much loved by Russians Art Songs (Romances) from 18-19th centuries, popular Soviet songs as well as classical pieces by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and more…

Led by Polina Skovoroda-Shepherd (Russia /UK)

Buy tickets here: (£10)

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Voices of Hope Winston's Wish Concert - Brighton
2020-02-29 19:00 - 20:30 | George’s Church, Brighton St Georges Rd, Brighton, East Sussex, BN2 1ED, United Kingdom
Voices of Hope. 29 February, doors open at 7pm – This event has been CANCELLED
St George’s Church, St George’s Road, Brighton, BN2 1ED
Join us for a memorable evening of musical delights at our Voice of Hope concert at St George’s Church in Brighton on Saturday 29th February.
Four fabulous local choirs, Brighton and Hove Acapella, howl, Brighton & Hove Chutzpah Choir and We Bop Choir, will be performing an eclectic mix of choral classics, top hits and golden oldies in this iconic venue.
Our Voices of Hope concert will help raise vital funds and awareness for Winston’ Wish and our work supporting grieving children in Sussex and across the UK.
There will be a cash bar serving wine, beer and soft drinks, as well as a raffle with some amazing prizes to be won, including vouchers for some of Brighton’s best eateries, a karaoke experience, paintballing and signed sports memorabilia.
Tickets cost £10 for adults and £5 for children in advance, or limited tickets will be available on the door for £12 for adults and £7 for children. All proceeds from the evening will help Winston’s Wish support grieving children and their families across the UK.

Book here

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Sing With Me Online sessions
2020-03-21 18:00 - 2020-04-04 18:30
Here is my plan. Every day at 6 pm UK time, I’m going to do a SING WITH ME video session, about 30 minutes every single day. I will alternate Russian and Yiddish songs from day to day.
Every fifth day or so I will give a short concert with just a few songs and tell some fun stories from my professional life: playing for Boris Yeltsin, singing in -26C or being forced to drink a whole bottle of brandy playing for the rich in Samara… Merlin Shepherd will join me in some of the concert sessions on clarinet.
No knowledge of languages is needed! I will provide you with Latin transliteration and translate everything. It will be easy and fun!
Seeing I have lost all my work over the next weeks, I would appreciate a donation for these sessions although you can join me for free.
sing with me

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CANCELLED! Russian 7-string guitar music & Yiddish Song in London
2020-04-06 19:00 - 20:30
UNFORTUNATELY, BECAUSE OF COVID-19 OLEG TIMOFEYEV’S VISIT TO THE UK HAS BEEN CANCELLED.
If you already purchased a ticket, it will be refunded.
WE ARE HOPING TO PERFORM THIS PROGRAMME IN THE UK NEXT YEAR…
Please follow our monthly newsletter, sign up here. Https://mailchi.mp/ca30956aaead/march2020?e=db788f9ec4

Doors open 19.00, concert starts 19.15 . Book here
Rossotrudnichestvo – Russian Cultural Centre in London
37 Kensington High Steet, Kensington, W8, London
In April 2020 the world’s leading expert on the Russian seven-string guitar Oleg Timofeyev will be touring the UK for the first time. For his London concert, he will present a program of 19th and 20th century instrumental music and accompany Brighton’s own Russian singer Polina Shepherd a few songs in Russian and Yiddish.
Both in Russia and in the West, very few people are aware of the magnitude and quality of the repertoire for the Russian seven-string guitar, the instrument from the times of Pushkin, Tolstoy, Chechov and Dostoevsky. This tradition was pretty much abandoned in Russia and elsewhere, when Mr. Timofeyev rolled up his sleeves, wrote a PhD on the subject, recorded more than 30 CDs, and started an annual Russian Guitar Festival in Iowa, USA. If there is anything you wanted to know about the Russian seven-string guitar (or semistrunka, as it often affectionately addressed), here is an opportunity not to be missed!
As much as the musical world is impressed by the number and quality of Oleg’s recordings, his live presentation offers the listener a special charm of intimate, engaging live performance. For pretty much every piece played on an original instrument by Johann Scherzer (ca. 1860), Timofeyev has an introduction to put it into historical and cultural context. For example, he will share with you a shockingly light-wing variations on the Russian anthem “God Save the Czar,” and explain the roots of the disproportional popularity of Oginski’s Polonaise in Russian and Soviet culture. He will play a selection of tunes from his project “Guitar in the Gulag,” dedicated to the life and work of Matvei Pavlov-Azancheev (1888-1963), who spent 10 years in a Stalin’s concentration camp where against all odds he managed to continue writing original music for the seven-string guitar, which enabled his survival amidst the atrocities of the Stalin’s regime.
Timofeyev’s collaboration with Polina started US in 2018, when they performed a selection of Yiddish songs by Mark Warshawsky. A native of Ukraine, Warshawsky was an early-20th century songwriter, who supposedly performed his songs to his own guitar accompaniment. In the concert on April 8 the audience will have a chance to hear what it sounded like, plus several celebrated art songs in Russian.
Ticket price £10 online, £15 on the door
Related Images:

Sing With Me! Russian & Yiddish Songs + Concerts 6pm UK time
2020-04-07 18:00 - 2020-05-11 18:40
Siberia-born, Tatarstan-raised, and now UK-based Russian and Yiddish singer, pianist, and choir director Polina Skovoroda-Shepherd invites you to her SING WITH ME online class. Each session runs about 35 minutes. Polina alternates teaching Russian and Yiddish songs from day to day.
Every fifth day there is a short concert with guests: Merlin Shepherd, Lorin Sklamberg, Efim Chorny & Suzanna Ghergus (Moldova), Oleg Timofeyev(Iowa, USA), Joshua Horowitz (Berkeley, USA), Psoy Korolenko (Moscow – USA) have guested in the concert sessions, more guests are invited to join.
Polina also tells some fun stories from her professional travels like playing for Boris Yeltsin, singing a gig in -26°C (-14.8°F)…
No knowledge of languages is needed! Transliterations and translations are provided. It is easy and fun! Donations are appreciated but you can join the class free of charge too.
We’ve had 50 to 70 people joining us every day from Russia, Canada, Germany, France, Brazil, Italy, USA, Australia, Iceland, Belgium, Ukraine, the Netherlands…
To join the online class and for more information go to
https://www.polinashepherd.co.uk/sing-with-me/
Related Images:

CANCELLED! Russian 7-string guitar music &Yiddish - Brighton Hove
2020-04-08 20:00 - 22:30 | The Brunswick Pub, 1 Holland Rd, Brighton & Hove, BN3 1JF
UNFORTUNATELY, BECAUSE OF COVID-19 OLEG TIMOFEYEV’S VISIT TO THE UK HAS BEEN CANCELLED.
If you already purchased a ticket, it will be refunded.
WE ARE HOPING TO PERFORM THIS PROGRAMME IN THE UK NEXT YEAR…
Please follow our monthly newsletter, sign up here. Https://mailchi.mp/ca30956aaead/march2020?e=db788f9ec4
In April 2020 the world’s leading expert on the Russian seven-string guitar Oleg Timofeyev will be touring the UK for the first time. For his Brighton and Hove concert, he will present a program of 19th and 20th century instrumental music and accompany Polina Shepherd a few songs in Russian and Yiddish.
Both in Russia and in the West, very few people are aware of the magnitude and quality of the repertoire for the Russian seven-string guitar, the instrument from the times of Pushkin, Tolstoy, Chechov and Dostoevsky. This tradition was pretty much abandoned in Russia and elsewhere, when Mr. Timofeyev rolled up his sleeves, wrote a PhD on the subject, recorded more than 30 CDs, and started an annual Russian Guitar Festival in Iowa, USA. If there is anything you wanted to know about the Russian seven-string guitar (or semistrunka, as it often affectionately addressed), here is an opportunity not to be missed!
As much as the musical world is impressed by the number and quality of Oleg’s recordings, his live presentation offers the listener a special charm of intimate, engaging live performance. For pretty much every piece played on an original instrument by Johann Scherzer (ca. 1860), Timofeyev has an introduction to put it into historical and cultural context. For example, he will share with you a shockingly light-wing variations on the Russian anthem “God Save the Czar,” and explain the roots of the disproportional popularity of Oginski’s Polonaise in Russian and Soviet culture. He will play a selection of tunes from his project “Guitar in the Gulag,” dedicated to the life and work of Matvei Pavlov-Azancheev (1888-1963), who spent 10 years in a Stalin’s concentration camp where against all odds he managed to continue writing original music for the seven-string guitar, which enabled his survival amidst the atrocities of the Stalin’s regime.
Timofeyev’s collaboration with Polina Shepherd started in 2018 in the US, when they performed a selection of Yiddish songs by Mark Warshawsky. A native of Ukraine, Warshawsky was an early-20th century songwriter, who supposedly performed his songs to his own guitar accompaniment. In the concert on April 8 the audience will have a chance to hear what it sounded like, plus several celebrated art songs in Russian.
Ticket price £12 online, £15 on the door

Related Images:

Russian 7-string guitar & Yiddish Song with O. Timofeyev, Iowa City
2020-04-16 18:00 - 18:40
6 pm UK time / 10am California Time / 1pm New York Time/ 7pm Germany, France, Belgium…
Enjoy a sweet and short online concert of Russian 7-string guitar music & Yiddish Song with Oleg Timofeyev playing in Iowa City, USA and Polina Shepherd singing in her house in Brighton, UK.
Oleg’s and Polina’s concerts in the UK this April didn’t happen and they won’t be able to play and sing together, but still – hear a lovely selection of Russian and Yiddish tunes.
This concert is part of Polina’s daily Sing With Me! Russian& Yiddish Song Class + Concerts 6pm UK time.
If there is anything you want to know about the Russian seven-string guitar (or semistrunka, as it often affectionately addressed), Oleg, an international authourity of the Russian and Gypsy guitar styles, knows the answers! Oleg will present 19-20 century instrumental music for Russian guitar played on an original instrument by Johann Scherzer made in 1860 (!).
Polina Shepherd will sing a few songs in Yiddish.
Not to be missed!
FREE but donations are appreciated
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2020-04-23 18:00 - 18:40
6 pm UK time / 10am California / 1pm New York/ 7pm most of Europe…
Join us for a short and sweet house concert online, wherever you are.
Joshua Horowitz, a pianist, accordionist, arranger, cimbalom player, teacher, writer and theorist, best known for his work in traditional Jewish music, also known as a composer – will be our guest on the show playing accordion from his house outside San Francisco.
Polina Shepherd will join with a few Russian songs, you know, her usual, from her house in Brighton UK…
This is part of Sing With Me! Russian& Yiddish Song Class + Concerts 6pm UK time, a series of online workshops and concerts. We’ve had up to 85 people joining us every day from Russia, USA, Australia, Brazil, Iceland, Canada, Ukraine, Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden and New Zealand. Join the fun!
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Josh Horowitz & P. Shepherd online
2020-04-23 18:00 - 18:40
Josh Horowitz & P. Shepherd online
6 pm UK time / 10am California / 1pm New York/ 7pm most of Europe…
Join us for a short and sweet house concert online, wherever you are.
Joshua Horowitz, a pianist, accordionist, arranger, cimbalom player, teacher, writer and theorist, best known for his work in traditional Jewish music, also known as a composer – will be our guest on the show playing accordion from his house outside San Francisco.
Polina Shepherd will join with a few Russian songs, you know, her usual, from her house in Brighton UK…
This is part of Sing With Me! Russian& Yiddish Song Class + Concerts, a series of online workshops and concerts. We’ve had up to 85 people joining us every day from Russia, USA, Australia, Brazil, Iceland, Canada, Ukraine, Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden and New Zealand. Join the fun!
You can join us free of charge but payments via https://www.polinashepherd.co.uk/sing-with-me/will be hugely appreciated!
Join Zoom Meeting from this page
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Psoy Korolenko & Polina Shepherd ZOOM gig 6pm UK /10am New York.
2020-04-28 18:00 - 18:30
6 pm UK time / 10am California / 1pm New York/ 7pm most of Europe.
Psoy & Polina will travel into virtual space and present a short & sweet intercontinental house concert online. Join us, wherever you are!
Psoy will be performing from New Jersey, US and will join with a few songs from her house in Brighton UK.
Psoy Korolenko been referred to as a ”wandering scholar” and an ”avant-bard”. His multilingual one-person cabaret-esque show balances folk and klezmer music, free-style poetry and intellectual comedy. Sings in English, Russian, Yiddish, French, also recently Portuguese (Brazillian rock in new renderings and Russian translations).
by Zlat Kogan
Psoy & Polina have a Duo project, The Stranniki, which defines original repertoire based on their original Yiddish & Russian songs as well as multilingual interpretations & translations. They create a balance between serious listening and popular music, avant-garde & classics, folklore, chamber music, theatre song & cabaret, reflecting the multi-cultural and international nature of diverse world & Jewish cultures. Rooted in Russian and Yiddish folk, their multilingual journey starts in the Steppes and the Shtetl, then takes us to the new world and other planets.
Join us for a tiny snippet of The Stranniki’s current internal journeys.
FREE but voluntary payments are appreciated.
This event is part of Polina Shepherd’s Sing With Me series.
Please go to this page a few hours before the event for a zoom meeting and password: [REDACTED]
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Vanya Zhuk & Polina Shepherd short gig 6pm UK /10am New York
2020-05-06 18:00 - 18:40
Vanya Zhuk & Polina Shepherd come together for a short & sweet intercontinental house concert online. Vanya will be performing from Moscow and Polina will join with a few songs from her house in Brighton UK.
Vanya Zhuk is a Moscow-based singer and guitar player. He started with blues and rock, then developed interest for roots music and formed a klezmer-rock band Nayekhovichi. He plays traditional Russian 7-string guitar, like Oleg Timofeyev (already known to this series’ audience), and sings Russian Roma and Yiddish songs. He also plays lead guitar with many singers, including Daniel Kahn and “Gitar-gitar jump in my jaguar” guy Peter Nalich.
Polina Shepherd, called The Robert Plant of klezmer by Seth Rogovoy (The Essential Klezmer), will present a few songs in Russian and Yiddish.
Join free of charge, voluntary payments are welcome.
This concert is part of Sing With Me! Russian & Yiddish Song Classes + Concerts on Zoom
ZOOM meeting information will be on this page a few hours before the concert
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Mageyfe Khasene - Plague Wedding Spectacle
2020-05-10 19:00 - 20:30
Hosted by Yiddish Arts and Academics Association of North America

Come to a Mageyfe Khasene (plague wedding) spectacle featuring famous Yiddish artists and academics :

Alicia Svigals,
Michael Steinlauf,
Psoy Korolenko,
Polina Shepherd,
Yale Strom,
Elizabeth Schwartz,
Mikhl Yashinsky,
Anna Rozenfeld,
Lea Rosenfeld,
Rafi Caplan,
Amelia Gleser,
Tanja Yakovleva!
We are raising money to hire more Yiddishists in order to transform our small organisation into a House of Yiddishland, to operate both locally in San Diego and internationally.

Date: Sunday, May 10th, 2020
Time: 11 am to 12.30 pm PDT ( (2 p.m. EDT, 7 p.m. in the UK, 8 p.m. in Europe, 9 p.m. in Israel)
Admission: donation-based, donate what you can, from $18 to $1,800! (https://www.jewcer.org/project/yaaana/)
Registration: please email us at info@yaaana.com to access the Zoom link. Due to security reasons, all guests must be registered.
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Sklamberg & the Shepherds Intercontinental
2020-05-11 18:00 - 18:45
Monday 11 May 6 pm London / 7 pm Berlin / 1 pm New York/ 10 am California / 20.00 Moscow on ZOOM
Stretching the possibilities of transatlantic and intercultural performances, Sklamberg & the Shepherds are hitting hard with a coming together from three diverse continents. Yes, Russia is a continent. Yes, New York is a continent too and so for that matter is Brighton. Kind of. Mostly.
Presenting a diverse collection of songs and instrumental music from the Russian Jewish, Jewish Russian and just downright everything in between, these three hardcore, beautiful and handsome fanatics and veterans of World Music will delight, thrill and entice you into a world that is delightful, thrilling and enticing. Come along, join in the lockdown fun. Get your gatkes off and join us for a transatlantic party like no other.
Join online on ZOOM
Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83309789609
Password, please insert with no spaces: a p e r o l
Join free of charge or make a voluntary payment which we would appreciate a lot. PayPal to polina_shepherd@yahoo.co.uk or use these buttons and out in any combination you like.
£5
£10
£15
Lorin Sklamberg (USA) – vocals, accordion, guitar
Polina Shepherd (Russia/UK) – vocals, piano
Merlin Shepherd (UK) – clarinets
Sklamberg & the Shepherds website

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An inclusive, international online festival for the 33rd Day of the Omer
2020-05-12 18:00 - 23:30
An inclusive, international online festival for the 33rd Day of the Omer, featuring artists of all genders in Israel, Europe, North and South America.

Song, dance, theater, poetry, rabbinic teachings, haircuts, cooking demonstrations and much more!

All audience donations will go directly to the artists. Donations accepted via Paypal (cantor.sarah.myerson@gmail.com) and Venmo (@Sarah-Myerson). Thank you for your support!
The Facebook livestream will post here: www.facebook.com/events/237083090726917/
Contact us: fb.me/LagBaOmerCelebration
Tag us in your posts: #lagbaomer4allArtists include:
Zulema Benveniste (Argentina)
Eléonore Biezunski (USA)
Polina Shepherd (UK)
Nicole Borger (Brazil)
Joanne H Borts (USA)
Alejandra Czarny (Argentina/USA)
Cantor Magda Fishman (USA)
Tânia Grinberg (Brazil)
Omer Hallel (Israel)
Sima Halpern (Brazil)
Lea Kalisch and Rabbi Tobias Moss (USA)
Susan Abbe Hoffman Lankin-watts (USA)
Jeyn Levison and Josh Waletzky (USA)
Rabbi Bronwen Mullin (USA)
Cantor Sarah Myerson and Ilya Shneyveys (USA)
Alevtina Parland (Finland)
Rabbi Shira Rosenblum (USA)
Rabbi Raysh Weiss (USA)
Amy Zakar and Adrian Banner (USA)

The festival will be live streamed via Facebook, to this event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/237083090726917/
If audience members can say now that they’re “attending” the event, then it will be easier for them to access the livestream once it’s there.

Polina’s set is at 2:20pm – 2.40pm New York time, 7.20 – 7.40 pm UK time.

Koyekh Nigun by Polina Shepherd
Ovnt gang Lyrics by David Einhorn, music by Polina Shepherd
Zingt tsu im – Shiru lo (Sing unto Him a new song) Lyrics from Psalm 33:-3, music by Polina Shepherd
Strela Russian folk song
Fire down below Lyrics by Seth Rogovoy, music by Polina Shepherd
Gemiter Lyrics by Leyb Kvitko, music by Polina Shepherd
Dint Got mit Simkhe (Serve the Lord with gladness, come before his presence with singing) Lyrics from Psalm 100:2, music by Polina Shepherd

SEE OR DOWNLOAD THE FULL PROGRAMME AND PRESENTER’S BIOGS HERE: Lag BaOmer Celebration
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Sing With Me! Russian & Yiddish Song Classes + Concerts on Zoom
2020-05-17 19:00 - 2020-05-26 19:40
To join the online class — every day at 11am California / 2pm New York/ 7 pm UK time / 8 pm most of Europe
Join on ZOOM via this page.
Each session is unique and newcomers are always welcome!
Siberia-born, Tatarstan-raised, and now UK-based Russian and Yiddish singer, pianist, and choir director Polina Skovoroda-Shepherd invites you to her SING WITH ME online class. Each session runs about 35 -40 minutes. Polina alternates teaching Russian and Yiddish songs from day to day.
No knowledge of languages is needed. A song sheet is uploaded to this page at least two hours before we start and shown on the screen during the sessions. Sing with Me videos are posted online afterwards. Every fifth day is a short concert with a guest star with lifestream on Facebook. We’ve had up to 90 people joining us from Russia, USA, Australia, Brazil, Iceland, Canada, Ukraine, most of Europe, and New Zealand and performers joining the concerts from New York, Moscow, Berkeley, Iowa City and Kishinev so far…
Join our international group any time! Payments are voluntary, you can join us free of charge too.
Sunday 17 May – Russian song
Monday 18 May – Yiddish song
Tuesday 19 May – Russian song
Wednesday 20 May – Yiddish song
Thursday 21 May – Concert with guest Socalled (Joshua Dolgin), Montreal, Canada.
Friday 22 May – Russian song
Saturday 23 May – Yiddish song
Sunday 24 May – Russian song
Monday 25 May – Yiddish song
Tuesday 26 May – Concert with guest TBA.
TO JOIN, please go to this page a few hours before each session for more information, a ZOOM meeting number and a song sheet: https://www.polinashepherd.co.uk/sing-with-me/
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Socalled & Polina short intercontinental Yiddish & Russian gig
2020-05-21 19:00 - 19:45
On a cold winter day in Montreal in December 2019 I was walking down a snowy street to visit Josh during his rare presence in his hometown. Montreal felt like Mother Russia that day… I had no idea this photo will come handy and Josh will be easy to find at home and get for a gig so soon…
So here we are: Socalled will be performing from his place in Montreal and I’ll throw a few Russian songs into the borsht all the way from Brighton UK.
This is part of my Sing With Me! Russian & Yiddish Song Classes + Concerts on Zoom.
In case you don’t know yet, Joshua Dolgin, better known by his stage name Socalled, is a Canadian rapper and record producer, known for his eclectic mix of hip hop, klezmer, and other styles such as drum & bass and folk music. A pianist and accordion player, he has taught the latter at Klezfest London, where he has also run workshops in “hiphopkele”… socalledmusic.com
I am Polina Shepherd, a performer and cultural activist from the UK via Siberia and Kazan, Tatarstan. www.polinashepherd.co.uk
Join on ZOOM (see below) or watch FB live streaming, more TBA.
Optional payments are appreciated. Information will be here ON THE DAY: https://www.polinashepherd.co.uk/sing-with-me/
Payment is optional but very much appreciated.
Use your debit or credit card for the buttons below. or PayPal directly via polina_shepherd @ yahoo. co. uk (with no spaces)
£5
£10
Feeling generous? Here is a good number: £27
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Yiddish Song: Step Forverts. Opening Summit
2020-05-24 19:00 - 20:30
Yiddish Song Forum: Step Forverts READ MORE HERE – Project page

A unique international gathering of Yiddish song activists. Live on Facebook here
At the initial summit on 24 May at 9 am California/ 12 noon New York / 5pm London / 6 pm Berlin / 7pm Kishinev and Moscow we come together to take a step forward, we meet & greet and start a creative flow.
Following that, two times a week, on Wednesdays and Sundays two performers present a 45 minute session each and a short interview about their approach to taking Yiddish song further; coordinated and moderated by Efim Chorny (Moldova) & Polina Shepherd (Russia/UK)
Each session will have at least one world premiere of a newly composed or arranged song – we would like this to be a special feature of our series!
Another very important feature of the forum is our Russian speaking ‘Eastern branch’ – about a half of our presenters are originally from Eastern Europe. Let’s bring us all closer together!
We truly hope that our international project will make a good impact on our culture and our world and help us all to Step Forwards!
Payments are optional but are highly appreciated. We are collecting donations which will be split between all the participants via PayPal. Also, each performer provides an option to receive direct payments on the day of their event.

Related Images:

Classic Guitar, Russian &Yiddish. Grisha Nisnevich & P. Shepherd
2020-05-26 19:00 - 19:45
7 pm UK time / 11 am California Time / 2 pm New York Time/ 8 pm Europe…
Live on Facebook here and on ZOOM.
Information how TO JOIN on ZOOM will be here a few hours before the event: https://www.polinashepherd.co.uk/sing-with-me/.
Enjoy a short & sweet online concert of classic 7-string guitar music from & Yiddish Song with Gregory) Nisnevich playing in Denver, USA and Polina Shepherd singing in her house in Brighton, UK.
Grisha (Gregory) Nisnevich is a classical guitarist and Argentine tango performer & instructor. He maintains an active touring schedule as a soloist and as a chamber musician, teaching and performing Argentinian tango. Recorded numerous CDs with Russian, Klezmer, Classical, Tango and his own compositions. His playing of the Classic Russian Art Song (Romance) is amazing, don’t miss!
https://www.gren-music.com/
I met Grisha on my tour in the US in December when him and his friends turned up at my concert in Chicago strait from his own gig. He had his guitar with him, and we launched into a whole long set of informal music making. The audience stayed for that and it was hard to stop. Grisha and I have all that classical Russian Art Song repertoire together which we would love to perform together at some point… someday, somewhere… For now, please hear Gregory’s beautiful Russian music and, hopefully, a couple of Argentinian Tangos too and me with a few Yiddish songs.
FREE but donations are appreciated, see that page for payment buttons and a PayPal address.
You can also watch it live here on Facebook on this page: https://www.facebook.com/polinashepherd/
This concert is part of Polina Shepherd’s Sing with Me Yiddish & Russian Song Classes & Concerts online

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Yiddish Song: Step Forverts
2020-05-27 17:00 - 18:30, 2020-06-03 17:00 - 18:30, 2020-06-07 17:00 - 18:30, 2020-06-10 17:00 - 18:30
Yiddish Song Forum: Step Forverts – Wednesdays and Sundays live on Facebook.
Project page

A unique international gathering of Yiddish song activists. Live on Facebook here.
Wednesdays and Sundays from 24 May at 9 am California/ 12 noon New York / 5pm London / 6 pm Berlin / 7pm Kishinev and Moscow
On 24 May we came together to take a step forward, we meet & greet and start a creative flow. Following that, two times a week, on Wednesdays and Sundays performers present solo sessions with short interviews about their approach to taking Yiddish song further.
Each session will have at least one world premiere of a newly composed or arranged song – we would like this to be a special feature of our series!
Another very important feature of the forum is our Russian speaking ‘Eastern branch’ – about a half of our presenters are originally from Eastern Europe. Let’s bring us all closer together!
We have over 30 presenters from Russia, Moldova, UK, Canada, USA, Brazil, The Netherlands, Estonia, Estonia, Latvia on board, representing a huge variety of styles and genres of Yiddish song – performers, composers, lecturers/researchers, event organisers who all sing their unique material. Coordinated and moderated by Efim Chorny (Moldova) & Polina Shepherd (Russia/UK).
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Yiddish Song: Step Forverts
2020-05-31 17:00 - 18:30 | Live on Facebook

Sing With Me 57 Russian Song
2020-05-31 19:00 - 19:30
Russian & Yiddish Song Sessions and Concerts Online are open to everyone!
11am California / 2pm New York/ 7 pm UK time / 8pm most of Europe
We’ve had 56 sessions running most days since the lock down and now moving on to twice a week with Russian Songs on Sundays and Yiddish songs on Wednesdays, sessions being 40 minutes. No knowledge of languages is needed. A song sheet is uploaded to this page at least two hours before we start and shown on the screen during the sessions. Sing With Me videos are posted online afterwards. We’ve had up to 90 people joining us from Russia, USA, Australia, Brazil, Iceland, Canada, Ukraine, most of Europe, and New Zealand!
More information here: https://www.polinashepherd.co.uk/sing-with-me/

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2020-05-31 20:00 - 22:00
A fundraising concert with A Besere Velt Yiddish Chorus, Lorin Sklamberg & Polina Shepherd. Watch this space for more info.
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Sing With Me 58 Yiddish Song
2020-06-03 19:00 - 19:30

Sing with Me 59 Russian / Yiddish Song
2020-06-10 19:00 - 19:30
