CONCERTS
(scroll down for workshops/open rehearsals schedule)
All KLEZCADIA events will take place within a 10-minute drive from downtown Victoria. Specific venue information will be provided only after registration, and only to in-person participants.
Tuesday 4 June – 8pm PDT
Veretski Pass and Joel Rubin present Makonovetsky’s Scion
West Coast in aspect, global in impact, Veretski Pass’ iconic klezmer sound is made by Cookie Segelstein (violin), Joshua Horowitz (19th-century button accordion), and Stuart Brotman (bass). The band reunites with clarinet maestro Joel Rubin to present the world-premiere live performance of music from Makonovetsky’s Scion, their new album for the Borscht Beat label.
Wednesday 5 June – 8pm PDT
Geoff Berner presents Second Fleet
Vancouver singer/songwriter/accordion player/novelist/political activist Geoff Berner brings us a second world premiere: Second Fleet, the Yiddish song cycle he recently co-wrote with legendary Canadian Yiddishist Michael Wex. As one might expect from a 21st-century Yiddish song cycle about Russia launching a 1904 attack on a neighbouring country to distract from authoritarian behaviour at home, any resemblance to current Eastern European events is purely coincidental.
Thursday 6 June – 8pm PDT
Jeanette Lewicki presents The Pepi Litman Project
For our third world premiere in three days, California singer/actor/character/maven Jeanette Lewicki is possessed by the spirit of Pepi Litman, the original “drag king” of the Yiddish Theatre. The Pepi Litman Project takes us deep into the historical moment where one groundbreaking woman wore the pants, ran her own touring troupe, made many a tavern into a theatre for the night, and created transgressive satire through her songs. Cookie Segelstein and Joshua Horowitz co-conspire with music, and merry pranksters from The Klezbians provide stage support.
Friday 7 June – 8pm PDT
Veretski Pass and Joel Rubin present Klezmer Shabes
Our anchor ensemble’s klezmer journey takes a reflective turn with selections from Veretski Pass’ 2011 album Klezmer Shul, embroidered by Joel Rubin’s magnificent doina improvisations.
Saturday 8 June – 8pm PDT
KLEZCADIA KABARET
Ready for a walk on the vilde (wild) side? Musical mash-ups, klezmer-adjacent adventures, song parodies, unusual instruments: you never know what will pop up in this clearing in the klezmer/Yiddish jungle. We do know that Seattle neo-vaudevillian Mai Li Pittard will help us find out, and that Victoria klezmer bands Kvell’s Angels and The Klezbians will bring some home-team tam (flavour) to the party.
Sunday 9 June – 5pm PDT
KLEZCADIA Festival Finale Concert
The entire KLEZCADIA cohort heads downtown to Stage in the Park (AKA the Cameron Bandshell), where lively instrumental klezmer tunes will alternate with inspiring Yiddish sing-alongs, all in celebration of Congregation Emanu-El’s 160th Anniversary. Come serenade Beacon Hill Park’s resident herons with us!
WORKSHOPS/OPEN REHEARSALS
All KLEZCADIA events will take place within a 10-minute drive from downtown Victoria. Specific venue information will be provided only after registration, and only to in-person participants.
Tuesday 4 June
Morning (9:30-11:30am PDT)
- Cookie Segelstein: Veretski Pass, Under the Hood: Working with Archival Materials [lecture]
- Joshua Horowitz: The Survivor’s Guide to Klezmer* [session 1 of 4]
- Joel Rubin: Survey of Klezmer Clarinet (and Wind) Styles** [session 1 of 4]
- Jeanette Lewicki: Songs of Pepi Litman [survey] [session 1 of 4]
Early Afternoon (1-2:45pm PDT)
- Andy Muchin on The Barry Sisters: America’s Yiddish Swingsters
- Marianne Tatom: Yiddish Through Song Lyrics [session 1 of 4]
- Sasha Berenstein: Yiddish Through Conversation [session 1 of 4]
Late Afternoon (3:15-5pm PDT)
- Open Rehearsal/Soundcheck for Makonovetsky’s Scion [virtual only]
Wednesday 5 June
Morning (9:30-11:30am PDT)
- Cookie Segelstein: Thrills, Trills, Slides, and Fills: Filling Out a Klezmer Tune [playing class]
- Joshua Horowitz: The Survivor’s Guide to Klezmer* [session 2 of 4]
- Joel Rubin: Survey of Klezmer Clarinet (and Wind) Styles** [session 2 of 4]
- Jeanette Lewicki: Songs of Pepi Litman [survey] [session 2 of 4]
Early Afternoon (1-2:45pm PDT)
- Christina Crowder of the Klezmer Institute on The Kiselgof-Makonovetsky Digital Manuscript Project
- Marianne Tatom: Yiddish Through Song Lyrics [session 2 of 4]
- Sasha Berenstein: Yiddish Through Conversation [session 2 of 4]
Late Afternoon (3:15-5pm PDT)
- Open Rehearsal/Soundcheck for Second Fleet
Thursday 6 June
Morning (9:30-11:30am PDT)
- Cookie Segelstein: Doinas From Scratch [playing class]
- Joshua Horowitz: The Survivor’s Guide to Klezmer* [session 3 of 4]
- Joel Rubin: Survey of Klezmer Clarinet (and Wind) Styles** [session 3 of 4]
- Jeanette Lewicki: Songs of Pepi Litman [survey] [session 3 of 4]
Early Afternoon (1-2:45pm PDT)
- Joel Schechter & Diana Scott of the Northern California Branch of the Workers Circle/Arbeter Ring on The Bund: A Graphic History of Jewish Labour Resistance
- Marianne Tatom: Yiddish Through Song Lyrics [session 3 of 4]
- Sasha Berenstein: Yiddish Through Conversation [session 3 of 4]
Late Afternoon (3:15-5pm PDT)
- Open Rehearsal/Soundcheck for The Pepi Litman Project
Friday 7 June
Morning (9:30-11:30am PDT)
- Cookie Segelstein: Co-Territorial Tunes from Poland and Ukraine [playing class]
- Joshua Horowitz: The Survivor’s Guide to Klezmer* [session 4 of 4]
- Joel Rubin: Survey of Klezmer Clarinet (and Wind) Styles** [session 4 of 4]
- Jeanette Lewicki: Songs of Pepi Litman [survey] [session 4 of 4]
Early Afternoon (1-2:45pm PDT)
- Daniel Carkner: Any Port in a Pandemic: The Zimro Ensemble in Java 1919
- Marianne Tatom: Yiddish Through Song Lyrics [session 4 of 4]
- Sasha Berenstein: Yiddish Through Conversation [session 4 of 4]
Late Afternoon (3:15-5pm PDT)
- Open Rehearsal/Soundcheck for Klezmer Shabes
Saturday 8 June
Morning (9:30-11:30am PDT)
- Coaching Rehearsals: TBD
- Small Gatherings: TBD
Early Afternoon (1-2:45pm PDT)
- Open Rehearsal for KLEZCADIA Festival Finale Concert
Late Afternoon (3:15-5pm PDT)
- Open Rehearsal/Soundcheck for KLEZCADIA KABARET
Sunday 9 June
Afternoon (3-4:30pm)
- Dress Rehearsal/Soundcheck for KLEZCADIA Festival Finale Concert [Cameron Bandshell]
* Josh Horowitz’s class will show students how to first survive in every klezmer situation. Beginning with how to make a simple doina improvisation, he will use the same material to create a Hora, Khusidl, Freylekhs and Bulgar, to help students to understand how to play them convincingly and with expression. The class will deal with accompaniment patterns for everyone as well, and Josh will show some secrets to sound Jewish and give tips on how to practice efficiently. But first and foremost, the class will be fun!
** Joel Rubin’s class will look at how to work with and learn from masterpieces of klezmer music from Europe and the USA, focusing on recordings by Belf, Titunshnayder, Shlumke Beckerman, Naftule Brandwein and Dave Tarras. We’ll look at how to recognize and learn from modal and ornamental patterns and how to apply the knowledge to other, similar tunes (including those from manuscripts, where we don’t have recordings). Emphasis will be on learning and doing by ear, but there will be some written materials as well. Not limited to wind players!
This schedule is subject to change.
KLEZCADIA 