Hope you had a wonderful High Holiday season. Now that it is over, all of us here at KlezCalifornia are gearing up for our biggest event this year - a Klezmer Concert & Dance Party with the gonifs. See below for details.
We've also been busy with our other KlezCalifornia events, which include klezmer workshops, Yiddish conversation salons, fun events at the Jewish Community Library, and more! Keep reading for all the details. |
| We've got the beat!
Join us for a rousing and joyful celebration of Yiddish culture with the amazing Bay Area klezmer band, the gonifs!
Sunday, October 14, 3-5pm Congregation B'nai Shalom Walnut Creek * MC'd by radio host Andy Muchin * Klezmer dancing led by Bruce Bierman * Kids' program with Gerry Tenney ages 5-12 * Free babysitting for kids under 5 (with RSVP) |
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A Klezmer Workshop with Josh Horowitz Presented by KlezCalifornia Sunday, October 21, 1-4pm If you've ever wondered how your favorite musicians got really good at what they do, the answer is Creative and Fun Practicing. Yes, practicing can be as creative and exciting as playing polished versions of tunes! This workshop deals with super-creative ways to develop skills that emerge directly from the tunes you're playing, so the application is already there. Forget scales and arpeggios (unless they occur in the tunes you're playing of course). Each tune presents its own characteristics that can be spun into exercises that not only solve technical problems, but can also be used within the tunes right away. The main thing Josh will show is how to develop your own practicing tools that can be applied in each circumstance you encounter, including: - Creating patterns and sequences that come from the melodies you are playing
- Isolating fragments that repeat in the tune and spinning them round and round
- Strategizing how to navigate the most difficult parts of the piece
- Developing emergency exits from parts of the tune where you might stumble
And much, much more.
This may be the most useful workshop you'll ever attend with dividends paid out for years to come. |
European Jewish History | Sunday, October 21, 1:30pm Jewish Community Library, SF One of the lesser-known groups persecuted during Stalin's Great Purge (1937-38) were the employees of Agro-Joint (American Jewish Joint Agricultural Corporation), an organization created in 1924 by the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), in agreement with the Soviet government, to resettle and agrarianize Soviet Jews. Misha Mitsel, JDC senior archivist, spent eight years searching ex-KGB interrogation files and state archives in Ukraine and Russian Federation to uncover the names of two hundred Agro-Joint employees, all accused of "collaboration with a counter-revolutionary organization founded by the director of Agro-Joint, Dr. Rosen." Co-presented by KlezCalifornia. |
Fluent in Yiddish? | Come to KlezCalifornia's Flisik Yidish Salon! Sunday, October 21, 2-4pm Berkeley
Mir veln shmuesn af di temes: - Dertseyl undz dayn balibster geshikhteh in finf minutn.
- Vos iz dayn balibster zakh tsu esn?
- Millie vet undz brengen kurtseh geshikhtez tsu leyenen und discutirn.
- Gershon vet undz zingen a yidishn lid.
Loz undz visn oyb du kumst (RSVP). Farges nit tsu brengen epes tsu nashn oder trinken!
Upcoming Sunday Salons November 18, El Cerrito December 16, Oakland
Free! RSVP by email or call 415-789-7679 |
 Celebrating Rabbi Ed Zerin | Thursday, October 25, 7pm Jewish Community Library, SF
You are invited to an evening in celebration of Rabbi Edward Zerin. Raised in a Yiddish-speaking family in Delaware, Ed Zerin was ordained as a rabbi in 1946 and received a PhD in 1952 from the University of Southern California. He has had a distinguished career as a congregational rabbi, psychotherapist, university professor, Jewish consultant for forty-five Catholic textbooks, and author of ten books, including "The Birth of the Torah." Upon moving to San Francisco in 2004, Rabbi Zerin embarked on studying and recording the history of its Jewish presence, resulting in the 2006 book, "Jewish San Francisco." His next book was a translation of the Yiddish poetry of his mentor, Rabbi Simon Krinsky. We wish to express our appreciation of Rabbi Zerin and the wisdom and love of learning he has brought to us. Co-presented by KlezCalifornia. |
Farshidns
Tidbits of Yiddish culture from around the world |  Thanks to Moreen Libet and Ken Blady, respectively. The Jews of Latin America with Professor Ilan Stavans from The Yiddish Book Center No Yiddish needed, but knowing Yiddish makes it even more fun. |
Yiddish Culture, Dance & Music October
| Rehearses Tuesdays, 7:30-9:30pm  Menorah Park, SF Rehearses Mondays, 7:30pm JCC East Bay, Berkeley
The Lonely Child, the Legacy of a Song from the Vilna Ghetto (film), with writer/producer Alix Wall
Sunday, October 7, 7:30-8:30pm Congregation Netivot Shalom, Berkeley with Laya Silber Wednesday, October 10, 7pm Stanford University, Stanford
The Joy of Jewish Dance, with Bruce Bierman Thursdays, October 11 - November 1, 10-11:15am Hasidic, Klezmer, Yemenite, and Israeli dance Chochmat HaLev, Berkeley with the gonifs, MC Andy Muchin dance leader Bruce Bierman kids' program with Gerry Tenney  The Story and Songs of the Rediscovered 1905 Musical Stempenyu, with Karen Underhill and Sharon Bernstein
Monday, October 15, noon - 1pm Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, Berkeley Itzhak (film about violinist Itzhak Perlman), with klezmer Thursday, October 18, 6:30pm (see also Nov. 7) Oshman Family JCC, Palo Alto Saturday, October 20, 7:30pm Sunday, October 21, 7pm Oshman Family JCC, Palo Alto  The Rise and Destruction of Agro-Joint, with Misha Mitse l Sunday, October 21, 1:30pm Jewish Community Library, SF Sunday, October 21, 2-5pm Berkeley with Josh Horowitz
Sunday, October 21, 1-4pm Congregation Sha'ar Zahav, SF Diaspora, with San Francisco Choral Artists
Thursday, October 25, 6:30-8pm Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park Thursday, October 25, 7pm  Jewish Community Library, SF Fridays, October 26 - December 7, 10am-noon Acalanes College, Walnut Creek Monday, October 29, 5:30-7pm The Local Café, Alameda Tuesday, October 30, 1pm and 7pm Rialto Cinemas, Sebastopol Wednesday, October 31, 6:30pm AMC Saratoga 14, San Jose |
Coming in November and beyond
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 Saturday, November 3, 7pm Congregation Shomrei Torah, Santa Rosa Itzhak (film about violinist Itzhak Perlman), with klezmer Wednesday, November 7, 6:30pm AMC Saratoga 14, San Jose
Thursday, November 8, 6:30pm Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park  Friday, November 9, 12:45-1:15pm Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco Sunday, November 11, starting 3:30-6:30pm Kehilla Community Congregation, Piedmont with poets Jake Marmer and Alicia Jo Rabins Thursday, November 15, 7pm - 8:30ish Adobe Books, San Francisco Thursday, November 15, 7:30pm Oshman Family JCC, Palo Alto Sunday, November 18, 2-4pm Private home in El Cerrito Thursday, Nov 29, 6:30-8pm Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park HEADS UP: Klezmer Conservatory Band, Michael Alpert, Andy Statman Monday, January 14, 8pm Davies Symphony Hall, SF |
Donate
| Help us continue our exciting mission to connect people and communities around the Bay Area with Yiddish culture. Donate $18, $36 or $54 here . If you prefer to mail a check, use the address below. A sheynem dank! (Thank you very much!)
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Honor Wall
| From Tony Phillips: My connection to Yiddish might be typical for a California native of my generation. My grandparents Carol and Irving grew up speaking Yiddish but, living in New York City, spoke it mainly to avoid being understood by their children and grandchildren. In contrast, Uncle Joseph, who immigrated when older, mainly spoke and read Yiddish, and his English was limited and thickly accented. That generation's origins in the Yiddish-speaking world is a treasure to be passed on to subsequent generations who enjoy easier circumstances. View the KlezCalifornia Honor Wall . Become a donor to post your tribute. |
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