Ithaca College

The sixth annual Ithaca College Klezmer Gala will take place at Ithaca College on Sunday, February 22, at 4:00 p.m. in Emerson Suites, Phillips Hall. Klezmer dance expert Roey Mendel will conduct a pre-gala dance workshop beginning at 3:30 p.m. in the north foyer. Both events are free and open to the public.

The gala will feature a performance by the Ithaca College Klezmorim, a School of Music-supported student ensemble that explores klezmer, the secular music of the Eastern European Jews. This year’s ensemble features over a dozen performers on everything from flute, trumpet, trombone, and tuba to the traditional violin, accordion, piano, and drums.

Under the direction of professor of music Peter Rothbart, the ensemble focuses on learning and performing in the traditional vein of klezmer, so that both the musicians and their audiences can understand and appreciate the intricacies and inner beauties of the musical form. The School of Music is one of the few schools in the country to offer klezmer as a regular credit-bearing chamber ensemble.

The Ithaca College Klezmorim has participated in workshops and master classes and has performed with such klezmer luminaries as the Klezmatics, Frank London, Joel Rubin, Susan and Elaine Watts, and Pete Rushevsky. The ensemble’s debut CD, Music for Hawaiian Gardens, is available on CDBaby.com and through activelistening.org. It will also be on sale at the concert.

Ithaca College Klezmorim Website

The Klezmer Gala is sponsored by the Ithaca College Jewish studies program and the School of Music. For more information on the concert or the Jewish studies program, contact Rebecca Lesses, assistant professor of Jewish Studies, at (607) 274-3556 or rlesses@ithaca.edu.