SJCA Presents When Klezmer Meets Hanukah Concert In Person and Streaming on Zoom

Saratoga Jewish Community Arts, with a generous grant from the Jewish Federation of Northeastern New York and sponsored by Temple Sinai of Saratoga Springs and Congregation Beth Shalom of Clifton Park, presents When Klezmer Meets Chanukah, led by Rabbi Zoe B. Zak and accompanied by Margot Leverett and Studio Stu.  The program is scheduled on Wednesday, December 18 at 7 pm at Congregation Beth Shalom, 688 Clifton Park Center Road, Clifton Park.

Please join us for a soulful and “fraylich” uplift to an in-vogue holiday happening.  The program will also be available on Zoom.

Zoe B. Zak is the Rabbi at Temple Israel of Catskill.  She recently co-authored The Cook and The Rabbi (published by Norton Books) with James Beard award winning author Susan Simon.  As a performer, composer and producer, she has more than 30 CDs to her credit.  After witnessing a performance, one reviewer wrote, “She aims to blur the line between praying and playing.”

Margot Leverett is one of the foremost clarinetists of the klezmer revival.  She was a founding member in 1985 of The Klezmatics, a Grammy-award winning musical group, before moving on to a solo career.  Leverett has appeared as a featured guest soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, toured Japan twice with The New York Ragtime Orchestra, and has been featured in several Off-Broadway productions.  She was a staff instructor at KlezKamp for more than a decade, and she also has taught at KlezKanada, Klezkamp West, Klezmerquerque, and at colleges, music festivals, and Jewish organizations across the country and Europe.  Leverett lives in the Hudson Valley and frequently plays at Temple Israel of Catskill.

Studio Stu, with his state-of-the-art “Studivarious,” a single string bass, is a one string wonder, combining a traditional folk instrument and a classic jazz form.  He is fearless in delivery and willing to navigate uncharted paths through the improvisational wilderness, and yet, he is serious, sophisticated, and uncompromising in execution.

“Don’t miss a fresh and energizing evening that makes your toes tap and your body sway to tunes of your here and now and days gone by,” says Phyllis Wang, Coordinator of Saratoga Jewish Community Arts.

Advance registration for When Klezmer Meets Chanukah is required for both in person attendance and for streaming on Zoom.  To register, go to https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/ycV06dV/KlezmerChanukah. 

A $10 donation is requested at the door.  Zoom participants may make a donation to Temple Sinai, 509 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866.

For information on other future SJCA programs, go to https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/cu/9HjgRFz/SJCAHomePage.

Registrants will receive a playbill and Zoom link a few days before the program, and a reminder shortly before the program.