Department of Music

• Thursday, December 6, 2012
• Old Cabell Hall
• 8:00pm
• $10 General / $5 Students /
  Free for UVA Students if
  Reserved in Advance

The University of Virginia McIntire Department of Music presents the Fall 2012 performance by the University of Virginia Klezmer Ensemble under the direction of Director of Performance, clarinetist and ethnomusicologist Joel Rubin, on Thursday, December 6th, 2012 at 8pm in Old Cabell Hall.

The UVA Klezmer Ensemble focuses on the music of the klezmorim, originally the Jewish professional instrumentalists of eastern Europe. Klezmer was brought to North America by immigrants around the turn of the last century. Since the 1970s, a dynamic revival of this tradition has been taking place in America and beyond. Klezmer’s recent popularity has brought it far from its roots in medieval minstrelsy and Jewish ritual and into the sphere of mainstream culture. The ensemble is made up of both undergraduate and graduate students from across grounds, faculty, alumni and other members of the greater Central Virginia community, and is dedicated to exploring klezmer and other Jewish musical traditions from the 18th to the 21st century. The group is committed to ethnic, racial, cultural and religious diversity. Current and recent members have backgrounds from the US, Russia, Israel, Lebanon, Armenia, Iran, and India, with religious backgrounds ranging from Jewish to Christian, Hindu and Muslim.

Now in its seventh year, the UVA Klezmer Ensemble has become a vital part of the musical community of Central and Northern Virginia. Besides performing in Old Cabell Hall, recent appearances have included the Jewish Studies conference “Jewish Renaissance and Renaissances” at UVA, the Southern Conference on Slavic Studies, the College of William and Mary, the University of Richmond’s Global Sounds Festival, the Gravity Lounge, the 214 Community Arts Center, WeArts Festival (McGuffey Arts Center), New Bridges (Harrisonburg), Congregation Beth Israel, Chabad of UVA, the Piedmont Council for the Arts’ annual Spring for the Arts benefit, the Charlottesville Festival of Cultures, and the Jewish Community Council (Lynchburg). Director Joel Rubin’s recent activities include a recent CD with jazz pianist and composer Uri Caine (“Azoy Tsu Tsveyt,” Tzadik Records), teaching the Advanced Instrumental Workshop at Yiddish Summer Weimar 2012, and upcoming performances at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater (Symphony Space) in New York and at the Music Gallery in Toronto with Uri Caine.

Tickets for the Klezmer Ensemble performance are $10 for adults and $5 for students. Tickets for University of Virginia students are free if reserved in advance.