Yid Vicious Klezmer Ensemble
Yid Vicious Klezmer Ensemble has been engaging and delighting audiences throughout the Midwest United States since 1995. The group has released four CDs and has received numerous regional awards for its unique blend of traditional and contemporary klezmer. KlezFiesta marks Yid Vicious’ second international appearance, having toured Chiba Prefecture, Japan as part of the 2006 Wisconsin-Chiba Sister State Cultural Delegation. Yid Vicious is committed to keeping traditional klezmer music and dance alive, and collaborates frequently with internationally-renowned klezmer dance instructor Steve Weintraub. The group has participated in the New York-based “KlezKamp: The Yiddish Folk Arts Program”, and was a featured performer at the “KlezKamp Roadshow” directed by Yiddish scholar Henry Sapoznik at the University of Wisconsin in April 2009. Yid Vicious has presented concerts, workshops, and clinics at performing arts centers, cultural festivals, universities, and K-12 schools in Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, and Michigan, and has performed to statewide audienczes on Wisconsin Public Radio and Wisconsin Public Television.

Yid Vicious members:

Matt Appleby, guitar
Matt Appleby moved to Madison, WI after completing a BA in Music & Film Scoring at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. Appleby is a founding member of Yid Vicious, plays balalaika with the UW Russian Folk Orchestra, and lends his talents to many local folk and rock ensembles. Appleby holds an MLS in Library and Information Services from the University of Wisconsin with a specialty in Ethnomusicology, and works as a Technical Services Librarian at the University of Wisconsin Mills Music Library.

Geoffrey Brady, percussion
Geoffrey Brady is a versatile percussionist and composer who performs and records with Madison-area classical, jazz, world, and rock ensembles. Brady performs as a solo recitalist, composes music for many area ensembles, works in freelance commercial recording, and maintains a percussion teaching studio. His work as a performer and composer has been profiled on Wisconsin Public Television and Wisconsin Public Radio. Brady studied percussion performance at Interlochen Arts Academy, New England Conservatory of Music, and University of Wisconsin, where he received his Bachelor of Music degree in percussion performance.

Kia Karlen, Horn & Accordion
Kia Karlen holds a Bachelor of Music degree in horn performance from the University of Wisconsin Madison and a performance certificate from Musikhogskollan in Goteburg, Sweden. Karlen has performed and recorded with many Madison-area chamber groups and world music ensembles. Karlen recently received the 2009 “Brass Player of the Year” award from the Madison Area Music Awards, and began playing the accordion in 2007 after studying piano for many years. Karlen is active in promoting the performing arts and coordinates large-scale arts events for museums, performing arts centers, and the City of Madison.

Anna Purnell, vocalist
Anna Purnell joins Yid Vicious as a featured guest vocalist for the groups’ KlezFiesta appearance. Raised on a steady diet of jazz, opera, and ethnic music, Anna Purnell began her musical training with Suzuki violin at the age of three, later switching to the trumpet and studying voice. In addition to performing frequently with Yid Vicious, Purnell performs with several Wisconsin based world music, jazz, and a capella ensembles, and is Professor of English at Madison Area Technical College.

Melissa Reiser, saxophones
Melissa Reiser holds a Bachelor of Music degree in saxophone performance from the Eastman School of Music, an Artist Diploma from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Région de Boulogne-Billancourt (Paris, France), an MA in Ethnomusicology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and is presently a PhD candidate at the UW in ethnomusicology. Melissa performs extensively area symphony orchestras, chamber ensembles, and world music groups.  Internationally, she has performed at festivals in France, China, Korea and Japan, and has conducted ethnographic fieldwork on indigenous popular music in Mali’s Saharan region.  Melissa has taught saxophone, world music, and world arts courses as an adjunct professor at Luther College (Decorah, IA) and at the University of Wisconsin’s Madison, Milwaukee, and Whitewater campuses.

Greg Smith, clarinets
Greg Smith has engaged in an ever-widening variety of styles throughout his musical career. He has been the bass clarinetist in the Madison Symphony Orchestra since the early 1970's, and today performs with numerous regional ensembles in genres including Dixieland jazz, Balkan dance music, Gypsy swing, Salsa, and country-western swing. A Madison native, Smith holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Wisconsin and works for the State of Wisconsin Department of Administration.

David Spies, tuba
David Spies, Instructor of Music for Marian University of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, is an active performer and teacher throughout the United States. In addition to numerous solo recitals, he has performed with orchestras throughout the United States, Madison jazz ensembles, the United States Coast Guard Band, and the Iowa Brass Quintet. An active freelance musician, David Spies is Solo E-flat Tubist with the Madison Brass Band and serves as its Assistant Director. David holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of North Texas, Master of Music degree from Yale University, and Bachelor of Music from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Daithi Wolfe, fiddle
Daithi began his musical studies as a Suzuki violin student in Ann Arbor, MI in 1968. After studying traditional music in Ireland in 1983, he changed his name from David to its Irish counterpart, Daithi, and commenced a career as a professional fiddler in the Irish folk tradition. In 1995, he found a new passion for klezmer music and co-founded Yid Vicious with guitarist Matt Appleby and Yid Vicious emeritus member Bob Jacobson. Wolfe taught in the Madison Metropolitan School District for 16 years and now divides his time between work as a professional musician and working as an early childhood education advocate.

DISCOGRAPHY:

»The singerbelongs to the most interesting, and courageous, personalities of contemporary Jewish music scene. Her work, a cultivated, highly personal take on Jewish traditional styles… belongs to present day rather than a museum… »     

Katerina Kolcova-Tlusta,    Harmonie   (Czech National music industry magazine)

Irrepressibly Jewish, the music speaks through an eloquent dynamic…  Lichtenberg's powerful voice takes us on a tour of a mystical land of joys and sorrows...." 

Scott Allan Stevens,  Spin The Globe: world music news,  Washington

Toronto-based Lenka Lichtenberg is a Yiddish singer, composer, bandleader, cantorial soloist and a producer, born in Prague, Czech Republic. She studied music at the Prague Music Conservatory, University of British Columbia and received Masters of Arts degree in Ethnomusicology at the York University in Toronto. She has taught music at the Ryerson University in Toronto until 2005, when she left to fully focus on her composing and performing career. As a Yiddish singer, she performs at concert series and festivals around the world, especially since the release of her third solo CD, the critically-acclaimed Pashtes in 2006.  

She has performed in theSan Francisco International Jewish Music Festival, in Vancouver’s Chutzpah! International Festival of Performing Arts, Toronto Ashkenaz Festival, Washington, D.C. Jewish Performing Arts Festival, Leeds Festival of Performing Arts in England, and Klezmore! Festival in Austria. She has toured in Czech Republic, Switzerland and Holland, and had solo concerts from Tasmania, Australia, to Dresden, Germany and Tel Aviv, Israel.  Lenka performs, composes and arranges music in a variety of collaborations, such as with the Canadian guitarist Brian Katz, clarinetists Christian Dawid and Kinneret Sagee, the Russian/Czech violinist Alexander Shonert, or as a bandleader with the award-winning swing-klez band Sisters of Sheynville.

Please visit www.lenkalichtenberg.com and  http://www.myspace.com/lenkalichtenberg
 for numerous audio samples and reviews. 

“... Beautiful, haunting, inspiring and mesmerizing are but a few of the adjectives that describe this aural delight.. ..Soothing, enticing, and full of vibrancy, Lenka has one of the sweetest voices in the world…”  
Rankin, hbnradio.org; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

« …Prague-born vocalist Lenka Lichtenberg has a lovely, confectionary, gamin-like quality. Her soprano voice sails above and around the notes with perfect control, weaving a luminous mystical web. She is in the midst of an amazingly diverse career… »
Lesley Mitchell-Clarke,  The Wholenote Magazine

»Christian Dawid has to be considered an outstanding musical personality. Outstandingly expressive, yet subtle in his melodic conception. Dawid uses his instrument to tell entire stories in a vivid fashion.« Schwäbische Zeitung

Christian Dawid (*1966) is considered one of today's internationally leading klezmer clarinetists. He started by studying classical music and playing in theater and chamber orchestras, moved on to explore music styles ranging from chamber music to a-cappella pop, finally specializing in Yiddish instrumental music.

In 1993, Dawid co-founded Klezgoyim (Bremen) and co-initiated the Bremen Klezmer Nights, which were started in 1996. In 1999, Brave Old World (USA) invited him on tour as a special guest. Since then, he is a regular guest of the group. Since 2000, he plays for Budowitz (USA/H/D), who have brought an in-depth understanding of traditional European style to the klezmer revival. Since 2005, he's directing and producing the Ukrainian family brass band Konsonans Retro.
Dawid is a sought after instructor for Yiddish music and is teaching at KlezKanada, Klezmerwochen Weimar, KlezFest St Petersburg, KlezKamp und Klezfest London.

Christian Dawid performed with numerous artists and ensembles, among them Brotherhood of Brass (USA/SCG), Theodore Bikel, Frank London, Lorin Sklamberg, Michael Alpert (all USA), Shura Lipovsky (NL), Paul Brody's Sadawi (USA/D), Smyrna Trio (GR), Aufwind (D). Dawid writes arrangements for his ensembles and composes new and traditional Yiddish music. He lives in Berlin.

Mames Babegenush have existed for 5 years and are ready with their debutalbum, Klezmer Killed the Radiostar. The music is both manic and oozes melancholy, travelling from out of control sirbas to the saddest of waltzes. ‘Mames Babegenush’ is Yiddish meaning ‘Moms Eggplant Salad’.

The band started out playing primarily at jewish parties such as weddings, bar mitzvahs and Hanukahs. Early on Mames Babegenush invented the concept of “klezmerattacks”; spontaneous surprise-concerts for unsuspecting people, ie. outdoors at a public places, inside cafés, bars or parties. Unexpected klezmer music has a very different and profoundly strong impact on its surroundings, and these klezmerattacks are today highly regarded wherever they take place.

Over the years the band has been playing at various venues and music festivals all over Denmark, Sweden and USA. They have focused on playing the klezmer music according to the traditional sound and musicians, such as Naftule Brandwein and Dave Tarras. But, over the years they have developed their own style and sound adding hard swinging grooves, elements of indie rock and Serbian horn arrangements. In the start of ’08 the band was selected and invited to join a one-week klezmerworkshop at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The jury consisted of the world’s top klezmermusicians, ie.David Krakauer and ‘Socalled’ (Josh Dolgin), and the week ended up with Mames Babegenush performing at Carnegie Hall. Later that year the band returned to New York for a three-week tour where they played a total of 17 concerts, among others at the New York Gypsy Festival.

Mames Babegenush recently released their debutalbum, Klezmer Killed The Radiostar, which has a fresh and rock like approach to the genre. The band has played a wide range of concerts at venues, like The Danish Royal Theatre, Carnegie Hall in New York & VEGA and festivals like The New York Gypsy Festival, Roskilde Festival and Copenhagen Jazz Festival. Mames Babegenush is on the program for this years SPOT festival (DK’s biggest showcase event), and their music is currently being used in a sitcom broadcasted by Danish National Television (“Normalerweize”).

In the fall of ’09 Mames Babegenush are going on a transatlantic tour to USA and Argentina.


Instrumentation
Emil Goldschmidt - Clarinet, Percusssion, Voc
Lukas Rande - Tenorsaxophone, Percussion, Voc
Bo Rande - Trumpet, Percussion, Electronic Autoharp, Voc
Nicolai Kornerup - Accordeon, Keyboards, Percussion, Voc
Andreas Møllerhøj - Bass, Voc
Christian Hørsted - Drums, Piano, Voc


Discography
Mames Babegenush: OY! (EP, 2006)
Mames Babegenush: Klezmer Killed the Radiostar (Calibrated/Cope Records, 2009)

Henrik Bredholt ( sopranosax., dulcimer, vocal)
Ann-Mai-Britt Fjord ( accordion, vocal)

With more than 100 concerts a year Klezmerduo are amongst the most outgoing klezmer musicians in Scandinavia. They perform in churches, schools, theatre projects, at cultural event and private parties - and at festivals and klezmer galas in Denmark and abroad. Being rooted in the tradition of theatre their performances are said to be full of nerve, vitality and humour.

Or you may say ”mit gefill” The music schooling of Klezmerduo has been formed through years of travelling in Eastern and Western Europe, playing whenever the occasion was there. As for the interpretation of Jewish music several meetings and master classes with the famous clarinettist Giora Feidman has been of great importance.

From the press:

”radiating joyfulness – brilliant technique – a performance full of spirit and sensuousness”
Bornholms Tidende

”Tremendous interpreters of the joyous Eastern European Jewish music tradition – and mind you , they are even ”goyim”
Dagbladet Information

Klezmerduo has received a first price at the World Music Festival and their 3 CD`s were all nominated to Danish Folk Award or World Music Track of the year

Discography:

”Danish klezmer ... OY OY OY” (1997)
”Itzik Spitsik” (2001)
”Shabes Tsimmes” (2007)

The leading representative of ethno / world music genre and at the same time the first
Klezmer band in Slovakia. Pressburger Klezmer Band was created in 1995.
Since then we have regularly performed live in Europe and Slovakia. The variety of performances is also reflected in the difference of venues in which we have played from Classical concerts to open air festivals. As indicated in the band´s name, the source of its musical inspiration is klezmer (this is folk music of Eastern European Jews) enriched by our own interpretations, original arrangements and is combined with other styles as well. In this way it is possible to feel not just „pure“ klezmer, but also elements of jazz, reggae, latino, Slovak, Roma and Balkan folk with an Oriental touch. To sum up music of the band it is emotive and dance music.

In 2004 we participated on project SHALOM together with the well-known polish Yiddish
singer André Ochodlo. We recorded it on a CD under the artistic direction of the polish
double bass player Adam śuchowski.

In 2008 we recorded music to film The Optimist, a documentary about Ľudovít Winter, the
founder of famous Slovak spa in Piešťany.
We started cooperation with amazing Armenian singer, pianist and composer Karine
Sarkisjan in 2006. She attended Klezfest St. Petersburg 2007. Her interpretation of Yiddish
songs was highly regarded by Lorin Sklamberg and Michael Alpert.
Samo Alexander participated at the Klezkamp 2002 in New Jersey where he took classes with some of today's finest klezmer musicians.

In March 2007 he participated as double bassist at the “Klezmer Accordion Party” in Vienna
with Frank London on trumpet and as leader, featuring singer an accordion player Lorin
Sklamberg (both of the Klezmatics, great musicians and 2007 Grammy Award winners for
world music), excellent klezmer accordion player Sanne Möricke and famous Austrian
accordion player Otto Lechner.
Pavol Šuška attended KlezFest 2006 in London leaded by members of Klezmatics.

Discography:
Mit libe... / S láskou... (With love...) (Hevhetia 2006)
André Ochodlo & Preßburger Klezmer Band SHALOM (Pavian Records 2004, Alef
Music 2005)
OT AZOY! (That´s the way!) (Millenium Records 2004)
LAJV (Akcent 2002)

Members:
Marta Potančoková – lead vocals
Andrej Werner – violin, vocals
Miroslav Lago – clarinet, vocals
Snežana Jović (Serbia & Montenegro) – accordion, lead vocals
Pavol Šuška – piano, synthesizer, vocals
Samuel Alexander – double bass, lead vocals / vocals
Ján Oríško – drums, percussions
Karine Sarkisjan (Armenia) – guest lead vocals

Oradea - Romania

The band was founded in 2005 at the initiative of late Gyuri Vilan, who briefly was the band leader and mentor. The basis for this band existed in the Jewish Community of Oradea, for many years a choir of about 45 people singing accompanied by an accordion, a violin and a
contrabass. Another violin and drums joined for the Purim program in 2005. Drawn from Oradea Philharmonic Orchestra, a clarinet and a trombone player joined afterwards.

Thus was formed HAKESHET Klezmer Band Oradea with the following structure:

ARI-NAGY ALEXANDER - piano, accordion, instrumantation / musical leader
BOROS-KONRAD PETER - contrabass
LEVI NICHOLAS - violin
PINTEA ION - clarinet
POP ILIE - trombone
SEIDLER ANDREW - drums
KOVARI KATALIN-ESZTER - vocal

When Gyuri prematurely left this world, the legacy of that tradition bound us to continue, so that his place was taken by Ari-Nagy Alexander a recognized instrumentalist. Moreover, the band was joined by a singer Katalin Eszter K ővári.

In this structure, the band resumed an upward developing career being recognized both inland and abroad.

Being recognized for its style and appreciable musical performance, the band was invited to Debrecen - Hungary, Brasov - Romania and in 2007 had the honor of opening EUROIUDAICA festival in Sibiu while the city hold the European Cultural Capital. In the same year the band
played at the PRO Ethnica Festival in Sighisoara - Romania and also held a recital.

The events were quickly succeeded by a concert at the Bartok Enescu State Philharmonic of Oradea, recording the first CD, while the highlight of 2008 was participation in Klezmer Music Festival in Tzfat - Israel.

Back from Israel, the band has responded to requests from various cultural institutions in Romania, where many concerts were held.

 Hakeshet Klezmer Band has continued its concerts and now comes with excitement on stage of KLEZFIESTA in Buenos Aires, an unknown world, an unknown audience, hoping to win here appreciation and sympathy.

Azdi is a Brazilian group that researches, recreates and interprets the comprehensive Jewish repertory from Eastern Europe and Spain. The musical styles include Klezmer and Sephardi, with many gypsy touches, inviting the spectator to travel through the sounds of the whole world. Azdi sings love and day by day stories, based on the interesting cultural mixtures created by the intense interchanges among Jews in the world.

Azdi’s performance is permeated by scenic games and a great interaction with the audience, which responds to the members’ spontaneity. The group always tries to keep an open door so that each spectator can contribute with their own feelings and memories, created when they experience the music.

The songs are sung in Yiddish (a dialect which mixes Ancient German to Hebrew and Slav languages), Russian and Ladin (a dialect which was spoken by the Jews from Spain and Morocco, known as Sephardic Jews).

Azdi performs in theaters, cultural centers, parties and events. Among their performances, the highlights were those made in Sao Paulo: SESC Pompéia; Teatro Folha; Centro de Cultura Judaica; Casa de Francisca; Concertos do Meio-Dia from the A Hebraica club; “Kavaná de Arte Judaica” project at Ateliê Norma Grinberg. At Rio de Janeiro: Congregação Judaica do Brasil from Rabbi Nilton Bonder, among other events.

TÂNIA GRINBERG – voice and kazoo
DANIEL ROCHA - guitar, mandolin and banjo
LEONARDO PADOVANI – violin and viola
DANIEL TAUSZIG – accordion and piano 
ITAMAR PEREIRA – contrabass
PRISCILA BRIGANTE – percussion

Adam Mickiewicz University Chamber Choir under the direction of Krzysztof Szydzisz was established in 1992. It consists of AMU students, graduates and young scholars. The choir performs mainly 19th and 20th century music. The greatest part of the repertoire are pieces by contemporary Polish composers; popularizing these pieces worldwide is one of the main objectives of the choir. Moreover, the choir has experience in performing vocal-instrumental music (J.S. Bach's "Christmas Oratorio", "St. Mathew's Passion" and "St. John's Passion"), opera ("Parsifal" by R. Wagner in the Great Theatre in Poznań) and film (soundtrack for the Polish film "Ogniembi mieczem" - "With fire and sword" by K. Dębski).

AMU Chamber Choir is one of the best Polish choirs - Grand Prix at Polish Choir Competition "Legnica Cantat" 1996 and 1998 and 1st place at "Legnica Cantat” 2000. It has also won numerous prizes abroad: 2nd prize at International Choir Festival in Llangollen in Wales, 1998;  1st place at XXXIV International Festival of Choral Music in Międzyzdroje, 1999; Grand Prix at VIII International Festival of Academic Choirs "Akademicka Banska Bystrica '99" in Slovakia; 2nd prize at XII International Choir Festival in Malta, 2000; 2nd prize in the mixed choirs category at the  International Schubert Choir Competition in Vienna, 2001; Grand Prix at VIII International Recitals of Choirs HORA CANTAVI’2005 in Suwałki, Gold Prize, The Best Compulsory Work and The Best Conductor at the Busan Choral Festival and Competition 2007  in South Korea.

The choir actively takes part in University's cultural life, providing musical setting during the most important academic events. Regularly organized concerts have already become a tradition and have guaranteed the choir a place in the musical environment of Poznań and the whole region of Wielkopolska. The choir gives concerts in Poland, has also been on tours to Austria, Australia, Bolivia, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Mexico, Peru, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, USA and Vatican, and has become an ambassador of Polish culture.

Furthermore, AMU Chamber Choir takes part in the musical life of university choirs - since 1998 it has been an organizer of the International Festival of University Choirs "Universitas Cantat", which is held in Poznań.