World’s Greatest Klezmer Fiddler to Play at PS21 in Chatham, N.Y.

Alicia Svigals

(CHATHAM, N.Y.) – The world’s foremost klezmer fiddler, Alicia Svigals, brings her dazzling style of playing to PS21 on Sunday, June 24, 2012, at 2 pm. The concert will include traditional klezmer tunes, Yiddish songs, some original and new music, and the audience is encouraged to participate in the lively, expressive music by dancing, singing, and clapping. “We’re the Jewish equivalent of a sizzling hoedown,” Svigals said.

A founding member of the Klezmatics, Svigals has been featured nationally on radio and television including NPR, A Prairie Home Companion, and MTVNews. She performed at the gala all-star performances of Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues at Madison Square Garden in 2001, and has been commissioned to compose works for the Kronos Quartet.

“I wish for the audience to have a musical and spiritual experience,” Svigals said recently. “I’d like them to leave feeling like they spent time in a magical, faraway place.”

During the past decade, Alicia Svigals has almost singlehandedly revived klezmer fiddle playing. She has taught this style to hundreds of students, including most of today’s best professional players. Svigals toured with violinist Itzhak Perlman – to whom she taught the nuances of klezmer violin technique – and was awarded first prize at the Safed, Israel international klezmer festival competition.

Alicia Svigals

Svigals will be accompanied by accordionist Patrick Farrell, and will be introduced by Seth Rogovoy, author of The Essential Klezmer: A Music Lover’s Guide to Jewish Roots and Soul Music.  General admission tickets are $30, $25 for PS21 members and $20 for students. To order tickets for this performance or any other at PS21, please visit PS21 or call 518.392.6121. Alicia Svigals’ Klezmer Fiddle Express is co-sponsored with the Chatham Synagogue.

The Tent at PS21 is set amid the apple trees on a pristine 100+ acre site, of which only 5 acres are developed. Guests are encouraged to arrive at events early enough to enjoy the site. Bring a picnic and a blanket or just a camera.

PS21: Performance Spaces for the 21st Century is a not-for-profit organization in Chatham, New York, dedicated to the performing arts and to serving a diverse community with concerts, programs and residencies by professional artists and ensembles, youth and children’s programming and cultural education opportunities for all ages.

This project has been supported by a grant from the Wassermann-Streit Y’DIYAH Memorial Fund (administered by the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation).

 

 

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