(SOMERVILLE, Mass.) – Hankus Netsky and Eden MacAdam-Somer, two of the world’s most dynamic, and original Jewish music performers, perform an evening of Yiddish and Hasidic song and klezmer dance tunes at The Burren, an Irish pub and restaurant in Davis Square (247 Elm Street), on Wednesday, January 20, at 7:30pm.

A multi-instrumentalist, composer, and ethomusicologist, Hankus Netsky is founder and director of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, and as such has been a key proponent of the klezmer revival for 35 years. He has composed extensively for film, theater, and television, and has collaborated closely with such artists as Itzhak Perlman, Robin Williams, Joel Grey, Theodore Bikel, and Robert Brustein.

In 2013, the Forward named him “One of the fifty most influential Jews in America” for his work in spearheading the resurgence of traditional Eastern European Jewish music.

Composer, performer and improviser Eden MacAdam-Somer recently released her first solo album “My First Love Story,” which earned a place on the Boston Globe‘s Albums of 2015 list.  Jon Garelick wrote: “Appalachian folk provides the through-line, but Texas-born violinist, violist, singer, musical polymath, and New England Conservatory prof MacAdam-Somer ranges deep and wide on these 17 pieces for solo strings and voice, recorded live at NEC’s Jordan Hall.”

MacAdam-Somer maintains an active international recording career with such bands as Notorious Folk, the Sail Away Ladies and the Klezmer Conservatory Band. MacAdam-Somer also makes frequent visits to Kabul, Afghanistan, where she works with young Afghan musicians as guest faculty member at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music and collaborates with local artists.

Netsky is chair of New England Conservatory’s Contemporary Improvisation department and MacAdam-Somer is co-chair.

Founded in 1972 by musical visionaries Gunther Schuller and Ran Blake, New England Conservatory’s Contemporary Improvisation program is “one of the most versatile in all of music education” (JazzEd).  Now in its 43rd year, the program trains composer/performer/ improvisers to broaden their musical palettes and develop unique voices.  It is unparalleled in its structured approach to ear training and its emphasis on singing, memorization, harmonic sophistication, aesthetic integrity, and stylistic openness.

Under Blake’s inspired guidance for its first twenty-six years, the program grew considerably and has expanded its offerings under current chair Hankus Netsky and assistant chair Eden MacAdam-Somer. Alumni include Don Byron, John Medeski, Jacqueline Schwab, Aoife O’Donovan and Sarah Jarosz; faculty include Carla Kihlstedt, Blake, Dominique Eade, and Anthony Coleman. “A thriving hub of musical exploration,” (Boston Globe), the program currently has over 50 undergrad and graduate students from 17 countries.