KlezFest: Music, Song and Dance

What will I get out of KlezFest?

Benefits of KlezFest
If you are a musician, singer or dancer (or a combination of the three) then KlezFest is a fantastic experience hurtling you into the wonderful world of Jewish Klezmer music. At Klezfest you can try out a mixture of instrumental, vocal and dance classes, or you can focus more deeply on one particular area the whole week. There are lots of classes to choose from and you will be totally engrossed in the whole event, literally from morning to late at night!

If you are not sure about whether learning Klezmer is right for you, have a read of these following guides:

Classical musicians
Jazz and world musicians
Wedding bands
Folk Musicians
Music Teachers
Young musicians 12-15
Classical singers
Folk singers
Dancers

Classical musicians: learning Klezmer can seriously improve your playing and performance skills. By helping you develop your inner ear and inner rhythms and weaning you off your dependency on the notes, learning Klezmer can give you a freer more distinctive sound and can entirely change your approach to music.

Jazz and world musicians: Klezmer contains a lot of structured improvising, cross rhythms and early jazz structures. Learning Klezmer can help develop your ear and your performance techniques and style and give you experience playing in ensembles.

Wedding bands: Learning Klezmer is a must if you are in a wedding band. You will be able to play traditional Klezmer dances and simcha tunes and even show the wedding guests how to dance to them.

Folk Musicians: add Klezmer to your list of folk music styles and get an introduction to eastern European modes, motifs and rhythms including Balkan, Gypsy and Middle Eastern music.

Music Teachers: Enhance and augment your teaching repertoire by delving into Klezmer and Yiddish music. Klezmer is a great way to introduce children and students to other types of music, notably Balkan, Gypsy and Middle Eastern.

Young musicians 12-15: gain confidence on your instrument, learn to play by ear, develop your performance style, meet other young musicians and impress your friends.

Classical singers: Yiddish song is a wonderful way to express yourself through your classically trained voice. You will also learn folk and theatre songs as well as new Yiddish compositions with some of the top Yiddish song teachers and performers in the world. You can also learn to sing Ladino songs, from the Jewish Sephardi heritage. Polina Shepherd will also be giving classes on composition of New Yiddish songs, including an in-depth look at the background and modal theory of Jewish song music. Individual masterclasses are available and there will also be potential for performances and improving performance.

Folk singers: with the inspirational Yiddish folk singer, Shura Lipovsky, you will be learning the folk repertoire with one of the top protagonists of the art. Not only will you gain experience in performing non-English songs and how to pronounce the Yiddish words, you will also be able to develop your performance techniques through masterclasses and workshops.

Dancers: Yiddish folk dancing is a lot of fun and is simple enough that almost everyone can do it. There are traditional circle dances, square dances, clapping dances and for the more adventurous you may even learn how to do the breath-taking bottle dance! There will be lots of opportunities to learn the Yiddish dance repertoire, how to lead a dance (in case you are ever at a Jewish wedding) and how to work with musicians playing for dancing.

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