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.
‘Connections between what I learn as a klezmer musician and what I do as a classical musician are constantly developing and my approach to all my music correspondingly broadens. So thank you to KlezFest for moments of inspiration and joy’
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 inspirational Yiddish folk singers you will learning the folk repertoire. 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.
modified 26 February 2009
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