One kleztastic musical evening held in Lamlash
The Scottish Council of Jewish Communities (SCoJeC) hosted a series of klezmer nights across the country entitled Crossing the border: A Jewish musical journey in Scotland.
In Lamlash, more than 30 islanders and visitors enjoyed an intimate seafront house concert. The events, which were part of the European Days of Jewish Culture and the bicentenary of Jewish Communities in Scotland programmes, were sell-out successes, with venues bursting at the seams.
The concert in Lamlash, which included a kosher buffet, brought Jewish and non-Jewish people together to enjoy the melod- ic sounds of klezmer musician Gica Loening, who performed as a solo act. Michael Alpert, who had been due to play along with Gica Loening, was unavailable due to illness.
Crowded in the living room of Sharon and Eli Shenhav, participants not only enjoyed the emotion-invoking sounds, but were also invited to feel the music on the dancefloor, which was the kitchen, with klezmer dance caller Fiona Frank. As a finale, musicians among the audience were invited to join in the performance each evening.
Fiona, projects and outreach manager with SCoJeC, said: ‘We are so pleased at the success of the klezmer evenings. Not only were we able to share the feelings, the sounds and the history of klezmer with people who are already linked to the story of the Jewish diaspora, but we were also able to share the Jewish collective consciousness and soul with the wider community through the evocative and inclusive mediums of music, song, dance and food.’
All of the concerts were generously supported by the Netherlee and Clarkston Charitable Trust.