Jewish Music and Culture Festival starts Sunday
Temple Beth El's fifth annual Humboldt Jewish Music and Culture Festival kicks off Sunday evening and then continues March 16 and 17.
A program called “The Angel's Wings: Music & Tales for the Soul” will be presented by Rabbi Naomi Steinberg and Berel Alexander at 7 p.m. Sunday at The Sanctuary, 1301 J St., Arcata. This mother-andson duo will offer original mystical tales with theatrical embellishments and singing. Steinberg serves Jewish congregations in Eureka and Redway and composes choral music. Alexander is pursuing a career as a singer/songwriter.
Tickets for “The Angel's Wings” are $15, and will be available at the door or via www.templebetheleureka.org. (This event is designed for adults and older children.)
The festival continues March 16 with a slate of activities at Temple Beth El, 3233 T St., Eureka. All are open to the community.
A “Yiddish Songs and Melodies of the Spring Holidays” workshop takes place from 2 to 3:30 p.m. The cost is $15. From 4 to 5:30 p.m., a program called “Yiddish Songs and Klezmer Melodies of Ukraine” is scheduled. The cost is also $15 for this workshop.
Dinner will be served at 5:30 p.m. for $18. Pre-pay for the meal at www.templebetheleureka.org.
A “Yiddish Dance Instruction and Dance Party” workshop — with live music — wraps up the day from 7 to 8:30 p.m. March 16 Again, the fee is $15.
March 17 begins with hot drinks and hamantaschen (a type of cookie) from 10 to 11 a.m. Donations are appreciated.
The first workshop of that day is “Big Jewish Music Jam” from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. All singers and instrumentalists are invited to come sing and play klezmer music, Yiddish songs, Hasidic tunes and synagogue songs. The cost is $15.
Lunch will be served at 12:30 p.m. for $18. To prepay for the meal, go to templebetheleureka.org.
The Humboldt Jewish Music and Culture Festival wraps up with a concert, “A Life of Joy, a Life of Peace and Hasidic Songs and Music,” from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Admission for the concert is $25.
All events taking place March 16 and 17 will feature the acclaimed Strauss/ Warschauer Klezmer Duo.
The duo's website (https://www.klezmerduo. com) says, “For more than 25 years, Deborah Strauss and Jeff Warschauer have been at the forefront of the international klezmer and Yiddish music scene. … They were both longtime members of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, one of the premiere groups of the klezmer revival, and have performed with legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman on film and in concert. … They have performed to overwhelming acclaim in such diverse venues as the Philadelphia Folk Festival, Great Britain's Fiddles on Fire, the Jewish Culture Festival in Cracow, Poland, and the Art of Yiddish in Los Angeles with the late actor and singer Theodore Bikel. Deborah and Jeff are Yiddish speakers, and have researched and collected
Yiddish and Hebrew songs and instrumental melodies since the 1980s.”
Dr. Jerryl Lynn Rubin, festival coordinator, said, “Once again this year, we have the pleasure of sharing traditional Yiddish and klezmer music with our community. Ordinarily, one needs to travel to the East Coast or a large city to enjoy the caliber of renowned musicians like the StraussWarschauer Klezmer Duo. Jeff and Deborah have been delighting audiences around the world for more than 25 years. They bring the cultural and historical flavor and delight of music that was enjoyed by our grandparents and greatgrandparents, connecting us to our ancestors in a meaningful and joyous way. We look forward to sharing the beauty and spirit of Yiddish and klezmer music.”
Tickets for all of the Humboldt Jewish Music and Culture Festival events are available at templebetheleureka.org.