Sunday, March 18, 4pm
JC3, Las moras 47
Members, advance purchase: 250 pesos
at the door: 300 pesos
Non-members, advance purchase: 300 pesos
at the door: 350 pesos

Reflections from the Heart, Yiddish Music - concert

by Maxine Graboyes

Due to popular demand, Maxine Graboyes and the Tzigane Colectivo Klezmer Band will encore their concert of Yiddish music, “Reflections from the Heart.” This musical journey from the shtetls (villages) of Eastern Europe to the Yiddish theatre in NYC will touch your soul and lift your spirit.

Music has always played a central role in Judaism. It is a mirror of the Jewish soul that describes aspects of Jewish culture, emotion, and diversity that cannot be put into words.

Jewish music of the late 1800s and early 1900s originated in the shtetls (small villages) and ghettos of Poland and Eastern Europe.

Yiddish culture has produced a wealth of music from lullabies to love songs, from mournful songs of loss and exile to the wild dance music of klezmer.

Yiddish music traditionally was played on string instruments (fiddle, viola, flute) perhaps because these instruments were relatively quiet and would not attract the attention of hostile gentiles. In later days however, the clarinet became a staple of Yiddish music because of its ability to emulate the wailing or laughing sound of the human voice.

Songs of this genre tell of poverty, toil and struggle, hope and despair, of love and longing. Some of these songs were created for the Yiddish Theatre and migrated, as did the Jews, from Eastern Europe to the United States. These songs give us a vivid picture of the life, customs, habits, hopes and dreams of the Eastern European Jews known as the Ashkenazim. The Yiddish language is the chief vernacular of the Ashkenazi Jews, who have ties to central and Eastern Europe, as compared to Ladino, a Spanish-based language spoken by Sephardic Jews, who lived in medieval Spain, Portugal and north Africa.
“Reflections from the Heart” will be presented on Sunday afternoon, March 18 at 4:00 p.m. at the Jewish Cultural & Community Center (JC3), Las Moras #47 (corner of Las Moras and Cinco de Mayo).

Maxine, together with Dan Lessner who will narrate the program, will share songs and stories recalling the everyday life of the Eastern European Jews.

Tickets can be purchased in advance through Paypal at www.shalomsanmiguel.org, or at the JC3 office Mon.-Fri. 9am-1pm, and 2pm-5pm. For further information, call (415) 185-9191.

Buy tickets online