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YIVO Concert: Chicago Klezmer Ensemble

Chicago Klezmer Ensemble presents an elegant approach to klezmer music that retains the earthy, human, and expressive qualities that give traditional klezmer music a direct contact with the listener.

In Partnership with YIVO Chicago.

The Ensemble develops modern klezmer music that draws directly from historical East European Jewish music and creates original interpretations and compositions which build upon that tradition.  The result is a repertoire that is equally at home on a concert stage or at a celebration. Earthy, emotional music that elevates the spirit and warms the soul.

The Chicago Klezmer Ensemble is led by clarinetist Kurt Bjorling. Further instruments include fidl (violin) and tsimbl (Jewish style hammered dulcimer), also double-bass, accordion and harp. 

The Artists

Kurt Bjorling, clarinet and tsimbl, 

clarinet, the ensemble's director, is a noted performer, teacher, and researcher of klezmer music, having taught at numerous workshops and festivals worldwide since 1986. He teaches privately in a studio in Evanston.

 Annette Bjorling, harp 

Beyond merely adapting Jewish tunes to the harp, Annette creates a unique voice that fits naturally within the idiom of Yiddish music. She has performed and taught at festivals in Europe and North America. 

Annette teaches harp, in the Chicago area and online.

 Joshua Huppert, violin, 

is a private teacher of violin and viola. He performs with several groups, including the Boulevard String Quartet and the Evanston Symphony. 

 Eve Monzingo, tsimbl and clarinet,  

is a multi-instrumentalist, performing and teaching clarinet, saxophone and flute in various music genres. She is a member of the Middle-Eastern and Balkan music band Lamajamal, and she is a co-director of music for the Orpheus Greek Music Ensemble. Today Eve is playing the Jewish style dulcimer, known in Yiddish as "tsimbl"

 Joseph Spilberg, contrabass

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