KLEZMER RETURNS TO OLD BROADWAY! January 24, 2026

The Old Broadway Synagogue, Center for Traditional Music and Dance, the Sholem Aleichem Cultural Center and Yiddish New York present:

KLEZMER RETURNS TO OLD BROADWAY!

Featuring music by Margot Leverett (clarinet), Aaron Alexander (poyk-drum, fiddle) & Pete Rushefsky (tsimbl/hammered dulcimer)

Saturday Night, January 24, 8:15PM
at the Old Broadway Synagogue
(15 Old Broadway between 125th & 126th Streets in Manhattan)

Suggested donation: $10

A concert featuring three of the contemporary Yiddish music scene's leading performers - featuring the return to the Old Broadway Synagogue of acclaimed klezmer clarinetist Margot Leverett, percussionist Aaron Alexander and tsimbl (cimbalom/hammered dulcimer) player Pete Rushefsky. This program is presented by the Old Broadway Synagogue in partnership with the Center for Traditional Music and Dance, Yiddish New York and the Sholem Aleichem Cultural Center.

Biographies of performers:

Margot Leverett: Clarinetist Margot Leverett was a founding member of the Klezmatics in 1985 before moving on to start her own band "Margot Leverett and the Klezmer Mountain Boys", an all-star band combining the best of Klezmer and Bluegrass. They toured widely and their  music was choreographed by the Paul Taylor Dance Company. Margot has been featured as a guest soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, has toured Japan twice with The New York Ragtime Orchestra, and has been featured in several Off-Broadway productions. She was a staff instructor at KlezKamp for over 10 years and has also taught at Yiddish New York, KlezKanada, Klezkamp West, Klezmerquerque, and at colleges, music festivals, and Jewish organizations across the country and Europe. Margot lives in Kingston, NY.

Aaron Alexander is a drummer and fiddle player, has been playing klezmer music for 36 years and has been fortunate to be associated with many of the finest musicians in the klezmer and Jewish music field. He has been on Faculty at Yiddish New York, Trip to Yiddishland, Klez Kamp, Klez Kanada, Yiddish Summer Weimar, and in 2010 co-founded the NY Klezmer Series – a weekly concert, workshop, dance party and jam session series that features many wonderful klezmorim from around the world. Look for upcoming events by the NY Klezmer Series soon. Alexander has performed and recorded with Theo Bikel, Pete Sokolow, The Mazeltones, Greg Wall, Klezmerfest!, Alicia Svigals, Strauss/Warschauer Duo, The Klezmatics, Michael Winograd, Pete Rushefsky, Frank London’s Klezmer Brass All-Stars, and has released several recordings as a leader – The Klez Messengers, Midrash Mish Mosh, Blues for Sparky and more.

Pete Rushefsky - A leading performer, composer and researcher of the Jewish tsimbl (cimbalom or hammered dulcimer), Rushefsky tours and records internationally with violinist Itzhak Perlman as part of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, and collaborates with a number of leading figures in the contemporary klezmer scene including Andy Statman, Jake Shulman-Ment, Adrianne Greenbaum, Eleonore Biezunski, Steven Greenman, Joel Rubin, Michael Alpert, Madeline Solomon, Zhenya Lopatnik, Zoe Aqua, Aaron Alexander, Margot Leverett, Alicia Svigals, Keryn Kleiman, Eleonore Weill, Alex Parke, Ira Temple, Lauren Brody, Avi Fox-Rosen and Michael Winograd. Since 2006 he has served as Executive Director of the Center for Traditional Music and Dance, the nation’s leading organization dedicated to the preservation and presentation of diverse immigrant music traditions from around the world. He is a founder of the annual Yiddish New York festival, curated the Yiddish program at the 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival and has authored a number of articles on traditional music and culture.

We are grateful for the support of the Atran Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

FREYLIKH CHANUKAH SIMCHAH!

Please join us for a Freylikh Chanukah Simchah at the Old Broadway Synagogue. We will have the amazing music of Daniel Elias on clarinet, Jordan Shapiro on accordion and Jerry Kisslinger on drums. Plus sufganiyot, plus latkes! Join us to celebrate!

Motzoei Shabbos (Saturday), December 20, 2025, 7:30pm
$15 donation requested.

About the performers:

Jerry Kissingler is one of North America’s foremost presenters of Eastern European rhythms, percussionist Jerry Kisslinger has performed Balkan and Klezmer music at community events, concerts, and festivals for decades. On the faculty of the East European Folklife Center’s workshops since 1985, he teaches at workshops in the US and abroad, and with private students, and leads the informal music for congregation Mishkan Ha’am in Hastings.
A founding member of Zlatne Uste Balkan Brass Band, he currently plays with ZU and Kavala Brass Band as well as Pontic Firebird and other ensembles. Jerry’s discography includes Édessa and Friends: Balkan Border Music, Like in a Different World with traditional klezmer violinist Leon Schwartz, Di Shikere Kapelye, with Frank London’s Klezmer Brass All Stars,` as well as four recordings with Zlatne Uste and guest appearances on Raif Hyseni 24 and Dolunay’s Our House.

Jordan Shapiro is a Hudson Valley–based pianist, accordionist, guitarist, vocalist and bandleader known for his long-standing work in Balkan/Eastern European music, bluegrass music and progressive rock. A fixture of the NYC scene for decades, he’s performed in countless ensembles, bringing a deep feel for regional styles to both keyboards/accordion and guitar. His sideman work includes tours and recordings with Project/Object, Gary Lucas and Nona Hendryx, and a wide range of gigs that reflect his ability to move fluidly across folk traditions, rock music, and improvisation. Jordan is the founder and bandleader of Choban Elektrik, a project dedicated to reimagining Balkan folk music through the sounds of vintage keyboards, electric textures, and tight ensemble interplay. Under his direction, the group has appeared in formats ranging from a core trio to a full six-piece lineup with strings, horns, and vocals—each arrangement built around Jordan’s vision of bringing new life to traditional melodies. Alongside his work as a performer, he is also an active teaching artist, leading workshops and school programs that explore global folk traditions and creative music-making.

Daniel Elias (musical director and clarinetist) is a founding member of the Elias Ladino Ensemble. The grandson of Rabbi David Elias Cassorla and the son of Joe Elias, he has been collecting and performing Ladino music since the age of 15. A product of a mixed marriage, his learned Yiddish at the knee of his maternal grandmother. A product of his surroundings, Daniel brings the streets of Brooklyn alive with his instrument. There is so much good music in the world that Daniel feels benefits from the clarinet. In playing Classical, Klezmer, Ladino, Greek, Jazz and American Contradance music, this approach seems to work. While attending Harpur College, Daniel won the 1982 concerto competition.

Please Join Us for Our Annual Chanukah Party, Saturday Night, December 28, 2024 at 7:30pm

 

Please join us for our Chanukah Simchah at the Old Broadway. We will have latkes and sufganiyot and the amazing music of Noah Solomon Chase.

Admission: $20 per person

Here is more info about Noah:

Noah Solomon Chase, an accomplished singer and musician, is based in the vibrant city of New York. Born in the USA, Noah's parents moved to Israel when he was very young. Noah was exposed to the rich sounds of Israeli and Jewish music from a young age, thanks to the influence of both his father and the late Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, who was Noah's next door neighbor. Noah's father, an accomplished musician himself, founded the well-known Jewish group "The Diaspora Yeshiva Band" in the 1970s, which played a pivotal role in the emergence of Jewish music as a genre.

Noah's passion for music led him to collaborate with Carlebach himself, performing alongside him in both Israel and New York. Since then, Noah has continued to push the boundaries of musical genres, creating and leading two highly successful bands - Soulfarm, a Rock/Mediterranean/Folk band that has garnered acclaim both locally and internationally, and Citigrass, an urban Bluegrass band that has captivated audiences across the United States and beyond.

Noah's musical talents have taken him on numerous tours throughout Europe, Australia, and Israel, where he has performed in some of the most prestigious venues and festivals. Over the past few years, Noah has also established himself as a highly sought-after "cantor/musician in residence", bringing his unique blend of spirituality and musicianship to synagogues and temples across the US. With his infectious energy and song leading skills, Noah has infused these congregations with "Ruach", creating an unforgettable experience for all who attend.

As a consummate professional, Noah is dedicated to his craft, constantly striving to improve and innovate. He is a true visionary, and his love for music and its power to connect people is evident in every note he sings and plays. Noah Solomon Chase is an exceptional talent, and his contributions to the world of music are truly remarkable

The Seven Wonders of Klezmer, November 23, 2024 at 8:00pm

 The Old Broadway Synagogue, Center for Traditional Music and Dance, the Sholem Aleichem Cultural Center and Yiddish New York present:

THE SEVEN WONDERS OF KLEZMER 

Concert featuring music by Lisa Gutkin (violin), Lauren Brody (accordion) and Pete Rushefsky (tsimbl). Saturday night, November 23, 8PM at the Old Broadway Synagogue (15 Old Broadway between 125th & 126th Streets in Manhattan). Suggested donation: $10

A concert featuring three of the contemporary Yiddish music scene's leading performers - violinist Lisa Gutkin (The Klezmatics), accordionist Lauren Brody and tsimbl (hammered dulcimer) player Pete Rushefsky. This program is presented by the Old Broadway Synagogue in partnership with the Center for Traditional Music and Dance and Yiddish New York.

Biographies of performers:

Lisa Gutkin (violin) - Grammy Award-winning violinist/composer, singer, actor, and composer Lisa Gutkin is best known as a member of the acclaimed Klezmatics, and most recently for her musical score, performance, and music direction in the two time Tony award-winner, Indecent. Lisa has had a storied career that reflects the eclectic nature of her life, passion, and creativity. A cameo performance in Sex and the City, a seat in Sting’s Broadway band forThe Last Ship, a CD of original songs produced by John Lissauer, and scores for two of Pearl Gluck’s films have taken her a long way from her beginnings as back up musician to the Fast Folk songwriters’ collective. Praised for her “hauntingly emotional” vocals by the L.A. Times, she has co-authored songs with Anne Sexton, Maggie Dubris, and Woody Guthrie. A MacDowell and Norton Stevens Fellow, Lisa's song “Gonna Get Through This World”, co-written with Woody Guthrie, was described by Pete Seeger as “a piece of genius”

Lauren Brody (accordion) is an accordionist, singer, researcher, professional piano tuner/technician and Fulbright scholar from New York City. She is a pioneer of the klezmer music revival in the United States and a founding member of the groundbreaking band “Kapelye”, formed in 1979. She has toured, recorded and appeared on TV and film with Kapelye, and with the seminal all-female ensemble “Mikveh”. Lauren has played the with The Klezmatics, Andy Statman, Michael Winograd, David Krakauer, Alicia Svigals, Frank London, Merlin and Polina Shepherd and many other klezmer luminaries. She was a trailblazer in the domestic Balkan music scene and was the first female gadulka player in the United States. Lauren was an original member of the first Bulgarian traditional folk orchestra “Pitu Guli”, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1970 and has taught and performed at EEFC’s Balkan Camp, Klezkamp, KlezCalifornia, KlezKanada, Ashkenaz, Yidstock, Yiddish New York. Lauren was the recipient of a Bulgarian Government stipend to study Bulgarian folk music during the Communist period, from 1971-73, at the Bulgarian Conservatory of Music in Sofia. As a Fulbright scholar to Bulgaria in 1990 she conducted research on the commercial recording industry and folk music, and released two acclaimed reissues of 78 rpm recordings. Lauren continues to perform, with a particular accent on composing new music for her own Balkan/Klezmer-inspired solo project “Lauren Brody’s Accordion Bytes”, as “Tsoyber” with Yiddish singer Susan Leviton, and with the Bulgaria-based accordion duo Brody-Stoikov.

Pete Rushefsky (tsimbl) A leading performer, composer and researcher of the Jewish tsimbl (cimbalom or hammered dulcimer), Rushefsky tours and records internationally with violinist Itzhak Perlman as part of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, and collaborates with a number of leading figures in the contemporary klezmer scene including Andy Statman, Adrianne Greenbaum, Steven Greenman, Joel Rubin, Eleonore Biezunski, Michael Alpert, Madeline Solomon, Zhenya Lopatnik, Zoe Aqua, Jake Shulman-Ment, Keryn Kleiman, Eleonore Weill, Alex Parke, Ira Temple, Lauren Brody, Avi Fox-Rosen and Michael Winograd. Since 2006 he has served as Executive Director of the Center for Traditional Music and Dance, the nation’s leading organization dedicated to the preservation and presentation of diverse immigrant music traditions from around the world. He is a founder of the annual Yiddish New York festival, curated the Yiddish program at the 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival and has authored a number of articles on traditional music and culture.

We are grateful for the support of the Atran Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Tisha ba-Av at Old Broadway, August 12-13, 2024

We are looking forward to commemorating Tisha ba-Av this year with Rabbi Avi Heller.

Rabbi Heller is a thoughtful, sensitive and insightful teacher. We are honored that he will be joining us.

The fast will begin at 7:57pm. Mincha, Maariv and Eicha on Monday, August 12, 2024 will at 7:45pm. Shacharis followed by Kinos on Tuesday, August 13, 2024 will be at 8:00am. Rabbi Heller will be reading Eicha and leading Kinos. He will also give two talks, one in the evening and one in the morning. These will be: Acts of Grief and Actually Grieving Expressing Jewish Pain: Then and Now Minchah on August 13, 2024 will be at 7:30pm. Maariv will be at 8:30pm. The fast will end at 8:41pm.

Warm wishes for a meaningful fast!

KLEZMER´S BOYZ OF SUMMER! June 16, 2024

KLEZMER´S BOYZ OF SUMMER!

Featuring music by Alex Parke (clarinet), Raffi Boden (cello)

 & Pete Rushefsky (tsimbl/hammered dulcimer)

Sunday night, June 16, 7:30pm

at the Old Broadway Synagogue

(15 Old Broadway between 125th & 126th Streets in Manhattan)

Suggested donation: $10

A concert featuring three of the contemporary Yiddish music scene's leading performers - featuring the Old Broadway debut of São Paulo-based clarinetist Alex Parke, well-regarded for a performance style that captures the nuances of old-time 20th century European and New York klezmer clarinetists such as Titunshneyder, Belf, Brandwein and Tarras. Parke is accompanied by Raffi Boden (cello) and Pete Rushefsky (tsimbl/hammered dulcimer). This program is presented by the Old Broadway Synagogue in partnership with the Center for Traditional Music and Dance and Yiddish New York.

Biographies of performers:

Alex Parke is a clarinetist, ethnomusicologist, and composer working in NYC and São Paulo who specializes in Klezmer and Brazilian music. He has performed with leading figures in the contemporary klezmer scene such as Frank London, Michael Winograd, Jake Shulman-Ment, Christina Crowder, Ilya Shneyveys, Pete Rushefsky. Parke is well-regarded for a performance style that captures the nuances of old-time 20th century European and New York klezmer clarinetists such as Titunshneyder, Belf, Brandwein and Tarras. He works as a freelancer in NYC and São Paulo and has been part of various musical projects, gaining renown for his musicality and musical intention.

Raffi Boden has forged his own expansive style on the cello, combining his fluency on the instrument with a reverence for folk traditions and a flair for experimentation and improvisation. Since graduating from the Juilliard School, Raffi has cultivated a multi-dimensional career as a NY-based freelance musician, performing in ensembles from experimental chamber trios to raucous klezmer big bands and in venues ranging from intimate neighborhood haunts to Carnegie Hall. He's active in the klezmer scene in NY, where he plays with the acclaimed band Mamaliga – their debut album of original klezmer music was hailed as "virtuosic and vibrant." He's also part of chamber jazz group Arco Belo, with whom he's toured internationally and performed at the Kennedy Center; of Ensemble Phoenicia, a group dedicated to middle eastern contemporary classical music; and Levyosn, a yiddish song quartet. Raffi holds a Master’s from the Juilliard School and a B.M./B.A. from Oberlin College & Conservatory.

Pete Rushefsky (tsimbl) A leading performer, composer and researcher of the Jewish tsimbl (cimbalom or hammered dulcimer), Rushefsky tours and records internationally with violinist Itzhak Perlman as part of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, and collaborates with a number of leading figures in the contemporary klezmer scene including Andy Statman, Adrianne Greenbaum, Steven Greenman, Joel Rubin, Eleonore Biezunski, Michael Alpert, Madeline Solomon, Zhenya Lopatnik, Zoe Aqua, Jake Shulman-Ment, Keryn Kleiman, Eleonore Weill, Alex Parke, Ira Temple, Lauren Brody, Avi Fox-Rosen and Michael Winograd. Since 2006 he has served as Executive Director of the Center for Traditional Music and Dance, the nation’s leading organization dedicated to the preservation and presentation of diverse immigrant music traditions from around the world. He is a founder of the annual Yiddish New York festival, curated the Yiddish program at the 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival and has authored a number of articles on traditional music and culture.

We are grateful for the support of the Atran Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Celebrate Purim at Old Broadway!

 

OL' BROADWAY PURIM PARTY!

Featuring music by Avi Fox-Rosen (guitar/mandolin) & Pete Rushefsky (tsimbl/hammered dulcimer) 

Saturday Night, March 23, 8:30PM Megillah Reading, 9:15PM Party at the Old Broadway Synagogue (15 Old Broadway between 125th & 126th Streets in Manhattan)

Admission Free!

Join us for the Old Broadway Synagogue's Purim Service and Party (15 Old Broadway between 125th & 126th Streets in Manhattan) on Saturday, March 23, 2024. After reading the Megillah, we'll feature music by two of the contemporary Yiddish music scene's leading performers - Avi Fox-Rosen (guitar/mandolin) and Pete Rushefsky (tsimbl/hammered dulcimer). Plus food, friends and fun! This program is presented by the Old Broadway Synagogue in partnership with the Center for Traditional Music and Dance and Yiddish New York.

The fun continues on Sunday, March 24, 2024 at 8:00am with Shacharis, Megillah and a festive breakfast!

Biographies of performers:

Avi Fox-Rosen is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist based in Brooklyn, NY, equally at home in theater, rock, Yiddish, klezmer or improvisational music worlds. He’s collaborated with many of the leading lights in Yiddish music over the last 20 years including Adrienne Cooper, Daniel Kahn, Sarah Gordon, Michael Winograd, Basya Schechter, Matt Darriau, Frank London and many others, including his brother, bassist and singer Benjy Fox-Rosen. Avi’s a member of .357 Lover, whose dynamics include power-chord riffs and densely-packed, narrative structures, a homunculus of Queen and Tiny Tim. As a songwriter, Avi makes music with a sardonic sense of humor, dense and dark lyrics, and enchantingly twisted melodies. New York Music Daily has heralded Avi’s work as “consistently excellent”.

Pete Rushefsky (tsimbl) A leading performer, composer and researcher of the Jewish tsimbl (cimbalom or hammered dulcimer), Rushefsky tours and records internationally with violinist Itzhak Perlman as part of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, and collaborates with a number of leading figures in the contemporary klezmer scene including Andy Statman, Adrianne Greenbaum, Steven Greenman, Joel Rubin, Eleonore Biezunski, Michael Alpert, Madeline Solomon, Zhenya Lopatnik, Zoe Aqua, Jake Shulman-Ment, Keryn Kleiman, Eleonore Weill, Alex Parke, and Michael Winograd. Since 2006 he has served as Executive Director of the Center for Traditional Music and Dance, the nation’s leading organization dedicated to the preservation and presentation of diverse immigrant music traditions from around the world. He is a founder of the annual Yiddish New York festival, curated the Yiddish program at the 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival and has authored a number of articles on traditional music and culture.

Klezmer Concert, March 3 at 7:30pm

 

The Old Broadway Synagogue, 

Center for Traditional Music and Dance and Yiddish New York present:

KLEZMER RETURNS TO OL' BROADWAY

Abigale Reisman (violin), Jake Shulman-Ment (violin) 

& Pete Rushefsky (tsimbl/hammered dulcimer)

Sunday, March 3, 7:30pm at the Old Broadway Synagogue

(15 Old Broadway between 125th & 126th Streets in Manhattan)

Suggested donation: $10

Join us as klezmer music returns to the Old Broadway Synagogue (15 Old Broadway between 125th & 126th Streets in Manhattan) at 7:30pm on Sunday, March 3, 2024. We'll be featuring three of the contemporary klezmer scene's leading performers - Abigale Reisman (violin), Pete Rushefsky (tsimbl/hammered dulcimer) and Jake Shulman-Ment (violin). A rare opportunity to see three of klezmer's leading string musicians performing together in a special program of klezmer melodies new and old. This program is presented by the Old Broadway Synagogue in partnership with the Center for Traditional Music and Dance and Yiddish New York.

Biographies of performers:

One of the Boston area's leading klezmer musicians, Abigale Reisman (violin) has established herself as an expressive and thoughtful fidl player with a lot to say. She is particularly interested in mimicking the human voice through the violin and connecting her playing to the rhythms and accents of the Yiddish language. Abigale is a performer, composer, and arranger with the International Jewish Music Festival award winning band, Ezekiel’s Wheels Klezmer Band. She regularly performs in a duo with renowned klezmer scholar and performer Hankus Netsky. Abigale is also a co-founder of Thread Ensemble, an experimental trio that creates music out of interactions with their audiences. She recently received The Iguana Grant from Club Passim to create a series of videos showcasing the klezmer violin. Abigale earned her Bachelor’s degree at The Manhattan School of Music in Classical Violin Performance and went on to receive her Master’s degree at The New England Conservatory in Contemporary Improvisation. Abigale lives by the sea with her two Hemingway cats and her husband Charles.

Pete Rushefsky (tsimbl) A leading performer, composer and researcher of the Jewish tsimbl (cimbalom or hammered dulcimer), Rushefsky tours and records internationally with violinist Itzhak Perlman as part of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, and collaborates with a number of leading figures in the contemporary klezmer scene including Andy Statman, Adrianne Greenbaum, Steven Greenman, Joel Rubin, Eleonore Biezunski, Michael Alpert, Madeline Solomon, Zhenya Lopatnik, Zoe Aqua, Jake Shulman-Ment, Keryn Kleiman, Eleonore Weill, Alex Parke, and Michael Winograd. Since 2006 he has served as Executive Director of the Center for Traditional Music and Dance, the nation’s leading organization dedicated to the preservation and presentation of diverse immigrant music traditions from around the world. He is a founder of the annual Yiddish New York festival, curated the Yiddish program at the 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival and has authored a number of articles on traditional music and culture.

Jake Shulman-Ment (violin) is at the helm of a new generation of Klezmer and Yiddish music performers. He tours and records internationally in addition to being a widely sought-out teacher of the klezmer fiddle tradition at festivals around the globe. He collected, studied, performed, and documented traditional music in Romania as a Fulbright scholar, and has lived and traveled in Hungary and Greece, learning traditional violin styles. In 2018 he received the prestigious NYSCA/NYFA Fellowship in Folk/Traditional Arts. He was a featured subject of Csaba Bereczki’s full-length documentary film Soul Exodus, and appears on HBO’s Succession, Martin Scorcese’s The Irishman, and a host of other film and theater productions. Jake’s debut solo album, A Redele (A Wheel) (Oriente Musik, 2012) was nominated for the German Record Critics’ Award. His new group, Midwood, released its first album, Out of the Narrows, (Chant Records) in May 2018

Zikhronah li-Vrakhah: Pearl Ziffer Diamond

Dear Friends,

Pearl Ziffer Diamond, who grew up in the Old Broadway Synagogue, passed away earlier this year. Matthew, one of her children, sent the following sketch of Pearl's life. May her memory be for a blessing!

Pearl Ziffer Diamond passed away peacefully on January 30, 2023 just three weeks shy of her 98th birthday. She was a treasured mother, grandmother, aunt, friend and revered matriarch of her family for decades. Pearl lived a Jewish life punctuated by a kosher home, celebrations of every Jewish holiday and presided over a family defined by her haimische warmth, good humor and abundant love.

Born Pearl Ziffer on February 24, 1925 to her loving parents, Louis and Sarah Ziffer, she was their youngest child, basking in the adoration of her older brothers Yossi and Irving and her sister, Beatrice. A member of Old Broadway Synagogue from birth, Pearl had a lively childhood on nearby Vinegar Hill. She jumped rope avidly, played basketball (despite being five foot two inches tall) and made lifelong friends among all the children of her neighborhood.

Pearl and Irwin Diamond, 1940s

During World War II Pearl met a handsome soldier stationed at a school on her block, Irwin Diamond. They dated and, after he returned from Europe and recovered from his war wounds, they married, settling in Queens. She loved her new name, Pearl Diamond.

They became the parents of three extremely lucky children, Dennis, Matthew and Cori-Sue. As the years passed Irwin and Pearl became the acknowledged Matriarch and Patriarch of their extended family. Their home was filled with laughter, delight, warmth and generosity. Every celebration was hosted there, including Seders, Purim, Thanksgiving, and Hanukah. It was a joy to live through.

Pearl with Dennis, Cori-Sue and Matthew 

In 1966 Pearl’s mother, Sarah, suffered a debilitating stroke rendering her paralyzed and unable to speak. Rejecting the mediocre care given by the nursing homes of that time, Pearl and Irwin created a hospital room in their home where her mother was cared for preciously for four years until she passed peacefully. It was, quite honestly, a saintly act.

Eventually, after Irwin’s passing, Pearl moved to Atlanta to be near her son and daughter and grandchildren. In her heart this lifelong New Yorker never left New York City. 

Magically, and deservedly, Pearl never had a real sickness in her life. Literally, she was out at a restaurant having dinner until two nights before her passing. Until the end she was lively, conversational and kept track of every family member, including what each member was getting for Hanukah. She also maintained her membership in Old Broadway synagogue through the end.

Pearl at her 95th birthday party

Pearl Ziffer Diamond was treasured throughout her life and will be deeply missed and lovingly remembered for many decades to come.

Jewish Music New and Old with the Trio Fadolin

Please join us for a special Melave Malka concert of Jewish music, new and old with the Trio Fadolin. The concert will take place at 8:00pm on Saturday, January 28, 2023 at the Old Broadway Synagogue. $10 contribution requested.

Here is more about this unique musical group from their website:

Trio Fadolín is a new ensemble with a unique sonority — featuring Sabina Torosjan on violin, Valeriya Sholokhova on cello, and Ljova, performing on the fadolín – a new instrument that encompasses the range of the violin, viola, and most of the cello, finding its footing in an acoustic chamber music setting for the first time. We formed during the COVID-19 pandemic — our first performances were in the summer of 2021, on a makeshift stage at the Javits Convention Center mass vaccination site, operated by the US Army and sponsored by Sing for Hope. Since that time, we have made appearances at Bargemusic, Barbès, Symphony Space, and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We continue to perform outreach events for Sing For Hope’s stage at the new Moynihan Train Terminal at Penn Station, where we frequently perform with special guests. As our opportunities to play together grew, our repertoire evolved steadily — it now includes works by Ukrainian composers Vasily Barvinsky, Mykola Kolessa, and Miroslav Skoryk, Spanish-American composer Andrea Casarrubios, folk music from Denmark, Sweden and Romania, in addition to original works by our fadolínist, Ljova. All three of us are graduates of The Juilliard School.

Our focus is multifaceted — on the one hand, we are exploring the unique sonority of the acoustic fadolín (six-string violin, with low C and F strings) within a trio context, using it — for the first time in history — as an integral instrument in an acoustic chamber music setting.

On the other hand, we also share a deep personal connection — all three of us grew up in the former Soviet Union and arrived in New York as teens. Sabina was born in Estonia of Armenian-Jewish heritage; Valeriya was born in Ukraine of Ukrainian, Jewish, and Russian heritage; Ljova was born in Moscow, Russia, of Ukrainian-Jewish, German-Jewish, Polish and Romanian heritage. We share a common bond of immigration, Eastern European literature, humor, animation and music.

We are here to tell the complicated story, to tell the stories of immigrant composers, to collaborate with immigrant artists, to showcase places where cultures intersect.

MUSICIAN BIOS:

SABINA TOROSJAN, originally from Tartu, Estonia has been an active freelance performer since graduating from The Juilliard School having studied with Sally Thomas and Lewis Kaplan. She plays regularly with Ensemble Mise-En and RAM whose focus is in contemporary music from around the world. She has recorded with iconic folk singer Pete Seeger, Jennifer Hudson, composer and guitarist Terry Champlin, as well as appearing on SNL.

Sabina enjoyed being the violinist for the Off Broadway production of “Fiddler On The Roof in Yiddish” for its entire run ending in 2020. She also loves spending time with her two kids.

LJOVA (Lev Zhurbin) was born in Moscow, Russia, and moved to New York with his parents, composer Alexander Zhurbin and writer Irena Ginzburg, in 1990. He divides his time between composing for the concert stage, contemporary dance & film, leading his own ensemble LJOVA AND THE KONTRABAND, performing with and composing for TRIO FADOLÍN, as well as a busy career as a violist, fadolínist & musical arranger. Among recent projects are commissions from the City of London Sinfonia, The Louisville Orchestra, a new work for Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, a string quartet for Brooklyn Rider, a clarinet quintet for Art of Élan, and works for The Knights, Sybarite5 and A Far Cry, as well arrangements for the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, tenor Javier Camarena, conductors Gustavo Dudamel and Alondra de la Parra, songwriters Ricky Martin, Natalia Lafourcade and Carlos Vives, composer/guitarist Gustavo Santaolalla and Osvaldo Golijov. Ljova frequently collaborates with choreographers Aszure Barton, Damian Woetzel, Christopher Wheeldon, Katarzyna Skarpetowska (with Parsons Dance)

Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, cellist VALERIYA SHOLOKHOVA is a graduate of The Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music, where she was a full scholarship student of Bonnie Hampton and David Geber. Valeriya is a laureate of several international competitions and has participated in a number of summer music festivals, such as The Perlman Music Program, Kronberg Academy, Spoleto Festival USA, Orchestra of the Americas, and Thy Music Festival, where she served as principal cellist. An in-demand freelancer, Valeriya is currently the principal cellist with Washington Heights Chamber Orchestra, Mimesis Ensemble, and New York Metamorphoses. In her free time, she enjoys travel, languages, and photography.

KLEZMER MUSIC - Oldish n' Newish, 8:00pm on October 29, 2022

 

CONCERT OF KLEZMER MUSIC: Oldish n' Newish

Pete Rushefsky (tsimbl/hammered dulcimer) & Jake Shulman-Ment (violin)

Saturday, October 29, 8pm  at the Old Broadway Synagogue

(15 Old Broadway between 125th & 126th Streets in Manhattan)

Suggested donation: $10

Join us for a swinging melave malkah and the kickoff of a new klezmer music series at the Old Broadway Synagogue (15 Old Broadway between 125th & 126th Streets in Manhattan) at 8pm on Saturday night, October 29, 2022. We'll be featuring two of the contemporary klezmer scene's leading performers - Pete Rushefsky (tsimbl/hammered dulcimer) and Jake Shulman-Ment (violin). From Hasidic spirituals to rollicking dance tunes, Rushefsky and Shulman-Ment breathe life into musical treasures from the past and present new melodies from klezmer's cutting edge. This program is presented by the Old Broadway Synagogue in partnership with the Center for Traditional Music and Dance.

Pete Rushefsky*** (tsimbl, banjo) A leading performer, composer and researcher of the Jewish tsimbl (cimbalom or hammered dulcimer), Rushefsky tours and records internationally with violinist Itzhak Perlman as part of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, and collaborates with a number of leading figures in the contemporary klezmer scene including Andy Statman, Adrianne Greenbaum, Steven Greenman, Joel Rubin, Eleonore Biezunski, Michael Alpert, Madeline Solomon, Zhenya Lopatnik, Zoe Aqua, Jake Shulman-Ment, Keryn Kleiman, Eleonore Weill, Alex Parke, and Michael Winograd. Since 2006 he has served as Executive Director of the Center for Traditional Music and Dance, the nation’s leading organization dedicated to the preservation and presentation of diverse immigrant music traditions from around the world. He is a founder of the annual Yiddish New York festival, curated the Yiddish program at the 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival and has authored a number of articles on traditional music and culture.

Jake Shulman-Ment (violin) is at the helm of a new generation of Klezmer and Yiddish music performers. He tours and records internationally in addition to being a widely sought-out teacher of the klezmer fiddle tradition at festivals around the globe. He collected, studied, performed, and documented traditional music in Romania as a Fulbright scholar, and has lived and traveled in Hungary and Greece, learning traditional violin styles. In 2018 he received the prestigious NYSCA/NYFA Fellowship in Folk/Traditional Arts. He was a featured subject of Csaba Bereczki’s full-length documentary film Soul Exodus, and appears on HBO’s Succession, Martin Scorcese’s The Irishman, and a host of other film and theater productions. Jake’s debut solo album, A Redele (A Wheel) (Oriente Musik, 2012) was nominated for the German Record Critics’ Award. His new group, Midwood, released its first album, Out of the Narrows, (Chant Records) in May 2018.