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Updated 12/5/2016

Wholesale Klezmer Band

  • M

    MA

Institution/Business Type: Performing Group

You don't need to be Jewish to enjoy and learn about Yiddish music and culture with the Wholesale Klezmer Band. Concerts, school presentations and residencies, workshops, weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs: through instrumental music, participatory dance and Yiddish songs translated with storytelling and subtitles, this six-member band introduces audiences to traditional Eastern European Jewish culture, history, and humor. Repertoire includes old and original joyous wedding dances, liturgical music, children's songs, theater songs, labor songs and music of the Holocaust.

Educational programs and workshops for elementary through adult include
Introduction to Eastern European Jewish Culture through Music
Yiddish Songs for Community Singing (Kindergarten and up)
How to Dance at a Jewish Wedding
Instrumental and vocal workshops in Klezmer Music
What Yiddish Songs, Poetry and Language Tell about Jewish Life
Songs by Holocaust Poets (especially for high school literature and history classes)
The Art of Hebrew Lettering

Fees for performances and educational programs vary with the number of performers/educators and the length of the residency.

Find Me

Yosl (Joe) Kurland
Job Title: Vocalist/educator/dance leader/composer
Phone: 413-624-3204
Fax: 413-624-0151
Address:
389 Adamsville Road
Colrain, MA 01340-9739

Social Media:

Additional Content:

  • Sing for Peace, Dance for Joy

    Listen to three tracks from Wholesale Klezmer Band's fourth album at this link. In this release, the Wholesale Klezmer Band celebrates Yiddish culture and history through both songs of peace and joyous instrumental music.

  • Yidn fun Amol (Jews of Long Ago)

    Listen to three tracks from Wholesale Klezmer Band's third album at this link. This album showcases the [Wholesale Klezmer] Band as it performs live, and for weddings and simkhas.

  • Prayer for a Broken World

    Listen to three tracks from Wholesale Klezmer Band's second album at this link. This CD represents a Jewish response to news of genocide in the post-Holocaust world.

  • Shmir Me

    This debut album by the Wholesale Klezmer Band is a perfect introduction to their work - not only to their sound and style, but also to the group's view of the relevance of traditional Yiddish culture and values to contemporary life.

About

Overview

Institution/Business Type:

Performing Group

Legal Status:

Commercial / For profit - Sole proprietorship

Year Founded:

1982

Overview

Institution/Business Type:

Performing Group

Legal Status:

Commercial / For profit - Sole proprietorship

Year Founded:

1982

Disciplines

Primary Discipline:

Music - Ethnic / World

Additional Disciplines:

  • Theater - Storytelling

Activities and Services

Activities and Services:

  • Performance / Concert / Reading
  • Residency - Community
  • Residency - In School
  • Wedding / Parties / Private Gatherings
  • Workshops / Demonstrations / Master Class
Seasons Active: spring, summer, fall, winter
Events Per Year: 15

Communities

Populations Engaged:

  • Adults
  • Elders
  • Families
  • General Public
  • School Groups
  • Teens

Geographic Reach:

  • National

Media Gallery

I Have Worked With

Affiliations and Accomplishments

Awards

Awards:

  • We were invited to perform at President Clinton's first inauguration and at the 100th anniversary of Carnegie Hall - celebration of folk music.
  • Works by vocalist/composer Yosl Kurland were twice selected by the Shalshelet Festival of New Jewish Liturgical Music.

Awards

Awards:

  • We were invited to perform at President Clinton's first inauguration and at the 100th anniversary of Carnegie Hall - celebration of folk music.
  • Works by vocalist/composer Yosl Kurland were twice selected by the Shalshelet Festival of New Jewish Liturgical Music.

Artist Info

Teaching Artist

Ages Served:

  • Elementary School-age
  • Middle School-age
  • High School-age
  • College-age
  • Adults

Subject Areas:

  • Arts Integration - Foreign Languages
  • Arts Integration - History and Social Science

Certifications and Training:

  • Massachusetts Secondary Social Studies

Fee range:

$100 - $5,000

Teaching Artist

Ages Served:

  • Elementary School-age
  • Middle School-age
  • High School-age
  • College-age
  • Adults

Subject Areas:

  • Arts Integration - Foreign Languages
  • Arts Integration - History and Social Science

Certifications and Training:

  • Massachusetts Secondary Social Studies

Fee range:

$100 - $5,000

Touring Artist

NEST Eligible Artist

Technical Requirements:

  • Please contact us for sound system requirements which depend on the number and variety of musicians performing at a particular event.

Fee Range:

$200 - $3,000

State of Residence:

Massachusetts

Minimum Number of Performers:

1

Maximum Number of Performers:

6