The Klez Dispensers

[ibarmash <ibarmash...>]

Hello,

I am the manager and the vocalist for The Klez Dispensers, the Princeton

University Klezmer band.  We are one of the most recent arrivals on the
klezmer scene - we only got together this fall.

We have done a few gigs on campus, and are now preparing for several
shows
both on and off- campus.  Our first big appearance will be on February
28
in the Hollis Hills Jewish Center in Queens, New York.(email me for more

details)

Check out our home page - http://www.princeton.edu/~klez .  There I put
some music clips from our debut show, our performance schedule, and more

info about our group.

Also, a member of our group wrote two papers on the Klezmer revival and
The Klez Dispensers' place in the phenomena.  You can find links to
those
from our home page.

So far, our main challenge is to build
repertoire quickly. Several of our members are quite proficient
arrangers,
it's just hard to manage schoolwork and full-time klezmer arranging for
them (math takes precedence over klezmer for some of us for some
reason).
Also, we are struggling between the idea of improv/free-flowing
klezmer as opposed to somewhat rigid arrangements.  Most of our players
have had a lot of experience with jazz, so they are used to
improvization,
but it seems like we are almost scared to mess up the style or the
notes.
I guess confidence will come with experience?

I was very excited to have found this email list, it sounds like some of

people we admire most are lurking somewhere around here.  I'd be very
grateful to hear any advice for a new klezmer group, any suggestions of
venues for performing, etc.

Thank you and looking forward to meeting yo'all,

Inna Barmash


P.S. Just to follow up on another thread - as a Russian Jew myself (from

Vilna, Lithuania), I would say that the situation with anti-semitism in
Russia is very complicated.  Out of all the Jews I knew in Vilna, the
ones
that stayed were either very rich or very old.  It is easy to see how
animosity toward the rich kind of Jews can spring up in a nation that
has
historically been the most ardently nationalistic and anti-semitic.
However, many of those Jews have the choice of leaving...  On the other
hand, Jewish life is flourishing in Vilna. When I was leaving in 1991,
there were several musical, educational, religious and social
organizations that are still going strong, despite the (much) fewer
number
of Jews.

I don't know anything about the Moyeseev dance company (except the fact
taht my parents are going to see it this Wednesday).  is there any info
on
them available on the web?



***********************
*         Inna Barmash
*     212 Witherspoon Hall
*     Princeton University
*    School: (609) 258-8853
*    Home:   (201) 796-5268
************************





---------------------- jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org ---------------------+