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Pete,
I'm just back from a trip to the Ukraine myself.. which was fantastic.. played down at Ukraine Klezfest in the Crimea with Zalman, Adrienne and Merlin.
You should definitely contact Yana and Boris Yanover who run the Centre for Jewish Education in Kiev and organise Klezfest... they are lovely people with an unquenchable enthusiasm for Jewish music and culture and a good network of contacts throughout Ukraine. Yana speaks good English... tell her that I put you in touch.. her email is: center (at) cjeu(dot)carrier(dot)kiev(dot)ua
A word of warning about travelling to the Ukraine - and anywhere in the former Soviet Union - if you plan to take your cymbal, make sure you speak to Ukrainian Embassy in the US before you leave... and find out what documentation you need. I am currently embroiled in a nightmare bureaucratic battle with Ukrainian authorities over my violin which was confiscated at Kiev airport... they claimed I couldn't prove it was mine and thought I was trying to export a national treasure "Objects of art and antiques belong to the state unless you can prove otherwise' - this was not helped by the fact that my violin is a beautiful old instrument made by a famous french maker in 1891......
apparently the documentation/insurance certificates etc I had with me were insufficient proof of ownership... - so I had to leave the fiddle behind when I left... Even if your cymbal was made after 1940, it looks old enough for them to think it's valuable... so be very careful... I will get my violin back soon - (Yana Yanover is being a total star in helping me with this ) but believe me it's a major hassle that you should do your best to avoid... and which is difficult enough even when you can speak russian so I hate to imagine what it would be like without the language on my side...!
you coming to klezkamp? would be good to play some chill taksims and stuff...
love sophie
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