Sasha Somish |
vocals |
Alexandra
Somish is a Yiddish singer from Lviv, in Ukraine, and one of the major
actors in the Lviv Jewish Theatre "Beginning", founder and leader of
the "Varnitshkes" ensemble and administrator of the "LvivKlezFest"
festival organised by l'AUJCF "Hesed-Arieh". Born in Lviv in 1980, she holds a specialist degree in philology and folklore from the Ivan Franko National University in Lviv. In 2001, she became the singer in the «Lviv Klezmer Band», the group which participated in the filming of the documentary «Der stille Bug» (2004) produced by the German television channel ARD. At the same time, Alexandra made a Yiddish song tour with Tatiana Kislenko and her husband, Alexey Darmodekhin, the "Anakhnu" ensemble. In 2007, she created the vocal and instrumental ensemble «Varnitshkes». This song-oriented Jewish band aims at drawing the young generation towards Yiddishkeit culture, and performs with success in Ukraine and abroad (Poland, Germany, Austria, Italy and Russia). In 2008, she studied Yiddish language, literature and culture in New York, in the Uriel Weinreich programme. She has actively participated in klezmer forums in Saint-Petersburg, Kiev, Moscow, London, Kharkov and Kazan, and participated with her ensemble in the EUROPEAN JEWISH CHOIR FESTIVAL in Vienna (2013) and Rome (2014), and has received various rewards in Jewish music and theatre festivals, such as ʺHatikvaʺ (Kiev), ʺLight a Candleʺ (Moscow), ʺChernihiv Autumnʺ (Chernihiv) and ʺConstellation of Lionʺ (Lvov) where she was elected best actress in the play "Shosha". |
Efim Chorny |
vocals |
Efim
Chorny, born in Kishinev, is one of the most important leaders in the
renaissance of Eastern Europe Jewish culture. Efim, singer of Jewish
songs, performing on stage since since the age of 6, graduated from the
Kishinev Music Conservatory and has directed the Jewish Song Theatre
there since 1992. He has presented his exceptional repertoire of
Yiddish songs in Romania, Greece, Estonia, Germany, France, the Czech
Republic, Ukraine, Austria and the United States. Efim Chorny was awarded first prize in the «S.Micheels international competition for Jewish songs » in Moscow. He has worked as a professor in numerous international festivals in Kiev, Saint-Petersburg, Vienna, Paris, Detroit and Moscow. His vocal compositions are taught and sung in numerous Yiddish festivals across the world and quickly found their way into the Yiddish song repertoire. Efim’s characteristics – a charismatic presence, an exceptional voice, and a vibrant temperament – make him a successor to the great Yiddish Song tradition; a tradition which he personifies. |
Susan Ghergus
|
piano |
Susan Ghergus studied piano at the Kishinev Music Conservatory. Since 1992, she has been the music director of Jewish vocal songs at the Kishinev Theatre and plays duo with Efim Chorny. Her concerts have been widely acclaimed all over Europe and the United States. She has been a long time specialist in the accompaniment and arrangement of Jewish songs. In addition to a vast experience in the techniques of classical piano, Susan is also an expert in the style of Jewish dance music. This combination makes her an exceptional musician because she can mix klezmer rhythms with Yiddish song melodies in the purest style of Bessarabia. |
Vanessa VROMANS
|
violin, vocals |
Born
in Curaçao to a Dutch father and an Australian mother, Vanessa
grew up in Australia and studied violin in Holland in the
conservatories of Maastricht and Rotterdam, where she not only
graduated (bachelor and master) in solo classical violin but also
studied, in the World Music Department, various musical styles such as
the tango, flamenco and salsa. allowing numerous workshops and taking
private lessons all over the world with teachers such as Michael
Alpert, Alan Bern, Steven Greenman, Cookie Segelstein, Deborah Strauss
and Alicia Svigals, Vanessa was introduced into the secrets of the
Yiddish style. She rapidly made a name for herself on the international
klezmer scene and has actively participated in a host of projects. She founded the Rotterdam Klezmer Band (in Holland), played in the Intercontinental Klezmer Band (in Germany) and appeared with groups such as Khevrisa, in the United States, Shtetl Band Amsterdam, in Holland, Di Fidl Kapelye, and Global Shtetl Band, in Germany. Vanessa lives in Bonn, Germany. |
The organisation of this concert has been made possible thanks to the unflagging support of the members of the AMJ.
For all information and contact : |