By Sean Olson, University Relations
The Yiddishe Cup Klezmer Band will perform Oct. 22 as part of the UC/LS season.
They are jazz. They are Jewish traditional music. They are one of the top klezmer bands in America.
Mix Jewish folk songs, Yiddish theatre tunes and American swing music for an evening of spirited entertainment with music and comedy. UNCG will host the Yiddishe Cup Klezmer Band 8 p.m. Oct. 22 in Aycock Auditorium as the second event of the University Concert/Lecture Series.
As one of the top klezmer bands in America, the group’s five musicians play saxophones, clarinets, harmonicas, flutes, mandolins, violins, trumpets and trombones. The result is a hybrid form of music with a distinctive polyrhythmic beat that the Dallas Morning News calls “a sound that gets people dancing.”
Klezmer is secular music originally from Eastern European shtetls (Jewish villages). It began immigrating to the United States at the end of the 19th century where American klezmer musicians incorporated it with American jazz and swing.
The band travels with a designated dancer called a Shtickmeister to engage audience members with the music. The musicians add Jewish humor to the act, creating a performance to which people of all ages can watch, listen, laugh and dance.
Since their 1988 debut, the group has performed around the United States at festivals, colleges universities, and many Jewish gatherings.
Tickets are $22, $19 or $15 for adults and $20, $17 or $13 for seniors, children or non-UNCG students. Student tickets are $9, $8 and $6. Prices vary depending on seat location. Call the University Box Office at (336) 334-4849 for tickets.
The Yiddishe Cup Klezmer Band is the second event in the 2005-06 University Concert/Lecture Series. Other events include: Lou Rawls Nov. 1; actress-singer Betty Lynn Buckley Jan. 21; the musical Mame Feb. 12; Flemenco Vivo Carlota Santana dance troupe Feb. 24; and modern dance company MOMIX performing “Passion” April 6.
