KlezmerQuerque 2025 Schedule
All events will take place at Nahalat Shalom,
3606 Rio Grande Blvd. NW, ABQ, NM 87107 (map) 505-343-8227
Friday March 7, 2025 6:30-9:00pm
KlezmerQuerque 2025 presents
der Freylekher Shabes!
Celebrate Shabes (Shabbat) JOY in-person in our sanctuary. The participatory & danceable klezmer Shabes service from 6:30-7:30PM includes prayers from Kabbalat Shabbat & Ma’ariv services as well as candle lighting (symbolic) & blessing, Kaddish Yatom, Mi Shebeirach, Kiddush and HaMotzi. We will also be treated to a story by our own beloved Maggidah Batya Podos. Dances will be led by Nahalat Shalom’s RIKUD DANCERS and SPECIAL GUEST ARTIST ASYA VAISMAN SCHULMAN to the music of THE NAHALAT SHALOM COMMUNITY KLEZMER BAND.
The service will be followed by a Vegetarian Potluck dinner at 7:35pm (please bring a vegetarian dish to share). At 7:55pm, ABQ’s own HIGH DEZERT KLEZMER & JUDAIC BAND (FKA The Rebbe’s Orkestra) will be celebrating its new name with a couple of tunes. At 8:10pm, SPECIAL GUEST ARTIST ZISL SLEPOVITCH will give a BRIEF & SPECTACULAR PERFORMANCE.
From 8:30-9:00pm we will round off the evening with recreational Jewish folk dancing led by ASYA VAISMAN SCHULMAN to the music of The Nahalat Shalom Community Klezmer Band.
Everyone is welcome to all or any part of the evening’s celebrations.
No charge, but donations are welcome to help the continuation of our festival.
For more information, contact Cantor Beth Cohen: cohenedmunds@netzero.net
Saturday, March 8th 10:00 AM-12:00 PM
KlezmerQuerque 2025:
Shabes Koydesh - Holy Shabbat Service
Renewal-style Shabbat service with Torah reading; led by Maggidah Batya Podos,
Cantor Beth Cohen & Gabbai Jeff Brody. Kiddush-Oneg will follow the service.
No charge, but donations are welcome to help the continuation of our festival.
For more information, contact Cantor Beth Cohen: cohenedmunds@netzero.net
Saturday, March 8th 7:00pm-9:30pm
KlezmerQuerque 2025 presents
A Concert & Dance Party
Doors open at 6:30pm to the lively music of ABQ’s own klezmer duo Di Kavene Kapelye
(the watermelon klezmer band)
The concert will open at 7:00pm with the superb talent of Jordan Wax who will be performing a few original Yiddish songs from his new album, The Heart Deciphers.
Then our fabulous guest artist Zisl Slepovitch will take the stage for what is guaranteed to be a magical performance. Zisl will present his much heralded multi-media performance, “Traveling the Yiddishland”. It is a musical journey across the routes of the Jewish history in the 20th century Eastern and Central Europe – brought to the modern audience through original videos and live performance.
Watch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-T8tHUd8IU
After intermission, the dance party will begin with dancing led by the spectacular Asya Vaisman Schulman with music provided by local favorite, High Dezert Klezmer & Judaic Band, (formerly The Rebbe’s Orkestra)
TICKETS: $18 advance purchase via this web site or $20 (if available) at the door.
Sunday, March 9, 2025 10:00am-5:15pm
There are 3 workshop sessions:
#1- Music 10-11:30am (then break for lunch out)
#2- At 1:30pm choose Music or Yiddish language
#3- Yiddish Dance is from 3:30-5:00pm
See workshop details below…
TICKETS -per session:
$18 advance purchase via this web site or
$20 at the door.
Sunday, March 9, 2025 10:00am-11:30am
Workshop Session #1:
Music with Zisl Slepovitch
Yiddish songs with nign (niggun - wordless tunes)-refrains. The subgenre of the Yiddish song that brings instrumentalists and singers on the same territory — when words aren’t enough. But what and how does the nign (niggun)-refrain really express and how to perform it. Be prepared to sing and, if you play an instrument, to play as well as sing.
Learning materials (handouts – song / melody charts with suggested chord symbols) will be provided by the instructor.
Prerequisites: Helpful but NOT required to take this workshop are sight-reading skills, Yiddish comprehension, vocal and instrumental abilities.
BREAK FOR LUNCH OUT — DOORS RE-OPEN AT 1:15pm
Sunday, March 9th
Workshop Session #2
Choose Music or Yiddish Language:
Music with Zisl Slepovitch 1:30-3:00pm
Musical treasures from Sofia Magid’s Jewish collection: klezmer tunes from Belarus and Ukraine, based on Zisl Slepovitch’s 2024 eponymous publication.
The scholarly legacy of Sofia Magid (1892–1954), an eminent Soviet ethnomusicologist and linguist makes a critical contribution to the Ashkenazic Eastern European Jewish music studies and performing arts. Among Magid’s field recordings made in the USSR between 1928—1949 are some of the very few sound documents of the Jewish folk singers and instrumentalists made on the cusp of the Holocaust. This collection researched, transcribed, and published by Dr. D. Zisl Slepovitch in 2024 contains roughly half of the previously unpublished set of instrumental repertoire recorded by Magid between 1928–1938 in Volhynia (Ukraine) and South-Eastern parts of Belarus.
Learning materials (handouts — melody charts with chord symbols) will be provided by the instructor.
Prerequisites: Helpful but NOT required to take this workshop are sight-reading skills (highly recommended though) and instrumental abilities (at least intermediate level).
Beginning Yiddish language workshop with Asya Vaisman Schulman 1:30-2:45pm
In this workshop, we’ll dive into Yiddish through simple, everyday conversation. You’ll learn how to introduce yourself, talk about where you live, and share a few daily activities—all in Yiddish. No prior knowledge of the language is required, making this a great starting point for beginners!
Sunday, March 9, 2025 3:30-5:00pm
Yiddish Dance Workshop for all with
Asya Vaisman Schulman
Yiddish dance formations come in all shapes and sizes — there are dances done in pairs, in lines, in circles (open and closed), and in squares! In this workshop, we will learn the honga (danced in a line), a patsh tants (a mixer danced in a circle), a sher (a square dance), and more! No prior experience necessary — just bring your enthusiasm and be ready to move.