The Strauss/Warschauer Duo
Deborah Strauss (violin, accordion, vocals, dance) and Cantor Jeff Warschauer (guitar, mandolin, vocals) have been at the forefront of the international klezmer and Yiddish music scene for more than 30 years. They are sweet and soulful performers who draw from klezmer, Yiddish, Hasidic and liturgical music and culture, adding their own original compositions and song settings. Their music is grounded in tradition, yet thoroughly contemporary.
Deborah and Jeff were both longtime members of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, one of the premiere groups of the klezmer revival, and have performed with legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman on film and in concert.
As the Strauss/Warschauer Duo, they have performed to overwhelming acclaim in such diverse venues as the Philadelphia Folk Festival, Great Britain’s Fiddles on Fire, the Jewish Culture Festival in Krakow, Poland, and the Art of Yiddish in Los Angeles with the late actor and singer Theodore Bikel.
They lead some of the most popular klezmer music, Yiddish song and traditional dance workshops throughout the world. Both teach regularly at KlezKanada, Yiddish Summer Weimar, and the Warsaw International Summer Seminar in Yiddish Language and Culture.
Jeff is Cantor at Congregation Brothers of Israel in Newtown, PA. He is a Founding Artistic Director of KlezKanada, and teaches at Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary. Deborah is Education Director at Congregation Kehilat Shalom in Belle Mead, NJ, and co-director of both the instrumental and dance programs at Yiddish New York.