Other Locations
- Alameda County
The Joy of Jewish Music and Dance
With Nat Seelen and Bruce Bierman
NEW LOCATION: Congregation Netivot Shalom, 1316 University Avenue, Berkeley, CA
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Join the October-May monthly series celebrating The Joy of Jewish Music and Dance! Great for musicians, dancers, and enthusiasts to meet, learn, play, shmooze, or simply to take in the beauty of these rich traditions. Bring your instruments and dancing shoes.
For the May 17, 2026 session, music will be taught by Nat Seelen and dance will be taught by Bruce Bierman.
Session format: During the first 90 minutes, participants choose between instruction in music or dance corresponding to the music. Then after a short break, musicians and dancers are brought together to perform what they’ve learned. Extra time after that continues the dance party or shifts into informal jam or instruction.
Basic instrumental proficiency is recommended for musicians. All instruments, singers, and dancers are welcome.
Tickets are $25 – $54 sliding scale. Online ticket sales will end on Friday, May 15 at noon. If not sold out, tickets may be purchased at the door.
Kids 18 and under can attend free.
No one turned away for lack of funds. Arrange volunteer/trade or reduced price entry in advance, or with the person at the door.
Additional donations are welcome to help sustain, grow, and cover the cost of this series. Additional donations would help cover travel costs of out of town instructors and many costs that are currently offset by donations.
The series is made possible by volunteer time and expertise of organizers Mike Perlmutter, Zina Pozen, and Bruce Bierman, as well as the financial support of Noah Youngs, Amos Lans, and other generous individuals, fiscal sponsorship and support by KlezCalifornia. We are grateful to our past host Sarah Wolfman-Robichaud and the JCC East Bay, and to our new hosts at Congregation Netivot Shalom.
Direct questions about the series to: JOY@KlezCalifornia.org
Instructor Bios
Nat Seelen – Clarinetist, Composer, and Artistic Director
Nat Seelen is a Boston-based clarinetist, composer, and educator whose work explores the intersections of tradition, innovation, and community in klezmer music and beyond. A dynamic performer and creator, he is the founder and artistic director of the Boston Festival of New Jewish Music, a concert series that has presented over 180 artists and reached thousands of audience members with original, culturally rooted music since its inception in 2021.
As a performer, Seelen is a founding member of the internationally recognized Ezekiel’s Wheels Klezmer Band, winners of awards at the International Jewish Music Festival in Amsterdam, Brazil’s Bubbe Awards, and more. With Ezekiel’s Wheels and other ensembles, he has performed at major venues including the Kennedy Center, Tanglewood Music Center, and Jordan Hall, and internationally in China, Denmark, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Spain, and Canada.
Seelen is also the creator of New Klezmer Studios, an innovative remote learning initiative that has taught klezmer music to students on five continents, including musicians from top institutions like Juilliard, New England Conservatory, Berklee, and Oberlin. He is a teaching artist with Arts for Learning Massachusetts and has given workshops, masterclasses, and lectures at the Society for
Ethnomusicology Annual Meeting, University of Connecticut, Tufts University, and many more. In 2025, Seelen joined the faculty at New England Conservatory teaching klezmer music.
As a composer, Seelen’s recent works include 56 New Klezmer Tunes for Dancing (2023), Gathering Sparks (2022), and Di Khassene (2021), a multimedia song cycle created during the COVID-19 pandemic. He is a recipient of grants and fellowships from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, CJP Arts & Culture Fund, NEFA, and the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture.
Seelen began his musical training at the New England Conservatory. He holds an AB with honors in Music from Brown University and studied philosophy and music at King’s College London.
Watch
“Kale Bazetsn / Der Heyser Bulgar / Fun der Heyser” live with Improbable Beasts – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-NSjfIlyZw
“December Suite” live with Ezekiel’s Wheels Klezmer Trio – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td3bEI6ZjmA
Listen
“Suite 1973” from Ezekiel’s Wheels Klezmer Band’s “The Thread | Di Fodem” – Suite 1973, by Ezekiel’s Wheels Klezmer Band
Series Dates