Bread & Roses: Yiddish Songs of the Jewish Labor Movement, a 4-session class with Cindy Paley

You are warmly invited to register for KlezCalifornia’s first multi-session Yiddish singing course focused on songs of the Jewish labor movement. It will take place on four consecutive Sundays, January 23 – February 13. Registering means paying the class tuition, due in advance.

Jews have always been at the forefront of social and political movements. What began as local organizing efforts in Poland and Russia continued in the United States, as Jewish immigrants quickly learned that labor in the New World needed unions too. Labor poets such as Morris Rosenfeld, David Edelshtat, and Avraham Reisen wrote songs of poverty, toil, and struggle that reflected the Jewish experience common to life both in the Old World and as an immigrant. The voices of women, who faced oppression and exploitation, are also represented. These Yiddish and English songs from both sides of the ocean chronicle this struggle for better pay and conditions in the workplace.

Participants will learn songs and their background, listen to recordings, and most importantly, sing! In the process, you will learn Yiddish vocabulary. To help you learn each song, you will receive song sheets in transliteration and English translation, sheet music, and class videos with which to listen and practice. By singing songs repeatedly over a four-week period, you will remember them!

This four-session class will take place on consecutive Sundays beginning January 23, 1:30-3pm PT (4:30pm Eastern, 9:30pm London, 10:30pm Paris, 11:30pm Tel Aviv). Please confirm your local time. Tuition is $80; there is no registration for just one session. Registration is open until 9am PT on January 23. However please register at your earliest convenience so you have time to download and print materials you will need for the first class. Registering means paying the class tuition, due in advance.

About Cindy Paley» Cindy Paley has delighted Jewish communities with her timeless albums and dynamic performances. As music educator at Valley Beth Shalom (in Encino, California) for 36 years, she brought Jewish music to countless children. For the past 20 years she has been the cantorial soloist for Lev Eisha and Valley Beth Shalom’s N’shama Minyan, two women’s services in Los Angeles. Additionally, Cindy performs Yiddish music throughout California and Poland and teaches annual workshops at the Krakow Jewish Culture Festival. Although she is best known for Jewish music, Cindy also performs American folk songs of the 1960s with a trio called The Folk Experience.

To reserve a space, scroll down to BOOK EVENT, click on NEXT, and complete the registration form. Registration ends January 23 at 9am Pacific Time (PT) (noon Eastern, 5pm London, 6pm Paris, 7pm Tel Aviv) to receive sign-in by 10am PT that day. If you have not heard by then, first check your junk/spam folder, then write to workshops@klezcalifornia.org. Do not wait until just before the event begins to check whether you have sign-in info. If you have not registered on time, write workshops@klezcalifornia.org; we cannot promise to notice your email if you contact us after 9am. NOTE: KlezCalifornia is putting on another event January 23 10:30am-12:45pm PT and is unable to respond while that event is taking place.

Registering for this event includes giving KlezCalifornia permission to take still and video images and use them for educational or other organizational purposes. If you do not agree to such use, please turn off your video when you join the event. To keep you informed of future events, we enroll registrants in our free monthly newsletter which includes klezmer and Yiddish culture events in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. You may unsubscribe at any time. KlezCalifornia does not share its lists with other organizations.