Veretski Pass

Veretski Pass is a trio of Jewish Music veterans who have been at the forefront of the klezmer revival for over 25 years. Their output spans the ultra-traditional to the avant garde. Taking their name from the mountain pass through which Magyar tribes crossed into the Carpathian basin to settle what later became the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Veretski Pass offers a unique and exciting combination of virtuosic musicianship and raw energy that has excited concertgoers across the world. The trio plays Old Country Music with origins in the Ottoman Empire, once fabled as the borderlands of the East and the West. In a true collage of Carpathian, Jewish, Rumanian and Ottoman styles, typical suites contain dances from Moldavia and Bessarabia; Jewish melodies from Poland and Rumania; Hutzul wedding music from Carpathian-Ruthenia; and haunting Rebetic aires from Smyrna, seamlessly integrated with original compositions. Their CDs have repeatedly been on the 10-best recording lists of journalists since 2002.

This concert will consist of music from their new project, to be recorded in the spring of 2024. This repertoire is based on collections from expeditions of Jewish ethnographers of the early 20th century, and mostly filled with Jewish music from what is now Ukraine, along with original compositions and Ukrainian folk music.

This concert is part of The Jewish Music Series at Sonoma State, a presentation of the Department of Music and the Jewish Studies Program. Now in its 9th year, the series is widely acclaimed for its breadth, depth, and musical excellence as it poses the eternal question of “What makes music Jewish?”

The concerts—a component of the “Survey of Jewish Musics” class—run about 90 minutes in length, are free and open to the public. $5 parking fee applies. No reservations are necessary.