Joel Rubin Ensemble

The Charlottesville and New York City based duo of Joel Rubin and Pete Rushefsky performs Eastern European Jewish instrumental klezmer music and hasidic /nigunim/ (religious melodies of spiritual elevation), a meditation on the Russian-Jewish musical legacy.

September 23, 2009; 5:24 PM • by Scott Pharr

Klezmer
Charlottesville, VA

From the Brothers Burton

Taylor says: Oh how I love Klezmer, and oh how I love the clarinet. And when this is all paired with my love for Hungarian musicians, success is to be the recipe. In other words, this is going to be incredible…and a success.

Scott says: An incredibly academic approach to the Klezmer tradition, but don’t worry, it sounds awesome!

Professional Bio

Klezmer is a musical tradition which parallels Hasidic and Ashkenazic, Judaism. The Charlottesville and New York City based duo of Joel Rubin and Pete Rushefsky performs Eastern European Jewish instrumental klezmer music and hasidic /nigunim/ (religious melodies of spiritual elevation), a meditation on the Russian-Jewish musical legacy. The music draws its inspiration from the publications of the ethnomusicologist Moshe Beregovski, which were based on Beregovski’s own fieldwork in the Ukraine and Byelorussia from 1927 to 1948. Rubin has specialized in the repertoire from these collections for the past fifteen years, which he regards as the deepest inspiration for his exploration of all phases of the complex klezmer tradition, from 19th century Eastern Europe to the 21st century transnationally.