The Klezmatics to Make Segerstrom Center Debut in Hanukah Concert

This Hanukah season, Segerstrom Center for the Arts welcomes superstars of the klezmer world, The Klezmatics on December 22 in Samueli Theater.

The Klezmatics from East Village make their way to Orange County for a special concert featuring the band's unique 21st century approach to the venerable klezmer tradition. This tour also marks the band's 30th anniversary. The program includes selections from two albums where The Klezmatics provide the music to Woody Guthrie's unpublished lyrics, Woody Guthrie's Happy Joyous Hanukah and the Grammy Award-winning world music album, Wonder Wheel: Lyrics by Woody Guthrie. The evening also features songs from their latest album, Apikorsim-Heretics. (Please note the venue change from the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall to Samueli Theater).

The Klezmatics includes original members - Lorin Sklamberg (lead vocals, accordion, guitar, piano), Frank London (trumpet, keyboards, vocals) and Paul Morrissett (bass, tsimbl, vocals) - alongside longtime members Matt Darriau (kaval, clarinet, saxophone, vocals), Lisa Gutkin (violin, vocals) and Richie Barshay (drums).

Single tickets start at $29 and are available online at www.SCFTA.org, at the Box Office at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa or by calling (714) 556-2787. For inquiries about group ticket savings for 10 or more, call the Group Services office at (714) 755-0236.

Since their emergence 30 years ago, The Klezmatics have raised the bar for Eastern European Jewish music, made aesthetically, politically and musically interesting recordings, inspired future generations, created a large body of work that is enduring and helped to change the face of contemporary Yiddish culture. Often called a "Jewish roots band," The Klezmatics have led a popular revival of this ages-old, nearly forgotten art form.

They have performed in more than 20 countries and released 10 albums to date - including the two-CD Live at Town Hall, recorded in their home base of New York and released in celebration of the band's silver anniversary. On their Grammy-winning 2006 album Wonder Wheel, The Klezmatics set a dozen previously unsung Woody Guthrie lyrics to music, widening their stylistic base by largely diverging from klezmer. They have also recently served as the subject of a feature-length documentary film, The Klezmatics: On Holy Ground.

During their 30-year existence The Klezmatics have collaborated with such brilliant artists as violinist Itzhak Perlman, Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner and Israeli vocal icon Chava Alberstein, plus many other prominent artists working within multiple genres.

The Klezmatics' music is rooted in but is not a strictly traditional variety of the klezmer genre. Rather it is a comfortable hybrid that appeals equally to those with no previous exposure to the music and those already familiar with it.

"Klezmer," says London, "is the unique sound of East European Jewishness. It has the power to evoke a feeling of other-worldliness, of being there and then, of nostalgia for a time and place that we never knew."

Formed in New York in 1986, The Klezmatics quickly built a devoted following that expanded outward once word spread about this exotic new band that was bringing klezmer back from the abyss. For some fans, the group's appeal went beyond the music itself. "People have a need for something to hold onto," says Gutkin. "They want to be part of something."

Throughout the years a wide range of lyrical ideas has inhabited The Klezmatics' songs, ranging from contemporary issues of global import facing each of us to matters of intimate love, and from leftist politics to age-old Jewish mysticism. "From early on," says Sklamberg, "even before we made a conscious effort to make the music our own, we decided that if we sang songs, they would be ones we believed in."

The Klezmatics remain committed to their music and to the close relationship they share with their fans. "In 1986," says Sklamberg, "I never imagined that preserving, disseminating and helping to redefine Yiddish music would become my life's work. I certainly don't think we sound like anyone else."

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is an acclaimed arts institution as well as a beautiful multi-disciplinary cultural campus. It is committed to supporting artistic excellence on all of its stages, offering unsurpassed experiences, and to engaging the entire community in new and exciting ways through the unique power of live performance and a diverse array of inspiring programs.

Previously called the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Segerstrom Center is Orange County's largest non-profit arts organization. In addition to its six performance venues, Segerstrom Center is also home to the American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School, where students ages 3 - 14 are taught by acclaimed teachers utilizing the renowned ABT National Training Curriculum in studios utilized by the world's greatest dancers and choreographers.

The Center presents a broad range of programming for audiences of all ages, including international ballet and dance, national tours of top Broadway shows, intimate performances of jazz and cabaret, contemporary artists, classical music performed by renowned chamber orchestras and ensembles, family- friendly programming, free performances open to the public from outdoor movie screenings to dancing on the plaza and many other special events.

The Center's education programs are designed to inspire young people through the arts and reach hundreds of thousands of students each year. In addition to the presenting and producing institution Segerstrom Center for the Arts, the 14-acre campus also embraces the facilities of two independently acclaimed organizations: Tony Award®-winning South Coast Repertory and a site designated as the future home of the Orange County Museum of Art.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is also proud to serve as the artistic home to three of the region's major performing arts organizations: Pacific Symphony, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County and the Pacific Chorale, who contribute greatly to the artistic life of the region with annual seasons at Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

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