Klezmer Crash Course
Tantz A Freilachs (Dance to a Joyful Melody) with us and experience the sounds, movements, history, and culture of Jewish Klezmer Music! World renowned klezmer trombonist and educator Dan Blacksberg will take students on a journey into the wide world of klezmer and Yiddish music. Students will encounter instrumental dance music, learn exciting group dances, try on Yiddish folksongs, jam out to wordless Jewish spiritual melodies, and more.
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Pennsylvania Curriculum Standards
(A=Assembly; W=Workshop; R=Residency)
9.1 Production, Performance and Exhibition of Dance, Music, Theatre and Visual Arts A, W, R
15.4 Learning Through Experience W, R
25.3 Pro-Social Relationships with Adults W, R
25.4 Pro-Social Relationships with Peers W, R
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Art Form(s): Music
Genre: Jewish, Multicultural
Assembly, Workshop, and Residency Offerings
Klezmer Crash Course Program
Dan Blacksberg & Freilachs Music will introduce students to the wide world of klezmer and Yiddish music. The band will perform music that spans the history and variety of this tradition. Alongside listening to music, students will have the opportunity to sing along in Yiddish, and even learn a dance step or two. They will get introduced to the specific sounds of klezmer, such as the “Krekhts” the yiddish word for “cry” which describes one of the many klezmer sounds that give this music its deep emotional power. Dan and the band will show off their instruments and use their sounds as a way to share some history of the music and the people who made it.
Best for: 3-12
Also available as a Workshop or Residency!
Featuring: Dan Blacksberg's Freilachs Music
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Dan Blacksberg's Freilachs Music delivers delicious klezmer that connects the old world to our world with a Philly twist. Klezmer trombone pioneer Dan Blacksberg weaves together sounds from origins in Eastern Europe, New York, and Philadelphia with all the strands of today’s vibrant klezmer universe. Traditional dance numbers, spiritual nigunim (wordless melodies), and ear-catching originals are delivered with virtuosity that is as soulful as it is stunning. With a focus on the repertoire of Philadelphia’s own tradition and on new compositions - especially those composed by women, this is 21st century klezmer music at its finest!
Dan is one of the most in demand performers and teachers of klezmer music in the world, teaching at institutions like Klezkanada, Yiddish Summer Weimar, and Yiddish New York. In Philadelphia, he is the klezmer musician in residence at Kol Tzedek Synagogue, where he teaches and leads the all-ages (8 to 80!), all levels Simcha. He has led workshops at the Mann Music Center, University of Pennsylvania, and was an adjunct at Temple Univeristy, where he founded the Temple Klezmer Ensemble (Shul U.).
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Joined Musicopia: 2025