Thursday, August 12, 7:30-9:00 pm
$25.00
Register online

Open to anyone who can play a tune on violin and have fun doing it, the workshop will include a quick rundown of the slides, krechts*, scrapes, and squeaks that make up the instrumental "Yiddish" language on the violin. There will be a detailed explanation of "real world comping" and the joy of rhythm fiddle, incorporating ideas from rhythm guitar technique. Also there will be a quick discussion of the challenges associated with playing violin in a loud band. The flexible melodic sense in traditional klezmer music will be taught, as well as comparison with other folk and classical styles.

*A krecht is an ornament used in klezmer music; it is also sometimes called an "oy." Like a musical sigh or a catch in the throat, it comes from the Yiddish singing style, and all instruments imitate it in a slightly different way.

A descendent of a long line of Bessarabian furriers, Daniel first heard klezmer music played by his father on piano at an early age, and started the violin at the age of seven. He started his first klezmer band in 1990, and in 1992, he co-founded the Oakland-based klezmer-Middle-Eastern fusion group Davka, which released five CDs. In 1996 he founded the well-known Bay Area group, the SF Klezmer Experience (now the Klez-X) as the pit band for the ACT production of Shlemiel the First. The Klez-X has released 3 CDs and has performed extensively. Daniel has also performed with many of the top names in klezmer worldwide and led the Fidl Kapelye at the Ashkenaz Festival in Toronto. As a composer, he has received numerous commissions and grants, including from the NEA, Meet the Composer, numerous foundations, and several theaters. He currently lives in Tel Aviv and performs with Trio Carpion which just released At the Black Sea on the Magda label.

"There's a reason the Bay Area has been cited as a breeding ground for a Jewish music renaissance, and that reason can be summed up in a name: Daniel Hoffman." Lisa Hom, SF Weekly.