Joel Rubin / Music

My dream idea is for the UVA Klezmer Ensemble, the group that I founded and have been directing for the past 8 years, will make a CD recording documenting the work we have been doing and the music we’ve been creating. The goal will be to bring the level of interaction we have achieved to a new level through focusing on the recording project. Students and other ensemble members will be involved in all aspects of the recording, from choosing material to arranging and rehearsing, recording, and post-production work (editing, mixing, liner notes, graphics, pressing, etc.).

From the beginning the ensemble has comprised members of the UVA community (undergraduates, graduates, faculty, alumni) as well as other members of the greater Charlottesville community, who have traveled from Richmond and points further away to commit their time to rehearse twice per week and delve intensively into klezmer (Eastern European Jewish instrumental) and other Yiddish, Jewish and eastern European musical traditions from the 18th century to the present. The group has also had the opportunity each year to work with renowned outside guest artists in the preparation and performance of concerts.

Over the years, ensemble members have often remained for 3-4 years or longer (our longest-standing member joined the group in Fall 2007). The ensemble functions as a class and something more, at times almost like a family, and it has proved an effective bridge both across grounds and to the Central Virginia community and beyond. Performances and residencies of the ensemble frequently bring together the communities of the McIntire Department of Music with those of the Jewish Studies Program, the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies, the American Studies Program and others. Our audience draws from the local Jewish communities, including Congregation Beth Israel, the Brody Center, and Chabad House of UVA, and has become a vital part of the Central and Northern Virginia performing arts community. Last year, the group appeared at the Tom Tom Founders Festival 2013, the Charlottesville Festival of Cultures, and at the University of Richmond.

The project will involve both regular rehearsal time plus extra meetings for the planning and carrying out of the recording. It may also involve former members and other guest artists from the Charlottesville musical community. The results of our preparations will be professionally recorded in a local Charlottesville studio. The timing of the project will likely be from late October to early December 2013.

Budget:
$2500-2,750 recording studio and post-production costs
$250-500 refreshments during meetings, recordings