Sharon Jan Bernstein, Yiddish Song, San Francisco, CA, Nov 18
YIDDISH PIANO BAR
With Sharon Jan Bernstein
The popular Yiddish song - from Broadway, bars and the by-ways of the Old and New Worlds—comes alive at the Yiddish piano bar. Bernstein moves across musical genres, from the blues to cabaret, mixing the sacred and the secular, poetry with everyday life. This program combines performance, commentary and opportunities to sing along.
Thursdays, 11/18, 12/16 (2 sessions)
8:00 - 9:30 pm
Per session: M $10 | P $12
Jewish Community Center of San Francisco
3200 California St., San Francisco
415 292 1200
Co-sponsored with the JCCSF's Friend Center for the Arts
Sharon Jan Bernstein lived in New York, Jerusalem and Italy before moving to San Francisco. One of the most appealing new voices of Yiddish song, she has presented solo concerts in Europe, Israel and the US, and often performs in a piano bar version, notably at the Yung YiDish club in Jerusalem. She has taught Yiddish song workshops in Jerusalem and in Vilna, as part of the Vilnius Summer Yiddish Program. Her repertoire comprises less known or never performed songs, such as those kept in the manuscripts of the Noy Collection (Jerusalem) or the new compositions of Beyle Schaechter Gottesman, organized according to subtle and intriguing thematic threads. Her work has been featured on radio and TV in Israel, Italy and the US. Her "delightfully clear voice" (J. Pinnolis, jmwc.org) can be heard in the recently released Af Di Gasn Fun Der Shtot (On the streets of the city), a new collection of Yiddish songs written by Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman (2003). Since 2003, she has been the hazzan of Congregation Beth Sholom in San Francisco.