Ethel Raim (US; traditional singing)

is widely recognized for her expertise in both Yiddish and Balkan vocal traditions.

She is a master singer of unaccompanied Yiddish lyrical love songs. She first gained recognition with American audiences during the folk revival of the 1960s as the co-founder and director of the pioneering and influential all-women’s a cappella ensemble, The Pennywhistlers, going on to have a multifaceted, distinguished career.

She has taught unaccompanied Yiddish singing at numerous national and international festivals, including KlezKamp, KlezKanada, New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Yiddish Summer Weimar, and annually at Yiddish New York. In addition, she receives ongoing coveted apprenticeship grants from the New York State Council on the Arts to serve as a one-on-one master teacher of traditional unaccompanied Yiddish singing. The first workshop she taught at YSW is considered a milestone in the revitalization of Yiddish unaccompanied traditional singing.

Photo: Rick Luftglass