10:00 - 10:45 AM @OMA
Lomir redn! Let's talk!
Introduction to Yiddish Language with Jake Schneider

Family Reunion: Yiddish-German Conversation Hour

German and Yiddish are long-lost sisters with a strong family resemblance. The similarities and differences can be confusing for speakers of both languages. During festival week, we will meet four times for an informal, bilingual chat with the gantse mishpokhe. German speakers will learn pronunciation tricks, false friends (taykh means river!), and word order secrets, while Yiddish speakers can hang out and practice their "daytshmerish." You speak neither? You're invited too. Come as often as you like. Lomir khapn a shmues! back

11:00 - 11:45 AM @OMA
Lomir shpiln! Let's play!
Klezmer Music Mini Workshop with Craig Judelman

Want to get a taste of klezmer but don’t have time for a full workshop at Yiddish Summer? Then this is the course for you! In a series of short sessions, we’ll learn some typical melodies, basics of harmony, and accompaniment rhythms and get a sense of the phrasing and expression that give this wonderful music its particular flavor. Craig Judelman has over 25 years of teaching and performing klezmer across Europe and North America and he is excited to create a friendly, low pressure environment where musicians of all levels can gain confidence and experience in playing klezmer! back

12:00 PM - 12:45 PM @OMA
Lomir tantsn! Let's dance!
Yiddish Dance Mini Workshop with Sayumi Yoshida

Nothing expresses the spirit of Yiddish culture quite like Yiddish dance! A true folk dance tradition that evolved over centuries in Eastern Europe, it's very different from the choreographed corpus of Balkan and Israeli dance.

Yiddish Dance is easy to learn for people of any age. It creates a strong feeling of connection and community but at the same time leaves a lot of room for individuality. Each day, dance teacher Sayumi Yoshida will teach different Yiddish dances accompanied by live klezmer music.

If you already know some other folk dances, or you're just looking for some fun, nothing can beat this introduction to Yiddish folk dance with live klezmer music! Perfect for families. back

01:00 - 01:45 PM @OMA
Lomir zingen! Let's sing!
Yiddish Song Mini Workshop with Esther Wratschko & Isabel Frey

Do you enjoy singing? Are you curious what Yiddish song has to offer? Wondering what “krekhtsing” and “ziftszing” have to do with the voice? Then this is the workshop for you? Esther Wratschko and Isabel Frey will share pearls from the broad spectrum of Yiddish song, from the Yiddish theater to unaccompanied Yiddish song – steeped in Yidishkayt. No previous knowledge necessary: Lomir zingen! back

02:00 - 02:45 PM @OMA (Wednesday to Friday only)
Meet the Artists 
With Alan Bern and Guests

If you've ever wondered what it's really like to be a professional musician in the Jewish music world, this is your chance to find out! Each day, YSW Artistic Director, Dr. Alan Bern, interviews the artists who will perform that evening. Since they have all been colleagues for many years, the atmosphere is very relaxed, informal and friendly, and the audience is invited to join the Q&A session, too. Daily interview partners to be announced. back

03:00 - 03:45 PM @OMA
Introduction to Greek Rebetiko Music 
With Sofia Papazoglou & Vassilis Ketentzoglou

Sofia Papazoglou (voice) and Vassilis Ketenzoglou (guitar) will teach this mini workshop as an introduction to Greek Rebetiko singing. We'll look at one or two songs in each session. Participation is open to everyone: instrumental musicians and singers of all levels, but also people without any previous musical experience. We'll meet in a relaxed and friendly environment, and the main purpose of the workshop is to participate in the joy of creating music. Bring your instrument if you have one and want to, or simply come as you are to sing and play together! back

04:00 - 05:30 PM @OMA
Lectures

Wednesday Aug 7, 2024: Jake Schneider
Queer Yiddish. Since (at least) 1877

A rapid chronological tour of 150 years of queer and trans Yiddish culture – theater, film, literature, art, music, and drag. Since queer people have always been everywhere, Yiddish is a queer language too. As Sara Felder wrote, “Queer Yiddishkeit gives me permission to go back to the world of my grandparents without leaving myself behind.” This multimedia presentation will give you tastes of this rich artistic intersection – and leave you hungry for more Yiddish culture of all kinds.

Thursday Aug 8, 2024: Tayfun Guttstadt
What was the Ottoman Empire?

The Ottoman Empire existed across more than six centuries and three continents, and it continues to be a ripe surface for the projection of any number of romanticized idealizations. Alongside Muslims and Christians, many Jews also lived under Ottoman rule — among whom were not only a large percentage of Jews from the Middle East but also a significant number of European Jews: the Balkans and large areas of what are now Poland and Ukraine, including Crimea, were all part of the Ottoman Empire at various points.
In this lecture, musicologist and Islam scholar Tayfun Guttstadt will provide a critical view of the history and influence of the Ottoman Empire and will show why it should be understood neither either as a tolerant utopia, nor as a Muslim stronghold against Europe, but instead as an important historical melting pot of cultures.

Friday, Aug 9, 2024: Dr. Alan Bern

For almost 25 years, Yiddish Summer Weimar has been exploring the myriad connections between Yiddish culture and other, related cultures. This year, our focus is the historic region of Moldavia. For centuries, this geographically small territory at the crossroads of the Ottoman, Russian and Austro-Hungarian empires, was home to Ashkenazic (Yiddish-speaking) Jews. Their professional musicians, known as klezmorim (or klezmers), absorbed, transformed and transmitted the musical cultures they encountered, including Greek, Turkish, Russian, Polish, Moldavian, Romanian, Jewish liturgical and even European baroque music! This story of musical and cultural flow across political boundaries is fascinating in itself, and an important counterpoint to narratives of national cultural “purity.” In this fun and educational lecture, Dr. Alan Bern uses historical and contemporary music recordings and visual imagery to illuminate the Moldavian Yiddish Connections that inspire this year’s Yiddish Summer Weimar.

Saturday Aug 10th, 2024: Jake Schneider
Secular Yiddishland Today

Outside of Hassidic communities and the thriving music scene, what does secular Yiddish culture look like in 2024? This talk will explore some of the many ways secular Yiddish speakers have been coming together and expressing themselves through Yiddish around the world. Including new plays and theater troupes, circus and puppetry acts, films and TV shows, publications for adults and children, a pavilion at the Venice Biennale, and much more. back

10:00 PM @OMA (Wednesday to Friday only)
Late Night Cabaret 
With Esther Wratschko & Isabel Frey

Welcome to YSW’s late-night open stage at the OMA! On these unique, unrepeatable evenings, you – the audience – shape the course of the event with your comments and interjections, which themselves become the fabric of the program. Feel the smiles spread around the room at an anecdote, song or joke. Or let the evening turn reflective with a more serious story or poem. Perhaps you’ll move the audience with a melody – original or learned, known or unknown, new or old, sad or funny. The late night cabaret offers a chance to relax and unwind after a long festival day. back