A Homegrown & Community-Rooted
Yiddish Cultural Festival
2024 Concert Headliners
Susan Hoffman Watts
Saturday, July 6th; 7pm
Susan Hoffman Watts represents the youngest generation of an important klezmer dynasty that reaches back to the Jewish Ukraine of the 19th century, beginning with her great-grandfather, musician, composer, cornet-player, and poet, Joseph Hoffman. Carrying the mantle of klezmer, keeping it in the forefront of the Jewish cultural experience, and keeping it full of life — is the essence of Susan Hoffman Watts.
"Using symbols and characters both invented and borrowed from centuries of Jewish mythos I explore relationships with/within Creation and the Creator. The integration of traditional craft into my artistic expressions allows me to convey older ideas in an original form. Materials tell stories and convey feelings. Sensitivity to the physical material itself is an integral part of my work, creating a portal between the corporeal and the existential. Like an illuminated manuscript my project is one of revelation.”
2024 ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE
Eva Sturm-Gross
2024 FESTIVAL THEME
noentkeyt
noentkeyt, meaning “nearness” in Yiddish, is a way of being in relationship to each other in Yiddishland, to language, to our ancestors, to the archive, to the material and text, and mostly to each other. It is a fluid and contemporary intimacy and closeness to Yiddish language and culture. The idea of noentkeyt responds to the prevalence of doikeyt and the post-vernacular and presents another pathway and alternate framework for articulating our shared relationship to Yiddish. On the afternoon of Saturday, July 6th at KlezCummington, Yael Horowitz will debut "noentkeyt: A Manifesto Performance Installation" with its theme woven throughout the festival.
Developed by Yael Horowitz
HOMEGROWN
& Community-Rooted
SUSTAIN
Our Work
We envision a festival that nourishes our communal learning, deepens our connection to one another, and creates the space for flourishing artistic and cultural innovation grounded in Yiddishkayt.
KlezCummington is largely a community-funded festival! We rely on your support to continue our work in building the Yiddishkayt community we wish to see in this world. Please consider giving generously to sustain this work!
