dulcimer fest happening in NYC on Sunday, April 17 with Alexander Fedoriouk

CONTACT: AMY MILFORD

Tel: 212.219.0888 x 201 asteinmilford@eldridgestreet.org

DULCIMER FEST!
Unique musical event at the landmark Eldridge Street Synagogue celebrates the cultural communities of the Lower East Side through one instrument

SUNDAY, APRIL 17, 2005 AT 3 PM

Lower East Side, New York…On Sunday, April 10, the Eldridge Street Project will host a Dulcimer Fest!, showcasing this versatile musical instrument as played in the Irish, Chinese, Ukrainian and East-European Jewish traditions. Dulcimer Fest! is the third entry in the Eldridge Street Project’s acclaimed series of musical “fests,” which explore the people of the Lower East Side through their musical heritage. The Eldridge Street Synagogue, a 19th-century building that evokes the community’s identity as an immigrant gateway, provides a striking setting for the concert.

In addition to a solo performance by each player – Ukrainian cimbalom player Alexander Fedoriouk, Irish dulcimer player Linda Russell, East European Jewish tsimbl player Peter Rushefsky, and Chinese yangchin player Ya-Ping Wang – Dulcimer Fest! will feature brief interpretation by an ethnomusicologist, and a finale jam session, with all of the musicians performing together.

The four musicians bring strong family and cultural roots to their work on this enchanting stringed instrument. Fedoriouk began playing the dulcimer at the age of 7 in his hometown of Kolomyia, Ukraine. He has performed at venues throughout the world, including New York City’s Carnegie Hall, and recorded numerous critically acclaimed CDs, including The Art of the Cimbalom. Russell brings to life Irish ballads, love songs, marches and dance tunes of days past. She has been a balladeer for the National Park Service at Federal Hall on Wall Street, and has performed at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. Rushefsky will represent the East European Jewish tradition, as well as serve as the event’s emcee, providing stories, origins and insights on this ancient instrument. Rushefsky is a leading revivalist of the tsimbl, or traditional hammered dulcimer popular among Jewish klezmer bands from the 1600s through the early 20th century. Today, he is one of a handful of musicians worldwide to use archival research and fieldwork to create a performance style for the tsimbl. Wang began her musical education as a 5-year-old, and quickly began performing and competing throughout China. Today she performs and teaches in the United States.

The Eldridge Street Project, the event sponsor, was established to preserve the landmark Eldridge Street Synagogue as a center for historical reflection, aesthetic inspiration and spiritual renewal. Concerts, literary events, art installations, workshops for school children, and other cultural and educational programs at the site serve audiences of diverse ages and backgrounds.

LISTING INFORMATION:

SUNDAY, APRIL 17 AT 3 PM: DULCIMER FEST! A unique musical program that will showcase the

dulcimer as played by the diverse immigrant groups who have lived on the Lower East Side – from the East European Jews and Irish of a century ago to the Chinese and Ukrainian communities of today. Dulcimer Fest! will take place on at the Eldridge Street Synagogue, the first great house of worship built in New York by East European Jews. The Eldridge Street Synagogue is located on the Lower East Side, at 12 Eldridge Street, between Canal and Division Streets. By subway: F to East Broadway; B or D to Grand Street. Tickets are $12 adults; $10 students and seniors. RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED. For more information, please call the Eldridge Street Project at 212.219.0888 x 302.