YIVO Hosts the Bashevis Singers’ First U.S. Performance

(New York, NY) – The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research will host all the way from Australia the American debut of The Bashevis Singers. The concert will take place on Wednesday, September 4, 2024 at 7:00pm at YIVO, located in the Center for Jewish History building (15 West 16th Street, New York, NY). It will also be available to livestream on Zoom.

The Bashevis Singers are the children of generations of people who lived their lives in Yiddish. The sibling-cousin trio is comprised of Evie Gawenda, who is an award-winning theatre director and singer, and Husky Gawenda and Gideon Preiss, who are also the core members of the critically acclaimed indie-folk band HUSKY. The Bashevis Singers’ four albums span centuries of Yiddish poetry and song and have brought to life classic 20th century folksongs, new compositions based on mystical poetry written by legendary Yiddish poets, and original songs written in collaboration with their father and uncle, renowned journalist and author Michael Gawenda.

“We can’t wait for our New York Debut. We've been singing in Yiddish since we were kids. We were brought up on the great Yiddish folk songs sung to us by our grandparents. But singing in Yiddish is not just a way of accessing a vanishing world, it's also our way of accessing a Yiddish present and future. In the creation of new work, the language lives and breathes and sings," said the Bashevis Singers.

What:            The Bashevis Singers
When:           Wednesday, September 4, 2024| 7:00pm ET
Where:          Taking place on Zoom and in person at YIVO, Located in the Center for Jewish History (15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011)
Cost:              Free
Reservations Available at:  yivo.org/The-Bashevis-Singers

This program is proudly sponsored by The Kronhill Pletka Foundation, with additional generous support from YiddishSongsOnline.com. It is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.

For more information contact:
Shelly Freeman
Chief of Staff

YIVO

The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research is dedicated to the preservation and study of the history and culture of East European Jewry worldwide. For nearly a century, YIVO has pioneered new forms of Jewish scholarship, research, education, and cultural expression. Our public programs and exhibitions, as well as online and on-site courses, extend our outreach to a global community. The YIVO Archives contains 24 million unique items and YIVO’s Library has over 400,000 volumes—the single largest resource for the study of East European Jewish life in the world. yivo.org / yivo.org/the-whole-story