A Very Jewish Christmas

Lecture and Performance Admission: $15 YIVO members & students: $10 Watch the video

Join us for a very Jewish Christmas celebration. It’s an open secret that many of the most popular Christmas songs were written by Jewish composers. This evening will feature a raucous singalong of our favorite Jewishly-inflected holiday songs led by Joanne Borts and Rob Schwimmer, and special guest Jody Rosen, author of White Christmas: The Story of an American Song, who will discuss the unique phenomenon that is Jewish contributions to Christmas music. Afterwards we’ll celebrate with a reception with Chinese food. 

About the Participants

Joanne Borts is a New York based broadway actor and singer (most recently appearing in ONCE) who also performs in concerts and music festivals across the U.S., Canada and Europe. When not on tour, Borts writes and directs an innovative off-broadway children's show.

Rob Schwimmer is a composer-pianist/keyboardist, thereminist, vocalist and Continuum player who has performed and recorded throughout the world. The New York Times praises Rob for his "Virtuosity, magic, and humor." Rob's solo piano playing on his CD "Beyond The Sky" has been widely lauded in both classical and jazz publications: Hailed as "Extraordinary" in Gramophone and "Shaping up to be the finest solo piano CD of the year" in The NYC Jazz Record while The New York Times praised his "…machine-gun speed and clarity.”

Jody Rosen is an American journalist and author. He is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine and has previously served as critic-at-large for T: The New York Times Style Magazine, pop music critic for New York, music critic for Slate, and senior critic for Rolling Stone. He is the author of White Christmas: The Story of an American Song.

Other programs in this series:
A Very Jewish Christmas: Jesus and Shabbtai Zvi, from Heretic to Hero (2022)
Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese Food (2020)
A Very Jewish Christmas: Old World Jewish Christmas Traditions (2019)