A word from the festival's director, Alan Bern:
Each summer, artists of all kinds, instrumentalists, singers, dancers and scholars from around the world come to Weimar to dive into Yiddish music, dance, language and culture. Our workshops, concerts, dance parties, jam sessions and more are justly famous for their intensity and high level... read more 

A word from the festival's director, Alan Bern:
Each summer, artists of all kinds, instrumentalists, singers, dancers and scholars from around the world come to Weimar to dive into Yiddish music, dance, language and culture. Our workshops, concerts, dance parties, jam sessions and more are justly famous for their intensity and high level. At Yiddish Summer Weimar, you don't just learn about Yiddish culture, you make it! This year, we welcome back some of the most creative bands in Jewish music today that started out here during Yiddish Summer. This is a great opportunity for students from dozens of countries meet to network, share ideas and inspiration and create new projects.
 
The results are unique musical hybrids that mix Yiddish traditional music with almost anything you can think of. In honor of this incredible outpouring of creativity, this year's special focus is called "New Yiddish Music." It might be jazzy or classical, acoustic or electric, cool or hot; the one sure thing is that it will be unpredictable.
 
Our workshops this year are led by recognized pioneers of New Yiddish Music and Dance such as Grammy-Winner Frank London (New York), Alan Bern (Berlin), Efim Chorny (Moldova), Steven Weintraub (New York) and Zev Feldman (Jerusalem),  as well as a new wave of artists including Daniel Kahn (Berlin), the Michael Winograd Trio (New York), Sasha Lurje (Riga), Ilya Shneyveys (Riga), Mark Kovnatskiy (Hamburg), Mitia Khramtsov (St. Petersburg), Vivien Zeller (Berlin), Sveta Kundish (Berlin), Diana Matut (Halle), Andreas Schmitges (Köln) and more!
 
And for the first time in 2013, we present a very special week of nightly double-concerts featuring the best of New Yiddish Music. The week ends with a Gala Dance Party on Saturday night and the first ever Yiddish Pool Party on Sunday afternoon. So come to the festival and revel in this incredible atmosphere. Wherever you come from, and even if you're not a musician yourself, you'll find something here for you - a week of concerts, dance workshops and other programs in the day, or visit the many historic sites in Weimar, once home to Luther, Bach, Goethe, Herder, Liszt, Wagner, the Bauhaus and Buchenwald.

Whether you're a Yiddish Summer regular or a first-time visitor, we hope to see you this summer in Weimar for what will surely be an unforgettable exploration of New Yiddish Music and Dance! back