Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Culture

YIDDISH IN THE PARK

Some people run away to the Hamptons or to the Jersey shore to escape the hazy, hot, humid summers typical of New York City. But those of us who stick around these concrete islands enjoy a number of seasonal benefits, not the least of which are the free outdoor concerts that dot the city’s public spaces and parks.

Head to Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park next week for Yiddishfest 2006: With Heart and Soul (Mit harts un neshame), a concert in mamaloshn featuring an impressive line-up of Yiddish musicians. The bill includes Claire Barry of the legendary Barry Sisters, who sings in Yiddish, Russian, Hebrew and English. Barry was one of the first American Jewish artists to sing in Yiddish in the former Soviet Union, and, at the request of the Israeli government, she performed for Israeli troops during the Yom Kippur War. Also on the program are The Three Yiddish Divas — Joanne Borts, Adrienne Cooper and Theresa Tova. The acclaimed performers, who are leading names in contemporary Yiddish music, blend their multilingual repertoire in the newly-formed Yiddish group.

Other highlights include Mitch Smolkin, a 27-year-old klezmer/Yiddish impresario who performs classic Yiddish songs, and the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band, which plays upbeat dance music, folk songs, theater medleys and popular Yiddish tunes from the 1930s through the ’50s.

The concert is presented by the Workmen’s Circle/Arbeter Ring, which has hosted free public Yiddish concerts since 1969.

Lincoln Center, Damrosch Park, 62nd St. near Amsterdam Ave.; July 13, 7 p.m.; free. (212-889-6800)

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.