At the height of the Jewish holiday season, the Magic Shtetl Klezmer Band were in high demand this year. In addition to a gig at the Chez Lulu restaurant on October 15th (Click Here to read more about that event), the Klezmer musicians found themselves doing back to back performances on October 20th and 21st at different holiday celebrations.
Sunday, October 20th the Magic Shtetl Klezmer Band were invited for the second year in a row to provide music for Be One Ministries’ Sukkot Celebration at the Crossbridge Church of Christ’s Fall celebration.
The band’s line up for the outdoor celebration was Alan Goldspiel (guitar), Robert Janssen (clarinet), and Pei-Ju Wu (violin) and they were embraced by the crowd, who were dancing and clapping along to the Klezmer music all evening.
The next evening, Monday, 21 October, found the Magic Shtetl Klezmer Band returning to Temple Emanu-El to perform for the congregations of Temple Emanu-El and their neighbors Temple Beth-El. The combined get together celebrated Simchat Torah – marking the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings. The festivities began at Temple Beth-El earlier in the evening and ended at Temple Emanu-El where the Magic Shtetl Klezmer Band were waiting to provide the music for the event.
Simchat Torah is the only time of the year where the Torah scrolls are taken out of the ark and read at night. During this celebration everyone leaves their seats to dance and sing with the Torah scroll in a joyous celebration.
The Magic Shtetl Klezmer Band line up for this year’s Simchat Torah was Alan Goldspiel (guitar), Robert Janssen (clarinet), and Ron Alexander (bass). This was the second year in a row that the band was asked to provide the music for this joyous celebration.
The Magic Shtetl Klezmer Band was formed by Alan Goldspiel in 2010 to celebrate the opening of the art exhibit Darkness Into Light sponsored by the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center and has varying members depending on how large or small a band is required. The band has performed throughout central Alabama and is available for events both public and private. For more information about or to contact the Magic Shtetl Klezmer Band Click Here!