Alan Bern
Encyclopedia
Alan Bern born and raised in Bloomington
, Indiana
, is the musical director of Brave Old World
, and remains one of the leading lights in the teaching and revival of Yiddish music in the US, Canada
, and Europe
since the early 1980s.
in Philosophy from Tufts University
and in 2006 he received his D.M.A. in Composition from the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati
.
He has played with the Klezmer Conservatory Band
, Andy Statman
, the Klezmatics, Kapelye, Theodore Bikel
, and many others. Currently he is part of a duo with accordionist Guy Klucevsek
,
a trio with trumpeter Paul Brody and guitarist Michael Rodach,
a quartet "Brave Old World", with Michael Alpert
, Kurt Bjorling and Stuart Brotman
,
and a septet with Aaron Alexander, Paul Brody, Alex Kontorovich, Cesar Lerner
, Martin Lillich, and Marcelo Moguilevsky.
Since the 1990s he has been consultant and/or faculty at many international festivals and workshops of Yiddish music, and he is currently the Program Director of Yiddish Summer Weimar.
His contributions to Yiddish music have been cited in important books on the revival of Jewish music, such as American Klezmer by Mark Slobin
, The Essential Klezmer by Seth Rogovoy, and Virtually Jewish by Ruth Ellen Gruber.
With the Yiddish revival/New Jewish Music ensemble Brave Old World, he has appeared with Itzhak Perlman
in the Emmy Award-winning film In the Fiddler's House, which in 1995 was broadcast throughout America on PBS, and has contributed to the two spin-off CDs, In the Fiddler's House 1 and 2. He has also appeared on television on ZDF
and ARTE
.
Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, is the musical director of Brave Old World
Brave Old World
Brave Old World is an international klezmer band formed in 1989.Members hail from the US and Germany. The Washington Post called Brave Old World "the revival's first supergroup. Every player is a virtuoso"....
, and remains one of the leading lights in the teaching and revival of Yiddish music in the US, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
since the early 1980s.
Life
He has an M.A.Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in Philosophy from Tufts University
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
and in 2006 he received his D.M.A. in Composition from the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....
.
He has played with the Klezmer Conservatory Band
Klezmer Conservatory Band
The Klezmer Conservatory Band is an Boston-based group which performs traditional klezmer music; it was formed by Hankus Netsky of the New England Conservatory of Music in 1980. Originally formed for a single concert, they have gone on to release eleven albums....
, Andy Statman
Andy Statman
Andy Statman is a noted Klezmer clarinetist and bluegrass/newgrass mandolinist.Andy Statman was born in Brooklyn, New York City. He first gained acclaim as a mandolinist in pioneering bluegrass bands Country Cookin' and Breakfast Special. Statman, who grew up in a traditional but secular Jewish...
, the Klezmatics, Kapelye, Theodore Bikel
Theodore Bikel
Theodore Meir Bikel is a character actor, folk singer and musician. He made his film debut in The African Queen and was nominated for an Academy award for his supporting role as Sheriff Max Muller in The Defiant Ones ....
, and many others. Currently he is part of a duo with accordionist Guy Klucevsek
Guy Klucevsek
Guy Klucevsek is an American-born accordionist and composer.Klucevsek is one of relatively few accordion players active in jazz and free improvisation....
,
a trio with trumpeter Paul Brody and guitarist Michael Rodach,
a quartet "Brave Old World", with Michael Alpert
Michael Alpert
Michael Alpert is a klezmer singer and multi-instrumentalist and has been called a key figure in the klezmer revival of the 1970s and 1980s....
, Kurt Bjorling and Stuart Brotman
Stuart Brotman
Stuart N. Brotman is an American government policymaker; management consultant; lawyer; educator; author and editorial adviser; and non-profit organization executive. He is recognized as the private sector’s leading authority on The National Broadband Plan.- Biography :After graduating summa cum...
,
and a septet with Aaron Alexander, Paul Brody, Alex Kontorovich, Cesar Lerner
César Lerner
-Filmography:* Nueve reinas aka Nine Queens* Esperando al mesías aka Waiting for the Messiah* Aquellos niños * El abrazo partido Lost Embrace* Derecho de familia aka Family Law...
, Martin Lillich, and Marcelo Moguilevsky.
Since the 1990s he has been consultant and/or faculty at many international festivals and workshops of Yiddish music, and he is currently the Program Director of Yiddish Summer Weimar.
His contributions to Yiddish music have been cited in important books on the revival of Jewish music, such as American Klezmer by Mark Slobin
Mark Slobin
Mark Slobin is an American scholar and ethnomusicologist who has written extensively on the subject of East European Jewish music and klezmer music. He is a Professor of Music and American Studies at Wesleyan University....
, The Essential Klezmer by Seth Rogovoy, and Virtually Jewish by Ruth Ellen Gruber.
With the Yiddish revival/New Jewish Music ensemble Brave Old World, he has appeared with Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman is an Israeli-born violinist, conductor, and instructor of master classes. He is regarded as one of the pre-eminent violinists of the 20th and early-21st centuries.-Early life:...
in the Emmy Award-winning film In the Fiddler's House, which in 1995 was broadcast throughout America on PBS, and has contributed to the two spin-off CDs, In the Fiddler's House 1 and 2. He has also appeared on television on ZDF
ZDF
Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen , ZDF, is a public-service German television broadcaster based in Mainz . It is run as an independent non-profit institution, which was founded by the German federal states . The ZDF is financed by television licence fees called GEZ and advertising revenues...
and ARTE
Arte
Arte is a Franco-German TV network. It is a European culture channel and aims to promote quality programming especially in areas of culture and the arts...
.