A celebration of one of the world's richest Jewish cultures, Yiddish Culture Weekend invites you to learn, participate and connect.

For over three decades, the Jewish Music Institute has championed Jewish musical and cultural heritage while supporting new artistic creation. Yiddish Culture Weekend reflects this mission by bringing together scholarship, performance and participation in an open, welcoming festival that celebrates Yiddish as a living language and culture. Whether you come for one session or immerse yourself in the entire weekend, you'll leave with new ideas, new connections and a deeper appreciation of one of Jewish culture's most extraordinary traditions.

Featured speakers and artists include David Mazower, Polina Shepherd, Merlin Shepherd, Fran & Flora, Katerina Kuznetsova, Beruriah Wiegand, Susie Gordon Yavetz, Sonia Gollance, Daniel Mawson, Richard Fay, Pieter Sint Nicolaas, Adina Presman, Aleph Ross & Motl Rosen.

Froyen Lider: Yiddish Zingeray of Songs By and About Women

10:00 / Olive Ivy

A vibrant, beginner-friendly Yiddish sing-along celebrating women’s and gender-diverse voices. Learn the sounds, follow the lyrics, and join a joyful chorus of folk and theatre favourites.

Advanced Klezmer String Class: Style, Accompaniment, Arrangement

11:00 / Fran & Flora

A high-energy klezmer strings intensive led by Francesca Ter-Berg & Flora Curzon, diving deep into bowing, groove and creative ensemble arranging. For confident string players ready to sharpen technique, explore melody-to-bassline roles, and build a rich collective sound.

Contemporary Yiddish Poetry

11:15 / Katerina Kuznetsova & Beruriah Wiegand

An engaging exploration of contemporary Yiddish poetry, featuring poets Katerina Kuznetsova and Beruriah Wiegand in conversation about publishing today, translation, and why writers continue to choose Yiddish in the 21st century. The session includes live readings in Yiddish with English translations.

Yiddish language workshop

11:15 / Aleph and Motl

Join Aleph and Motl for a practice-led discussion around the history of the Yiddish language and the complicated politics of translating it. All welcome from complete beginners to longtime learners.

Golem Rising: The Afterlives of Yiddish Literature

14:00 / Susie Gordon Yavetz

From lost readership to lasting legacy, discover how Yiddish literature has been reborn through translation and reinterpretation. This lecture explores how these powerful works continue to evolve, resonate and speak to us today.

Jewish Whitechapel: An Archive Workshop

14:00 and 15:15 / David Mazower

A hands-on dive into rare Yiddish cultural treasures from David Mazower’s extraordinary personal collection — from anarchist newspapers and theatre handbills to photographs, postcards and unexpected gems of Jewish East End history. An interactive workshop for anyone curious about the material culture of Yiddish London.

Yiddish Choir in Style

14:00 / Polina Shepherd

A joyful, full-throttle Yiddish choral workshop blending folk-song soul, SATB arrangements and the power of traditional modes. Warm up with nigunim, dive into style, language and harmony, and raise the roof together. Open to singers ready to learn by ear and work with written music.

Klezmer Tune Club: Dive into a Tune

14:00 / Daniel Mawson & Richard Fay

The Klezmer Tune Club brings together musicians (of any level, background, or instrument) to explore one tune in a variety of ways in one session: archive and modern recordings, history, culture, musical analysis, discussion, learning by ear and from sheet music, chords, rhythm, ensemble roles, and arranging. The aim is to build an ad hoc arrangement of it by the end of the session, and have had an holistic appreciation of, and participation in, a tune from the rich klezmer tradition.

Postkartl-klub

15:15 / Osian Evans Sharma

A creative, hands-on workshop exploring High Holy Day postcard traditions through real Yiddish cards, their greetings and the stories they carry. Participants will read historic postcards together, then design and write their own cards in Yiddish.

Song Lab for Singers with or without Bands

15:45 / Polina Shepherd

Bring your songs to life, receive professional feedback, and uncover fresh perspectives and bold new ideas in a lively, supportive session. Explore interpretation, arrangement and performance in an open workshop for solo singers and bands alike.

The Alte Kashe, the Eternal Question... A Fun Guide to Conversational Klezmer

15:45 / Merlin Shepherd

In this hands on and playful workshop, we’ll be exploring and practising musical “conversation”. Using klezmer as a medium to chat, discuss or even argue in the super-expressive style we know and love. And not forgetting the most important aspect of any conversation; listening.

Not That Kind of Hora: Moldovan-Yiddish Tunes for Playing and Dancing

17:30 / Pieter Sint Nicolaas

Discover the shared roots and cross-influences of Yiddish and Moldovan dance. Play, move and explore these vibrant traditions

Description supplied by the event organiser.