Klezmer Quartet Mamaliga Performs at the Kate May 31

OLD SAYBROOK, CT - The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, “the Kate”, welcomes Klezmer group Mamaliga on Wednesday, May 31, 2023 at 7:30 pm.

Boisterous and driving, lilting and elegiac, the critically-acclaimed Mamaliga melds the klezmer melodies of old country Yiddishland with new era sensibilities, crafting intricate arrangements of original and traditional tunes. After the 2021 release of their debut full-length album, Dos Gildn Bletl, Mamaliga has toured internationally at Yiddish New York, KlezKanada, Yiddish Summer Weimar, and the Toronto Jewish Film Festival, and was awarded best original Klezmer composition at the 2021 Bubbe Awards in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The band is comprised of Rebecca Mac and Rachel Leader on fiddles, Raffi Boden on cello, and Mattias Kaufmann on accordion.

Rebecca Mac has studied with leaders of the Klezmer music scene, including Mimi Rabson, Dave Harris, and Hankus Netsky. She has performed alongside members of Ezekiel's Wheels Klezmer Band, KCB, and Tsibele. Her music is featured in a recent podcast from Folk Will Save Us with Daniel Kahn.

Rachel Leader participated as a Klezmer New Leaders Fellow through the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and was mentored by violinist Zoë Aqua. Rachel is the founding member of Northampton-based klezmer band Burikes and performs regularly for community events and simcha celebrations.

Raffi Boden is a New York-based cellist, composer and educator known for his groovy bass lines and his versatility. In classical contexts, he has performed internationally in Europe and South America, locally in Carnegie Hall, and with members of the NY Philharmonic.

Mattias Kaufmann has worked with Guy Klucevsek, Carla Kihlstedt, Hankus Netsky and Ted Reichman. Mattias has spent several summers studying folk music in Hungary, Romania, and Serbia with musicians such as Serbian chromatic accordionist Nenad Ivanović, Hungarian accordionist Bobár Zoltán, and Transylvanian musicians Marcel Ramba and Istvanka Varga.

For information and tickets, visit www.thekate.org or call 860-510-0453.