Korean klezmer band plays traditional Jewish Yiddish music at Newtown Synagogue in Sydney, Australia

When you think of traditional Jewish klezmer music, you probably think of old Jewish singers crooning away in Yiddish and plucking at their violins.  When I think of traditional Jewish klezmer music, I think of my husband, Rabbi Ben, sweetly singing me “Tum Balalaika” at our wedding.  But I’m pretty sure that nobody, when thinking of klezmer music, thinks of Koreans.

You just don’t expect to see trendy, young, modern Koreans, clad in the latest fashions (yet still tznius, modest), singing in Yiddish.  And you definitely don’t expect them to actually sound the way traditional Yiddish klezmer singers do.  Enter: The Korean Klezmatics!

Painting symbolizing Auschwitz at Culture Day at Newtown Synagogue in Sydney, Australia

On Sunday, Newtown Synagogue in Sydney, Australia hosted Culture Day.  It is the first in a series of Culture Day events, featuring a small Jewish modern art exhibition, complete with the artist, art historians, and other guest speakers.  For the opening Culture Day event, Newtown Synagogue even ordered sushi, sandwiches, and fruit – and hired the Korean Klezmatics!

The Korean Klezmatics did a great job.  They sang the Yiddish songs in a real traditional way and it sounded fantastic.  We also really enjoyed looking at all the artwork, inspired by all sorts of Jewish places and events, from Auschwitz to Tel Aviv.

You can check out Culture Day at Newtown Synagogue again next Sunday beginning at noon!