Klezmer’s all in the family

By The Daily Progress Staff

Published: November 20, 2008

The University of Virginia Klezmer Ensemble will present a concert with trumpeter and vocalist Susan Hoffman Watts at 8 p.m. Sunday in Cabell Hall Auditorium.

The concert will be directed by Joel Rubin, the McIntire Department of Music’s director of music performance.

The program will focus on traditional klezmer instrumentals and Yiddish songs from the Hoffman family repertoire.

Watts began participating in a residency with the ensemble on Nov. 20, coaching the group on interpretation of klezmer tunes and Yiddish songs. The ensemble, in its fifth semester, is dedicated to exploring klezmer and other Jewish musical traditions from the 18th century to the present. Its members include undergraduates, graduate students, faculty members and community residents.

Watts, a fourth-generation klezmer performer, is the daughter of Elaine Hoffman Watts, a percussionist who won a National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship in 2007 for her contributions to klezmer music.

Her family emigrated from Ukraine and pioneered the Philadelphia-style klezmer sound. Watts has performed with a variety of groups, including the Klezmer Brass All-Stars, Mikveh and the KlezDispensers.

Tickets are $10, $5 for students. For details, call 924-3984.