Phoenix Yiddish Culture Festival

The second edition of the Phoenix Yiddish Culture Festival showcases art, music, dance, and food through a series of workshops, discussions, and concerts. The centerpiece concert at Beth El Phoenix on December 7 features Philadelphia-based dance leader Miryam Coppersmith and the Little Chef Klezmer Band.

Festival programming engages Phoenix community members of all ages and backgrounds. The festival is made possible by a grant from the City of Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture.

Visit www.littlechefklezmer.com/phoenix-yiddish-culture-festival for more information.

Tickets & Sponsorships

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Sponsorships

The Phoenix Yiddish Culture Festival needs your support. With your help, we can make this festival bigger and better, bringing high-quality Yiddish culture programming to more members of our community.

Additional support will help us add:

• Free or subsidized Ashkenazi food from local kosher caterer for festival participants.
• Additional music and dance events leading up to the centerpiece concerts, reaching audiences who might not attend an event at a synagogue.
• Additional guest artists to expand programming.
• Live-streaming the centerpiece concert for those who can’t attend in person.
• Professional live concert video reaching online audiences after the event.
• More festival attendees through marketing and promotion efforts.

Chaver $72 | 1 festival passMensch $180 | 2 festival passesMacher $360 | 4 festival passes, recognition in promotional materials, framed and autographed festival posterMishpoche $540 | 4 festival passes, recognition in promotional materials, framed and autographed festival poster, festival event name recognitionAll sponsors receive recognition in festival program, reserved concert seating, and admission to all festival programming.

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Tickets on sale soon!

Featured Artists

Max Schwimmer

Artistic Director

Max Schwimmer is a classically-trained saxophonist, leader of the Little Chef Klezmer Band, and faculty member at Paradise Valley Community College where he directs the PVCC Klezmer Ensemble. He led the first iteration of this festival in 2024 and early in the year, he organized a multi-day artist residency showcasing recently-discovered Ukrainian klezmer manuscripts with guest artist Christina Crowder. As a 2024 Arizona Commission on the Arts grant recipient, he studied Eastern European and Balkan saxophone styles with leading practitioners in Canada and Macedonia. Schwimmer holds a Master's in Music in saxophone with additional specialized training in Eastern European folk traditions.

Miryam Coppersmith

Dance Leader

Miryam Coppersmith, a Philadelphia-based performance artist and dance leader trained under Yiddish Dance Master Steve Weintraub, will direct the festival's dance programming. Coppersmith will teach workshops and lead the dance component of the main concert, creating an inclusive environment for participants of all experience levels.

Little Chef Klezmer Band

Resident Ensemble

LCKB is Phoenix's premiere professional Yiddish music ensemble. In January of 2024, LCKB performed in a multi-day artist residency with accordionist Christina Crowder, showcasing recently-discovered klezmer manuscripts from Ukraine, culminating in a concert at Beth El Phoenix. The project was supported by the Center for Jewish Philanthropy of Greater Phoenix, ASU Jewish Studies, and the East Valley JCC, and was featured in the Phoenix Jewish News. Little Chef Klezmer Band has performed throughout the Southwest US, including in El Paso, TX at Albuquerque’s Klezmerquerque festival in a guest appearance with Jordan Wax.

Jacob Adler

Filmmaker

Jacob Adler is a Phoenix-based composer, teacher, and filmmaker. His short film The Golems of Ostrołęka was selected for the 2024 Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival. The film weaves together elements of Jewish folklore, history, and science fiction, using AI technology and classic klezmer recordings to create a compelling alternative-reality shtetl.