Sept. 22, 2016 Dmitri “Zisl” Slepovitch

Dmitri Zisl Slepovitch, photo by Anya Roz

photo by Anya Roz
photo by Anya Roz

Dmitri Zisl Slepovitch (Z!SL), a native of Minsk, Belarus, and a New York City resident, is a musicologist (PhD), multiinstrumentalist (clarinetist, saxophonist, flautist, pianist, organist), composer, music and Yiddish educator.

A touring artist, founder of Litvakus and Minsker Kapelye klezmer bands, Assistant Music Director in many productions by the National Yiddish Theatre – Folksbiene.

In the recent past a Yiddish language and culture instructor at The New School, educator / artist in residence at BIMA at Brandeis University high school summer program, guest artist at University of Michigan, Indiana University, YIVO Institute / Center for Jewish History, to list a few. Zisl Slepovitch has performed/ recorded / collaborated / worked with / wrote for Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, Ron Rifkin, Joel Grey, Edward Zwick, Michael Alpert, Zalmen Mlotek, Paul Brody, Psoy Korolenko, Frank London, Yale Strom, Lev “Ljova” Zhurbin; and many others.

Zisl brought over from Belarus his rich ethnographic collection of Belarusian Jewish music folklore, part of which was put into his multimedia concert programTraveling the Yiddishland. Some of his Yiddish poetry has been set to music and published in Israel, Russia, and the US. Among Zisl’s original compositions are film soundtracks, theater and video game music, as well as standalone pieces. Over the years, Jewish music and Yiddish culture have remained the core elements of his creative inspirations. Get the music by Zisl’s LITVAKUS’ klezmer band: Bandcamp (also as CDs)iTunesAmazon MP3, CDBaby, and more!