Christina Crowder has been performing and researching Jewish music for over twenty years, beginning in Budapest, Hungary in 1993, continuing with a Fulbright grant to Romania to document Jewish music in 1999, and since 2002 with an active research, teaching, and performing career in the US. Her current research is examining the connections between Jewish, Bessarabian, and Greek music through a project with NYU Abu Dhabi. Christina lives in New Haven, Connecticut, and performs with the Nu Haven Kapelye, her klezmer chamber trio Bivolița, the Alexander Fiterstein Trio, the Wholesale Klezmer Band, the Goldenshtayn Kompaniye, and the Dave Levitt Klezmer Trio. She has been a guest instructor in klezmer accordion and ensemble performance in Paris, Albuquerque, and Asheville, and performs regularly with the renowned klezmorim Margot Leverett, Alicia Svigals, and Zev Feldman.
Keryn Kleiman, Violin
Keryn Kleiman is a New York-based violinist specializing in Jewish and Eastern European folk styles. She is a member of a number of klezmer groups, including Kadya’s Project, Bivolita, and the New York Fidl Kepelye. Keryn graduated with a degree in ethnomusicology from Columbia University-Barnard College, where she was the student-leader of the Columbia Klezmer Band. While in college, Keryn was awarded a grant to research Jewish music and its relationship to co-territorial repertoires in Moldova. She has performed classical and folk music internationally at various music festivals and recently taught as a fellow at Klezkanada. Keryn spent five years studying with Vladimir Zyskind at Manhattan School of Music, where she was the Preparatory Division Concerto Competition Winner at 17 years old.