The Cracow Klezmer Band will bring its catchy and upbeat dance music to the auditorium of the Memorial Art Gallery at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2, as part of the Skalny Lecture and Artist Series.
A product of the growing interest among Poles in their nation's past and the history of Jewish culture in Poland, the Cracow Klezmer Band has been described as a "leading representative of young Poles' rediscovery of the Jewish musical legend."
Admission is $10 for the general public and $8 for senior citizens and students. There will be a reception immediately following the band's performance in the Bausch & Lomb Room at the gallery at 500 University Ave.
The band was founded in 1997 by arranger and accordionist Jaroslaw Bester and originally dedicated to the revival of traditional Klezmer music. The group's first two albums, De Prodfundis and The Warriors, have placed them in the growing contemporary movement based on traditional Jewish music.
The concert is sponsored by the Skalny Center for Polish and Central European Studies at the University of Rochester. The center, which was established with a generous grant from the Louis Skalny Foundation, supports research and teaching about the historical legacy and political and economic changes within Central Europe. Its public lecture series, film festival, and other activities offer the Rochester community opportunities to learn about Poland and its people.