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By Dan Goggin
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Suzanne Chessler
Contributing Writer
ennie Lavine got caught up in
competing career choices but
found her way — along with a
way to showcase the first-place winner.
Moving between music performance
and biology research, Lavine has priori-
tized Klezmephonic, a five-member band
she organized while holding on to part-
time scientific editing.
Klezmephonic, which will soon release
an album, will perform Friday evening,
May 8, at Kerrytown Concert House
in Ann Arbor, where Lavine lives. The
instrumentalists will give their own takes
on klezmer music, the folk music brought
to America in the 19th and 20th centuries
by Eastern European Jews.
"I think that the music speaks for itself
and the emotions it conveys are universal;
says Lavine, 31, a clarinetist who also
performs with the Mefford-Lavine Duo. "I
don't think it's mostly Jewish people who
listen. For me, it feels like I'm connecting
with my roots. My family is from Eastern
Europe, and many of them would still
[exist] had it not been for World War II
and everything that happened there:'
Lavine, whose love for music started
with piano, moved on to clarinet while
growing up in Ithaca, N.Y. "I chose the
clarinet because of klezmer and studied
with teachers who had their own klezmer
bands:' says Lavine, who was introduced
to the style by listening to recordings
owned by her parents. "I played classically
through college while still playing klezmer
with different groups"
Thinking of stable work opportunities,
Lavine earned degrees in biology as well
as music, attending Emory University in
Atlanta and Pennsylvania State University.
She has performed with the Cornell
Symphony Orchestra in Ithaca as well
as the Emory Symphony Orchestra and
Capitol City Opera in Atlanta.
"I moved to Ann Arbor for a research
job and didn't play music very much for
about a year:' Lavine explains. "The bal-
ance in my life felt really off, and I needed
to put music back in my life'
Linking with area musicians, Lavine
joined bassist Dave Sharp and guitarist
Alex Belhaj in gypsy jazz, which crosses
styles with klezmer. After hearing violin-
ist Henrik Karapetyan and accordionist
Will Cicola, she invited all four to launch
j
Jennie Lavine, center, with the group
Klezmephonic in 2013.
Musical credentials, not religious creed,
made up her criteria for band member-
ship; she remains the group's only Jewish
instrumentalist, often singing with Belhaj.
"I think our group has a nice mix of the
traditional sounds while bringing in other
influences;' says Lavine.
A lot of the fast-paced nature of
klezmer gets people up on the dance floor.
While the Kerrytown show will include
staples of the klezmer repertoire ("Odessa
Bulgar" and "Melnick" among them), it
also will include more unusual selections,
like "Baym Rebbe in Palestina," a hora.
"There's another meaning to bora,"
Lavine explains. "[It can be] a slow tune
done in three beats per measure, like the
waltz, but it doesn't have the feeling of a
waltz. It's a beautiful, haunting melody.
"'Dark Eyes; a Russian folk song, has
been done by lots and lots of people, but
the arrangement put together by our
violinist starts with a haunting violin seg-
ment, moves into swing-era sounds, goes
into a bit of the waltz and comes back
with a soulful end"
"The show at Kerrytown will feature a
lot of the arrangements and songs we put
together for the album [still untitled], and
I'm really excited about that;' Lavine says.
"On the album, Shaun Williams, an
ethnomusicology student at Indiana
University, plays the tsimbl (traditionally
used in klezmer), and there's new material
from Eastern Europe that's a continuation
of the tradition"
Also on the album will be a jazz tune
Lavine transcribed off a recording. The
title translates to "That's the which
she finds relates to her ways.
"Music is my main interest; says
Lavine, who is single. "It's how I connect
most strongly with being Jewish"
❑
April 22 - May 17
Don't Miss the Boat!
11248-377-3300 Today!
207 Wilson Hall, Rochester, MI 48309
On the Campus of Oakland University
Box Office 248-377-3300 • Group Sales 248-370-3316
www.mbtheatre.corn or www.Ticketmaster.corn
,shigan
These activities are supported by the MICHIGAN COUNCIL FOR ARTS
AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS and the NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR
THE ARTS.
council i«
arts
&
cultural
A
ART WORKS.
National
Endowment
for theArts
arts
a ffairs
2003620
atothet3 .0ezy . A
( ane4
Brunch cooked right in front of you
by our experience Hibachi Chefs!
_
4 ,
Breakfast Options: Eggs, Hash Browns,
Bacon, Sausage, Ham Steak and more...
Hibachi Options: Choose from our menu!--
Or
Enjoy a 5 Course Dinner
for only $25!
Reservations are welcome!
We cater your Special Events On Site with our Hibachi Chefs
and Private Banquet Room! Off Site - we deliver to YOU!
• FUNDRAISING • CORPORATE MEETINGS • REUNIONS • GRADUATIONS
• SHOWERS • WEDDINGS • ANNIVERSARIES • BIRTHDAYS!
Experience The Finest - Japanese CUL.
42050 GRANb RIVER AVE. • NOVI
248-305-9888
wasabisteakhousenoulcom
Japanese Sushi • Hibachi Steakhouse • Cocktails
MOTHERS EAT FREE!
(we appreciate moms!)
with purchase of $125, mother's
entrée will be free on Mother's Day
SnBI
One per party, dine-in only. Not valid with other offers.
5/9/15 only
50% OFF
2nd Hibachi Dinner of Equal or
Lesser Value, with purchase of 2 drinks
ea Not valid with other offers, and available Monday-Friday only.
Ex.ires 6/1/15
SUSHI LUNCH SPECIAL
25% OFF All Sushi Rolls
Klezmephonic will perform
at 8 p.m. Friday, May 8, at
Kerrytown Concert House, Ann
Arbor. $5-$30. (734) 769-2999.
kerrytownconcerthouse.com .
Before 2:30PM
Oltel Dine In only. Not valid with other offers. Expires 6/1/15
WEEKDAY
HIBACHI SPECIAL
2 Hibachi Lunch for $15
tial Not valid with other offers and available Monday-Friday only.
Expires 6/1/15
COME CELEBRATE!
20% OFF
Minimum Purchase of $100
NI'AS.1E1
JN
Excludes alcohol, Cannot be combined with other offers.
Expires 6/1/15
April 30 • 2015
67