Through recordings and live performance, Klezmer Conservatory Band founder and director, Hankus Netsky, will explore the uniquely American musical blend that began to emerge as soon as Eastern European Jewish musicians arrived on America's shores. This event is sponsored by the Music Committee.

About Hankus Netsky

A multi-instrumentalist, composer, and ethnomusicologist, Hankus Netsky is co-chair of New England Conservatory’s Contemporary Improvisation Department and founder and director of the Klezmer Conservatory Band. He has composed extensively for film, theater, and television in collaborations with Itzhak Perlman, Robin Williams, Joel Grey, Robert Brustein, and Theodore Bikel, and has produced numerous recordings, including ten by the Klezmer Conservatory Band. He has been the recipient of a 2013 “Forward Fifty” award, a New England Conservatory Outstanding Alumni award, the Yosl Mlotek award for the perpetuation of Yiddish Culture, and NEC’s Louis Krasner and Lawrence Lesser awards for Excellence in Teaching. His essays have been published by the University of California Press, the University of Pennsylvania Press, the University of Scranton Press, Hips Roads, Indiana University Press, and the University Press of America, and Temple University Press published his book, “Klezmer, Music and Community in 20th Century Jewish Philadelphia” in 2015.

While we are happy to offer this event free of charge, we  gratefully accept any donations to support our Music Fund and future programming like this!