Performer Name: Black Rooster Kapelye

Show Name: Black Rooster Trio - Yiddish Music of the Baltics and Beyond

Show Description

Black Rooster Kapelye – Klezmer Trio strips the full ensemble down to its beating heart: three master musicians, three instruments, and a lifetime of shared repertoire. Sasha Lurje (voice, drum), Craig Judelman (violin), and Ilya Shneyveys (accordion) present an intimate yet expansive program rooted in rare Jewish music from the Baltic region — music that laughs, weeps, dances, and aches, sometimes all at once. This is klezmer and Yiddish song at its most direct and personal. Between pieces, the trio shares stories about the songs themselves — where they come from, who sang them, and what they meant to the communities that carried them — bringing vanished worlds vividly back to life. The result is an evening that feels less like a concert and more like being welcomed into something rare and alive. Yiddish Music of the Baltics and Beyond: Black Rooster Kapelye – Klezmer Trio draws on the same rare archival research as the full ensemble, focusing on Jewish folk music from the Baltic lands as a jumping-off point for something much bigger: the universal themes that run through all folk music — love, loss, joy, longing, and the stubborn will to survive. Violin, accordion, and voice interlock and breathe together, moving from wild dance tunes to devastatingly tender songs and back again, with the ease of musicians who have lived inside this repertoire for years. Stories woven between the music bring the cultural and historical context to life — not as a lecture, but as something warm, funny, and deeply felt. This is a program that works on every level: technically dazzling, emotionally immediate, and completely accessible to anyone who has ever loved a song. Equally at home on a festival main stage or in a candlelit room of thirty people, the Klezmer Trio brings the full power of Eastern European Jewish musical tradition to any space, any audience, any occasion.

We are flexible about lighting and happy to work with whatever suits the space best — from full stage lighting to a few well-placed warm lights in a small venue. We prefer a warm, intimate feel that reflects the personal nature of the performance, but we adapt easily and have no hard technical requirements.
The trio can perform fully acoustic in appropriate intimate spaces, and is equally comfortable with minimal amplification. At minimum we ask for 1 microphone and 2 DI boxes; ideally 3–4 microphones and 1–2 monitors, depending on the space. Please consult with the band directly about specific technical needs — we are experienced at adapting to a wide range of venues and situations. We require a performance area large enough for three performers, ideally seated, with space for a drum and accordion. Load-in and setup typically takes 30–45 minutes; soundcheck 30–60 minutes. We prefer to finish soundcheck at least 1 hour before the concert and then eat, but timing is flexible depending on travel and venue logistics.
Yes, we can supply poster images, social media posts, videos and texts about the concert as well as personal videos promoting it.
A new international collaboration between world-renowned musicians, Black Rooster Kapelye performs rare music from diverse Baltic traditions. Named after musicologist Emilis Melngailis (Melngailis = "black rooster" in Latvian), who collected these melodies at the turn of the 20th century, the ensemble features Latvian, Lithuanian, Jewish and Latgalian music that has remained virtually unknown outside Latvia for decades. This creative project offers audiences a glimpse into the musical world of Baltic Jewry and the multiethnic soundscape of one of Europe's most remote regions. Six accomplished musicians command instruments including accordion, bagpipes, kokle (zither), percussion, electric guitar and violin, weaving together diverse songs and languages in a creative conversation between historically neighboring cultures. All are talented vocalists representing the region's diverse traditions, including rich polyphonic singing. With deep mastery of tradition and creative vision, the ensemble composes new soundscapes from fragmented historical manuscripts, giving these centuries-old traditions urgent relevance. Rare repertoire performed at the highest level—powerful, moving, and unique. Craig Judelman - violin, voice Eli Ellere - voice, percussion Ilya Shneyveys - accordion, guitar, flutes, voice Ilga Vālodze Ābelkina - voice, bagpipes, flutes, kokle, vargan Jānis Zemgus Jātnieks - accordion, mandolin, voice Sasha Lurje - voice, poyk Please Note: The band also performs in a condensed version as a trio with Accordion, Voice and Violin, in which case we focus more on the Jewish/klezmer repertoire, or other arrangements can be made to suit the occasion. We also love teaching workshops and leading traditional dance evenings.