Shura Lipovsky

Shura Lipovsky is one of the best known singers of Yiddish/Jewish songs in the world. A native of the Netherlands, she studied singing at the Rotterdam conservatory with Margreet Honig and Yiddish with Mira Rafalowicz and at New York University, Oxford Summer University and La Maison de la Culture Yiddish/Bibliothèque Medem in Paris. She studied dance at the Dutch institute for folkloristic dancing L.C.A. She now combines dance with Jewish mysticism. In 2005/06 she studied theatre and mime at the renowned L’École Internationale de Theatre de Jacques Lecoq in Paris. Her work focuses on the artistic expressions and knowledge of Yiddish culture, and on using a particular blend of her various studies for intercultural and interreligious dialogue Singer, Dancer, Storyteller Shura Lipovsky teaches master classes for singers, repertoire classes of Yiddish songs and workshops in Hassidic dance, songs and stories. She has taught and performed at university courses of Yiddish (Oxford, London, Paris and Vilnius), at Limud in England and the Jewish Spiritual Retreat Center Elat Chayyim in Upstate New York, at the International Yiddish Festival and the International Jewish Music Festival in Amsterdam, the Jewish Culture Festival in Krakow, at Klezfests in London, Paris, Montreal, St. Petersburg, and Weimar and in various cities including Stockholm, Budapest, Bremen and Radolfzell - on occasion of the founding of a World Monastery. She has worked with outstanding musicians from Europe and the United States and performed the official Memorial Concert of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising with Jeff Warschauer and Zalmen Mlotek at the Warsaw Philharmonia in 1993. This concert was broadcast live throughout Poland and in 2003 was released as CD entitled ‘Heroes and Poets’ (Giboyrim un Poetn). In 1995 she performed in New York at the Klezmer Extravaganza with Yitzhak Perlman. Recently she worked together with conductor Tamara Brooks and singer/actor Theodore Bikel from the USA. Her story program ‘Buiten Eden’ (Outside of Eden), accompanied by accordionist Bart Lelivelt, directed by Cilia Hogerzeil was performed in The Netherlands, Germany, England and the USA. The stories were told in the language of the country, and/or in Yiddish. From 2004 Shura Lipovsky performed and toured with a new program called ‘Tenderness in Word and Sound’ accompanied by cimbalom player Jan Rokyta and violinist Monique Lansdorp. The CD ‘Tsart - Tenderness in Word and Sound’ is the result of this collaboration. An invitation by the Amsterdam Concertgebouw inspired Shura Lipovsky to put together a new ensemble, Novaya Shira ('New Song'), to build a program around Yiddish and Russian culture, bridging the two worlds. The concert took place on the 16th of February 2011 with great success. Since then Novaya Shira performs regularly on the national and international stage. Honoring the name ‘New Song’ the ensemble brings new poetry and compositions by Shura Lipovsky and arrangements/compositions by pianist Paul Prenen. Peaceworker With her singing, dancing, and storytelling, Shura Lipovsky is deeply involved in intercultural and interreligious dialogue. In Germany she taught at the Hedwig-Dransfeld-Haus in Bendorf near Koblenz, where she worked with spiritual leaders from various religions at Jewish-Christian-Muslim-conferences. Shura Lipovsky is active as a singer and member of the committee of recommendation for Musicians without Borders (MwB), located in the Netherlands. MwB does peace work through music and dance in countries experiencing ethnic conflicts and war. Currently MwB is working in Bosnia, Macedonia and Kosovo. www.musicianswithoutborders.nl In 2004 Shura Lipovsky designed a program of Bosnian and Jewish music for The Mostar Synfonietta and Bosnian accordionist Merima Kljuco conducted by Tamara Brooks. In 2004 this program was performed at the MwB conference ‘Singing the Bridge’ in The Netherlands. In the summer of 2005, with the addition of the renowned actor/singer/activist Theodore Bikel, this program called ‘Bridge to Peace’ toured Poland (Warsaw, Lublin and Krakow). PRODUCER Shura Lipovsky is artistic leader and producer of most of her concert programs and cd's and focuses on different themes within Jewish musical context. Shura Lipovsky divides her time between Amsterdam and Paris - where she teaches on a regular basis at La Maison de la Culture Yiddish/ Bibliothèque Medem (www.yiddishweb.com). Discographie de Shura Lipovsky Moments of Jewish Life Syncoop Produkties, Pays-Bas - 1993 www.syncoop.nl Tel: 31 10 4707439 Jews and Christians : Music in Mediaeval Spain Ensemble Antequera Syncoop Produkties, Pays-Bas - 1996 Vrouwvolk and friends life Musicians without Borders, 2002 With two solo’s by Shura Lipovsky: Anderleto and Durme, Durme www.musicianswithoutborders.nl Heroes and Poets - Giboyrim un Poetn Extraplatte, Vienne (Autriche) - 2003 www.extraplatte.at Tsart : tenderness in word and sound - c’est le ton qui fait la musique Music and Words, Amsterdam - 2006 www.musicwords.nl Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.