Yiddish New York (YNY), the world’s largest festival celebrating Yiddish music, language, and culture — including its signature music, klezmer — is proud to announce its 2025 edition, taking place Saturday evening, December 20 through Thursday afternoon, December 25, 2025.
Now in its eleventh year, the hybrid festival will once again bring together a global community for in-person events at Hebrew Union College (1 West 4th Street, NYC) and online programming via Zoom, featuring an extraordinary lineup of concerts, workshops, lectures, films, dance parties, and intergenerational community events.
THE ADRIENNE COOPER DREAMING IN YIDDISH AWARD: HONORING MICHAEL ALPERT
The centerpiece of the festival, the Adrienne Cooper Dreaming in Yiddish Award Concert, will be held on Wednesday, December 24, 2025, at 7:00 PM EST (in-person and livestreamed) at Hebrew Union College. This year’s recipient is Michael Alpert, one of the most influential figures in the global renaissance of Yiddish music and culture.
Since 2013, the Dreaming in Yiddish Award has honored and supported Yiddish dreamers and their work — artists and scholars who, in Adrienne Cooper’s words, embark on “the boundless, utterly unexpected adventure of working in Yiddish.”
Alpert, a National Heritage Fellow of the United States — the nation’s highest honor in the traditional and heritage arts — has been a pioneering multi-instrumentalist, singer, ethnographer, and educator for over five decades. His award-winning work with ensembles including Brave Old World, Kapelye, Khevrisa, and Itzhak Perlman’s In the Fiddler’s House has shaped generations of performers and listeners alike.
A native Yiddish speaker and cultural bridge between Eastern European-born tradition bearers and contemporary artists, Alpert is celebrated both for preserving the roots of Yiddish folk and klezmer music and for composing a new body of Yiddish songs that speak to today’s world.
The Dreaming in Yiddish Award Concert — presented in association with Yiddish New York and GOH Productions — will feature Michael Alpert and friends in an evening of music, memories, and celebration.
WHAT DO NEW YORK’S JEWS DO DURING CHRISTMAS? – FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS
Yiddish New York 2025 will feature dozens of leading performers, scholars, and visionaries of Yiddish culture, including returning festival favorites and exciting new voices from around the world.
Among the featured artists, musicians, speakers, and programs:
- Clarinetist/Composer Matt Darriau (of The Klezmatics) performs his new score to the 1926 Soviet silent film Benye Krik
- Actor/director Lea Kalish presents her award-winning film A Tango for Rachel in its NY premiere.
- Performances by renowned composers and clarinetists Andy Statman and Michael Winograd
- Yiddish educators Asya Vaisman Schulman, Miriam Isaacs, and Kolya Borodulin
- A performance of new Yiddish theater and original songs by rising Yiddish theater star Mikhl Yashinsky
- Montreal-based Yiddish hip-hop star Socalled
- Talks by scholar and cultural historian Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett(POLIN Museum, Warsaw)
- Frank London and Matt Darriauof the Grammy-winning band The Klezmatics
- OBIE Award-winning theater producer Jenny Romaine
- Hasidic-born Yiddish singer and social media influencer Riki Rose
- Klezmer violin virtuosos Zoë Aqua, Jake Shulman-Ment, and Deborah Strauss
- Yiddish song composers Joshua Waletzky and Daniel Kahn
- Visual artist/activist Sara Erenthal
- A symposium exploring a revival of “Golden Age” cantorial music in the Hasidic community, as well as renewed interest in Khazntes (female cantorial music singers)
Festival programming will include:
- Concertsfeaturing the world’s leading Yiddish musicians (Full lineup here)
- Lectures and panelsby leading scholars of Yiddish history, literature, and culture
- Yiddish language classes(beginner to advanced)
- Klezmer instrumental workshops and ensemblesfor all levels
- Yiddish vocal workshops
- International folk dance sessionsled by renowned instructors
- Kids and family programming
- The world’s largest annual Yiddish Film Festival
- The YNY Cabaret and Dance Parties— nightly events featuring spontaneous collaborations, jam sessions, and dancing to live klezmer music
- Programs combining creative activism, art, and community organizing
Each day, participants can explore a packed schedule of activities, available online at https://yiddishnewyork2025.sched.com/, fostering learning, joy, and connection.
“Yiddish New York is a home for people who want to celebrate Jewishness — and find warmth, creativity, and community during the holiday season — through Yiddish culture and klezmer music,” says trombonist and composer Dan Blacksberg. “In an often-isolated world, this gathering reminds us of the power of connection and shared song.”
FESTIVAL REGISTRATION AND ACCESS
Festival passes and tickets are available at www.yiddishnewyork.com. YNY welcomes participants of all ages, backgrounds, and levels of Yiddish — no prior experience with Yiddish is necessary. Scholarships and work-study options are available for students and participants with financial need.
PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS
Yiddish New York 2025 is presented with the support of The Center for Traditional Music and Dance (fiscal sponsor), The Museum of Jewish Heritage, The Workers Circle, The 14th Street Y, The Forward, The Center for Jewish History, The YIVO Institute for Jewish Culture, The Sholem Aleichem Cultural Center, The Educational Alliance, The Museum at Eldridge Street, The Folksbiene Yiddish Theatre, The Yiddish Book Center, KlezKanada, Ashkenaz Festival, and many others.
Major support is provided by the Marinus and Minna B. Koster Foundation, Atran Foundation, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, The Adrienne Cooper Fund for Dreaming in Yiddish, and numerous individual donors and community partners.
ABOUT YIDDISH NEW YORK
Founded in 2015 in response to the closing of KlezKamp, Yiddish New York celebrates and reimagines Eastern European Jewish and co-territorial cultures through performance, education, and intergenerational exchange. Each December, YNY gathers over 3,000 participants for workshops, concerts, theater, film, dance, and joyful community-building — a living laboratory for the Yiddish cultural renaissance. Event End 12/25/2025
Press Contact:
Yiddish New York
917-326-9659
yiddishnewyork@gmail.com
www.yiddishnewyork.com
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