Jalopy Theatre
Smyneīka and Rebetika with Carol Freeman - A Workshop
Smyneīka and Rebetika Workshop with Carol Freeman Sunday November 2nd, 2-4 pm Songs of the 1920s, '30s, and '40s Urban Greek ala Turka Cafe Amans and Hashish Dens Sing Makam, Intricate Ornamentation, and Uneven Rhythms Sing with Increased Comfort, Clarity, and Control This workshop will teach participants to sing the magnificent vocal repertoire of early 20th Century Asia Minor Greek artists, as well as the heartfelt songs of later renowned Greek Rebetika performers, with authenticity and ease. We will learn to sing deliciously intricate ornamentation, complex rhythms, and microtonal scales - makam, or dhromi (roads) in Greek - in a process that is fluid and fun. By learning how to carefully listen to source recordings and then learning simple tricks to make singing the songs effortless, we'll be able to sing an involved repertoire with comfort, clarity, and control, as well as with original vocal styling. We will also learn how to seamlessly switch between vocal placements without detection, will learn how to produce optimal tone, and will learn how to phrase songs so as to provide for maximum depth of expression, artistry, and musicality. The songs have simply gorgeous melodies, and are lush with embellishment. The texts leave no stone unturned, and deal with scorching love, unbearable pain, cocaine, hashish, and heroine, lesbianism, monkey serum fountain of youth injections, harem girls, Hawaiian guitar music, and anything else one may fancy. Though the repertoire is challenging and instruction is detailed and specific, the workshop is taught in a supportive, comfortable and relaxed setting, and is always fun. Well known as a performer, researcher, and teacher of a variety of Balkan, Greek, Judaic, and other singing traditions, Carol Freeman has performed since 1970 as vocalist for The Smyrneīki Kompania, Sevda Balkan Music Ensemble, Song of the Shtetl, Village Voices, and Zhenska Pesna, and as a solo interpreter of traditional song, and has appeared at major arts centers, festivals, museums, and universities, and on radio and television, throughout North America. A master vocal instructor, Carol Freeman has taught extensively as a private instructor and at specialized arts schools, music seminars, universities, and museums since 1970. She is a 2023, 2024, and 2025 NYS Council on the Arts Master of Folk Arts. She has been actively researching, performing, and teaching Smyrnëika and Rebetika for close to five decades.
Nov 02, 2025
Jalopy Theatre
Zingeray + Jam with Brivele and A Glezele Tey
12:30pm doors 1pm zingeray Sliding scale $10-20 Join members of Brivele and A Glezele Tey for an afternoon of singing Yiddish folk songs and learning about Ashkenazi music & culture, with live musical accompaniment. From old classics to newly written melodies, we will explore the breadth and depth of the Yiddish song movement and the current surge of creativity & cross-generational collaboration happening today. Songbooks will be provided, and participants will come away with the tools to continue singing and creating new interpretations, translations, and songs of their own. No prior knowledge of Yiddish needed—all are welcome! Brivele is a Seattle-based duo who braid together Yiddish song, anti-fascist and labor balladry, folk-punk, and contemporary rabble-rousing in stirring vocal harmony. In Yiddish, Brivele ( עלעווירב ( means "little letter." Like letters, songs travel — through time and over borders. They pick up dirt, aromas, fingerprints. They are sent to lovers, they foment revolution, they get stolen and censored, burned and salvaged, sewn into our clothes. Brivele is Maia Brown and Stefanie Brendler, who journey into the archives of Yiddish anti-fascist musical tradition, bringing together anti authoritarian satire, mournful remembrances, and the disguised political commentary in folk ditties and theater classics. These songs are a correspondence: ancestors' voices speaking clearly and uncompromisingly, sometimes sweetly, to the present moment. brivele.com A Glezele Tey (Yiddish for “a little glass of tea”) invites you into their living room for a little glass of tea from the samovar, bringing audiences into an intimate and enthralling world of klezmer, Yiddish folk song, and tkhines (traditional Ashkenazi prayers centering the experiences of women, trans, and gender non-conforming people, set to new melodies). Drawing from old recordings and contemporary culture rooted in the Eastern European Jewish diaspora, A Glezele Tey’s music is an act of deep care—rooted in community gathering, lineage, and ritual, we raise our collective voices to move through grief, inspire action, and build a frayer velt (a freer world). A Glezele Tey is comprised of acclaimed klezmer musicians and composers Ariel Shapiro, Rachel Leader, and Richie Barshay. aglezeletey.com
Nov 15, 2025
Jalopy Theatre
FIDDLE-CURIOUS? A Workshop for Violin Players with Rachel Meirs
Fiddle-Curious? A Workshop with Rachel Meirs Sunday, November 16th 2-4pm Register for one, or take both 11/16 and 11/23 and get a discount! Perhaps you learned violin in grade school but never picked it back up, or you have a rigorous classical background? Perhaps you played or still play violin but you’re just curious about what other genres of music are out there? Perhaps, you have even been playing fiddle but are curious about ways to make it sound MORE fiddle-y and less violin-y? These workshops for are folks who are familiar and comfortable with their instrument, but want to: learn more about fiddling in general learn the ways playing techniques might differ or be applied in different contexts learn some fiddle tunes with extra attention paid to how we are playing and making sounds improve your playing without it sounding stiff nerd out with some folks about the fiddle in a friendly and open environment You do not need to read music to participate! We will learn tunes by ear, and sheet music will be given afterwards as a reference. Workshop #1: We will work on the fast stuff! We’ll learn a fiddle tune, talk about bowing techniques for speed and string crossings, go over some helpful left hand tricks, as well as ways to loosen up your playing while still hitting the notes, and how to keep a driving beat. If we have time to learn more than one tune we will, but even if we don’t get to the tune we will talk briefly about different genres of tunes, cross-tuning, rags, country blues, and answer any other fiddle/violin questions you might have. Workshop #2: we will work on the slow and sweet stuff with a waltz and and air time permitting. We’ll discuss bowing techniques for sustained sound, shifting through double stops, when and where to embellish, how to make something pretty but not boring, and, of course, make time for questions and thoughts! To inquire about scholarship/financial aid, please email lynette@jalopytheatre.org. The Jalopy Theatre is fully ADA accessible, including wheelchair-accessible bathrooms. The Theatre is also equipped with large circulating fans that have UV air cleaners to help create a safer indoor environment.
Nov 16, 2025
Jalopy Theatre
FIDDLE-CURIOUS? A Workshop for Violin Players with Rachel Meirs
Fiddle-Curious? A Workshops with Rachel Meiers Sunday, November 23 2-4pm Register for one, or take both 11/16 and 11/23 and get a discount! Perhaps you learned violin in grade school but never picked it back up, or you have a rigorous classical background? Perhaps you played or still play violin but you’re just curious about what other genres of music are out there? Perhaps, you have even been playing fiddle but are curious about ways to make it sound MORE fiddle-y and less violin-y? These workshops for are folks who are familiar and comfortable with their instrument, but want to: learn more about fiddling in general learn the ways playing techniques might differ or be applied in different contexts learn some fiddle tunes with extra attention paid to how we are playing and making sounds improve your playing without it sounding stiff nerd out with some folks about the fiddle in a friendly and open environment You do not need to read music to participate! We will learn tunes by ear, and sheet music will be given afterwards as a reference. Workshop #1: We will work on the fast stuff! We’ll learn a fiddle tune, talk about bowing techniques for speed and string crossings, go over some helpful left hand tricks, as well as ways to loosen up your playing while still hitting the notes, and how to keep a driving beat. If we have time to learn more than one tune we will, but even if we don’t get to the tune we will talk briefly about different genres of tunes, cross-tuning, rags, country blues, and answer any other fiddle/violin questions you might have. Workshop #2: we will work on the slow and sweet stuff with a waltz and and air time permitting. We’ll discuss bowing techniques for sustained sound, shifting through double stops, when and where to embellish, how to make something pretty but not boring, and, of course, make time for questions and thoughts! To inquire about scholarship/financial aid, please email lynette@jalopytheatre.org. The Jalopy Theatre is fully ADA accessible, including wheelchair-accessible bathrooms. The Theatre is also equipped with large circulating fans that have UV air cleaners to help create a safer indoor environment.
Nov 23, 2025
Jalopy Theatre
Community Singing with Aimée Ringle
Sunday November 30th, 1pm - 4pm $50 Registration Fee Bring your voice! No formal musical training required. All are welcome! Join seasoned West Coast song-leader Aimée Ringle for a three-hour dive into rhythm, harmony, and the living pulse of community singing. We’ll explore a curated mix of contemporary songs from today’s songleading scene — music that invites presence, play, and groove, and “pocket songs” suitable for a variety of occasions. Bring your voice, your curiosity, and step into a sound that only exists when we make it together. Aimée Ringle is a multi instrumentalist singer, songwriter, songleader, storyteller and community enthusiator. She writes, plays, and sings with moments of sacred communion in mind and does all that she can as a musician and as a leader to make such moments more likely. Learn more about Aimée’s work here: https://aimeeringlemusic.com/song-leading . All proceeds will support both the work of the artist and the cost of using the space at Jalopy Theater. Jalopy is an amazing community resource. We do not want to turn anyone away. If your desire to attend exceeds what you are able to pay, please contact cher428@hotmail.com.
Nov 30, 2025