Sat 3/28 @ 7PM
Beloved local musician Norman Tischler died in early 2019. Since he moved to Cleveland 50 years earlier, there was hardly any musician he hadn’t played with at least once, and he’d added his wide-ranging instrumental skills to dozens of diverse bands. He was known for toting his saxophone case everywhere he went, knowing he’d be called up onstage by his musician friends. When the presiding rabbi at his memorial service asked anyone who had ever played with him to stand up, half of the packed sanctuary rose.
So it’s not surprise that a group of local musicians have kept his name alive by renaming the Workman’s Circle Klezmer Orchestra, founded in 1995, the Tischler Klezmer Orchestra. Tischler served as music director for the ensemble which performs this distinctive variety of music, mostly associated with Easter European Jews, but associated with countries ranging from Russia, Ukraine and Poland, to Macedonia, Greece and Turkey. They perform in English, Hebrew and Yiddish.
The 15-musician ensemble is presenting at free concert called “Klezmer’s Greatest Hits From the 16th-21st Centuries” taking place at Heights Arts on Saturday March 28. It’s a small space with limited seating so you’ll urged to come early if you want a seat. concert is free, on a first-come/first-served basis, and seating is limited, so concertgoers are advised to arrive early.