Deborah Strauss (violin, accordion, vocals, dance) and Cantor Jeff Warschauer (guitar, mandolin, cobza, vocals) have been at the forefront of the international klezmer and Yiddish music scene for more than 30 years. They are sweet and soulful performers who draw from klezmer, Yiddish, Hasidic and liturgical music and culture, adding their own original compositions and song settings. Their music is grounded in tradition, yet thoroughly contemporary.
Deborah and Jeff were both longtime members of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, one of the premiere groups of the klezmer revival, and have performed with legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman on film, on recordings, and in concert.
As the Strauss/Warschauer Duo, they have performed to overwhelming acclaim in such diverse venues as the Philadelphia Folk Festival, Great Britain’s Fiddles on Fire, the Jewish Culture Festival in Krakow, Poland, and the Art of Yiddish in Los Angeles with the late actor and singer Theodore Bikel z”l.
They lead some of the most popular klezmer music, Yiddish song and traditional dance workshops throughout the world. Both teach regularly at KlezKanada, Yiddish Summer Weimar, and the Warsaw International Summer Seminar in Yiddish Language and Culture.
Jeff is Cantor at Congregation Or Chadash in Flemington, NJ. He is a Founding Artistic Director of KlezKanada, and teaches at Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary.
Deborah is a highly regarded Yiddish dancer and award-winning educator who taught for 20 years at Yiddish cultural schools in New York City She is Yiddish Culture Organizer for Zol Zayn Yidish, a new Workers Circle initiative for adults 60 and beyond, and is co-coordinator of the instrumental program at Yiddish New York. Deborah is the 2024 recipient of the prestigious Adrienne Cooper Dreaming in Yiddish Award.
www.klezmerduo.com
