Artist Line-up

Dot Levine

Dot Levine has been turning heads and changing lives with their singular performances, compositions, and lessons since 2000 AD. They play ukulele, steel guitar, banjo, and acoustic guitar. They perform solo and lead groups. Dot absolutely mesmerized the KlezKolorado festival with their performance last year, and we know they will do the same this year!

Gora Gora Orkestar

Gora Gora Orkestar brings the sounds of the Old World to the Rocky Mountains performing high-energy Balkan and Klezmer music. Formed in 2009, this 11-piece brass band is dedicated to making the audience dance with driving rhythms and innovative approaches to the traditional music of Eastern Europe. Since its formation, Gora Gora has focused on learning this music with attention and authenticity, and its members have had the chance to learn from experts in the field at events such as Balkan Camp and KlezKanada.

Hal Aqua and the Lost Tribe

Hal Aqua and The Lost Tribe play klezmer fusion music — an exuberant musical experience, rooted firmly in traditional Jewish modes and melodies and driven by contemporary rhythms and danceable grooves.

Jordan Wax

Jordan Wax is a songwriter from New Mexico who performs dynamic solo-accordion/vocal arrangements of new work in Yiddish. His innovative compositions defy tropes that Yiddish culture is a backwards-gazing historical reproduction. He roots his work in his own deep Diaspora communities and in three decades of relationship with elders who have imparted the subtleties of spoken Yiddish and musical sensibilities of the professional klezmer musician class–not as heirlooms to be preserved, but to be renewed in each generation through radical creativity and cross-cultural pollination with the poly-ethnic languages and rhythms of Yiddish’s diasporic homes.

Mish Mish

Blending ancient eastern melody with western influence and latin rhythm, MishMish brings an electrifying Balkan-Arab fusion to Colorado. Their members bring together musical backgrounds in Klezmer, Middle Eastern, Balkan, and Samba to weave together a groove-heavy sound that will make you want to get out of your seat and dance. Through new compositions and their own takes on classic melodies and folk tunes, MishMish will guide the audience on a mesmerizing journey through the Balkan region and beyond.

Workshop Leader Bio’s

Alice Hansen

Growing up in Montana, Alice Hansen developed a passion for music at an early age and has been playing trumpet for 25 years. She studied Ethnomusicology at the University of Colorado, where she was first able to perform balkan and klezmer music and gained a deep passion for a diversity of folk music traditions, while focusing on the role of gender in music. As a performing trumpet player in Denver for over 15 years, Alice has performed with numerous local ensembles and nationally touring groups, collaborating with musicians from various musical traditions.

Annie Aqua

Denver native Annie Aqua has been playing violin since the age of four. She currently plays in a variety of bands, with a focus on Klezmer and Balkan music. She can most often be seen playing with MishMish (Balkan, Klezmer and Arabic), Hal Aqua and the Lost Tribe (klezmer fusion), and sometimes with pop-classical quartet Spinphony.

Ben Sweet

Originally from the East Coast, Ben grew up attending KlezKamp (now Yiddish New York) with his whole family, where his appreciation and love for Yiddishkeit and Klezmer was rooted. Ben is passionate about fostering inspiration and understanding through music, poetry, and common ground. Ben Sweet is KlezKolorado’s Co-Founder and Volunteer Leader.

Daniel Eisenberg

Daniel grew up in London, UK where he was involved in the Masorti Jewish community. His passion for languages and Torah has brought him to live in France, Germany, Jerusalem and Madagascar. In 2019, he moved to New York to study at Yeshivat Hadar and Romemu Yeshiva. Daniel was a child protection social worker in London. He completed his MA in Process Oriented Facilitation and Conflict Studies at the Process Work Institute in Oregon. Daniel and his husband, Rabbi Dave Yedid, operate Base Denver: An inclusive, dynamic Jewish community for people in their 20s and 30s.

Hal Aqua

Hal Aqua fronts klezmer fusion band The Lost Tribe; serves as music director at B’nai Havurah, Denver’s Reconstructionist shul; provides songleading at Temple Micah, a Denver Reform synagogue; facilitates joyful and inclusive b’nai mitzvah ceremonies along with Risa Aqua; and teaches classes, workshops and seminars on Jewish world music.

Janelle Treibetz

Janelle Treibitz is a narrative and cultural strategist who has been turning stories into either street theater or social movement strategies for over two decades. She has worked with the Bread and Puppet Theater for much of that time (which is where she learned cantastoria!) and currently works with national social justice organizations to integrate narrative strategies into their work.

Judy Sweet

An accordionist, dancer, educator, and interdisciplinary community arts leader, Judy has been immersed in Yiddish dance and klezmer music since her first Klezkamp at age 7. She has studied extensively with Yiddish dance masters Steve Weintraub and Avia Moore, and regularly teaches and leads at weddings, workshops, and more across the east coast. Judy also co-leads the Baltimorim — a community klezmer project of Hinenu that offers classes, jams, and concerts in the Baltimore region — and co-curates the children’s program at Yiddish New York. Judy is a leading teaching artist and early childhood music consultant in the Baltimore region.

Tung Pham

Tung Pham hails from Boston, Massachusetts where he cultivated his love of music at the Boston Arts Academy and University of Massachusetts Lowell. Upon moving to Colorado, Tung pursued his lifelong dream of becoming a music teacher by completing his master’s degree in Music Education at the University of Colorado Boulder. Tung founded Gora Gora Orkestar in 2009. Tung also plays with The Widow’s Bane, Mile High Brass Band, Dizzy with a Dame, Rampart Street Stompers, The Dollhouse Thieves, and Mariachi 303. Today, Tung is an instrumental music teacher at Denver East High School, where he teaches adapted music, leads bands, orchestra, and mariachi.

Yonatan Malin

Yonatan Malin is Associate Professor in the College of Music and Program in Jewish Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. He is on the research team for the Klezmer Archive Project, funded by an NEH Digital Humanities Advancement grant. In 2019, he wrote, produced, and performed in “The Beregovski Archives: Klezmer Stories from Soviet Ukraine to Boulder” with Alicia Svigals and Uli Geissendoerfer. Yonatan plays accordion with Jubilee Creek Klezmer and co-leads the monthly Boulder Klezmer Jam. His research on klezmer and other topics can be found on his website at CU Boulder.

Festival Schedule

Friday, May 16

Saturday, May 17

Sunday, May 18

Young Family and Children’s Schedule

Friday, May 16

Saturday, May 17

Sunday, May 18

Housing and Ticket Descriptions

Day Pass

A day pass allows you to join the KlezKolorado workshops and programming starting at 10 am on Saturday, May 18. Day pass ticket holders can stay for the evening concert, but may not stay overnight. The Day Pass tickets include lunch and dinner on Saturday. Day passes will be available for children (ages 3 – 16), Families (includes two adults and two kids), and individual adults.

Full Festival Access

Shared Housing

If you select this option, you will be sharing cabin space with other festival goers. There will be options available for male-identifying, female-identifying, and all gendered. Expect 8 – 10 adults to share a cabin. Restrooms and showers will be gendered and shared between multiple cabins. Tickets for shared housing are on a sliding scale.

Tent Camping

Private Cabins

This option comes with 8 full festival passes. Each cabin comfortably sleeps 8 adults. There will be additional charges for more than 8 attendees staying in the cabin. Restrooms and showers are shared between multiple cabins. Private Tiny Homes – Each private tiny home rental includes 2 adult full festival passes. JCC Ranch Camp Tiny Homes each have one full-sized bed and bunked twin bed above. Each tiny home has its own included restroom and shower. 1 or 2 additional guests (ideally children) can be added at an additional cost.

Private Tiny Home

Each private tiny home rental includes 2 adult full festival passes. JCC Ranch Camp Tiny Homes each have one full-sized bed and bunked twin bed above. Each tiny home has its own included restroom and shower. 1 or 2 additional guests (ideally children) can be added at an additional cost.

Media

• “Inaugural KlezKolorado festival celebrates Jewish culture and music amidst challenging times” – Colorado Public Radio

• Dot Rose and Gora Gora perform “Ale Brider” at KlezKolorado 2024