Margot Leverett
Encyclopedia
Margot Leverett is a New York
-based clarinettist. Born in Ohio
, she lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
and Buffalo, New York
before studying at Indiana University School of Music. At Indiana, she was classically trained. Leverett later became interested in klezmer
, a traditional musical style of the Jews
of Eastern Europe
. She studied with klezmer clarinettist Sidney Beckerman
and was a founding member of The Klezmatics
in 1985. The Klezmatics, a band associated with the Klezmer Revival of the 1980s and onward, would later become the first klezmer band to win a Grammy Award
.
Margot Leverett is a New York
-based clarinettist. Born in Ohio
, she lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
and Buffalo, New York
before studying at Indiana University School of Music. At Indiana, she was classically trained.Come for 'Jewgrass,' stay for Selichot, New Jersey Jewish Standard 28 August 2009 Leverett later became interested in klezmer
, a traditional musical style of the Jews
of Eastern Europe
.Bridging PeaceMusic: YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe She studied with klezmer clarinettist Sidney Beckerman
The Art of Klezmer Clarinet: album and was a founding member of The Klezmatics
in 1985. The Klezmatics, a band associated with the Klezmer Revival of the 1980s and onward, would later become the first klezmer band to win a Grammy Award
.Leverett honors sounds of shtetl, The Boston Herald 14 January 2000
Margot Leverett is a New York
-based clarinettist. Born in Ohio
, she lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
and Buffalo, New York
before studying at Indiana University School of Music. At Indiana, she was classically trained.Come for 'Jewgrass,' stay for Selichot, New Jersey Jewish Standard 28 August 2009 Leverett later became interested in klezmer
, a traditional musical style of the Jews
of Eastern Europe
.Bridging PeaceMusic: YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe She studied with klezmer clarinettist Sidney Beckerman
The Art of Klezmer Clarinet: album and was a founding member of The Klezmatics
in 1985. The Klezmatics, a band associated with the Klezmer Revival of the 1980s and onward, would later become the first klezmer band to win a Grammy Award
.Leverett honors sounds of shtetl, The Boston Herald 14 January 2000Grammy-winning Klezmatics push the klezmer genre forward, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 15 October 2009Celebrating the Klezmatics' Grammy, JVibe, April 2007
In 1999, Leverett was a founding member of another klezmer band called Mikveh. This band is named after the mikveh, a traditional ritual bath in which Orthodox Jewish
women immerse themselves. They released a self-titled album in 2001, described by Rambles magazine as "a potent and heady mix of passion and power."Article about Mikveh in Rambles, 12 January 2002 Mikveh calls itself a band whose music "reflects the experience of Jewish women," drawing on Yiddish
song and klezmer instrumentation to produce a mixture of older pieces, newer adaptations of historical material, and original compositions.Mikveh website
Leverett also released a solo CD called The Art of Klezmer Clarinet in 2001. The 17-track album was favorably reviewed—Klezmershack.com called it a "tribute to greats of the American Klezmer clarinet" and a "tremendous leap in skill and soulfulness."Klezmershack.com review, 1/1/00New Mexico Folk Music and Dance Society Newsletter, Jan/Feb 2005
Her current musical project is The Klezmer Mountain Boys, a band she founded in 2001 that aims to fuse the styles of klezmer and bluegrass
.Margot Leverett bio on Klezmer Mountain Boys websiteJewish Daily Forward article The Klezmer Mountain Boys have released two albums: a self-titled album in 2002 and an album called Second Avenue Square Dance. Leverett said, “I’ve always liked American fiddle tunes of all kinds—Cajun tunes, fiddle tunes, bluegrass. I didn’t get many opportunities to play it, because clarinet is not so invited at these parties. But the more I heard it the more I wanted to give it a try.”
Leverett has been a guest soloist for the Philadelphia Orchestra
. She teaches at several klezmer camps, especially KlezKamp
where she has served as an instructor for over 10 years.
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
-based clarinettist. Born in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, she lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
and Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
before studying at Indiana University School of Music. At Indiana, she was classically trained. Leverett later became interested in klezmer
Klezmer
Klezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations...
, a traditional musical style of the Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
of Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
. She studied with klezmer clarinettist Sidney Beckerman
Sidney Beckerman
Sidney "Sid" Beckerman was an influential klezmer clarinet player. He learned the style from his father Shloimke, who was himself a well known klezmer soloist....
and was a founding member of The Klezmatics
The Klezmatics
The Klezmatics are a Grammy Award-winning American klezmer music group based in New York City, who have achieved fame singing in several languages, most notably mixing older Yiddish tunes with other types of more contemporary music of differing origins...
in 1985. The Klezmatics, a band associated with the Klezmer Revival of the 1980s and onward, would later become the first klezmer band to win a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
.
Margot Leverett is a New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
-based clarinettist. Born in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, she lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
and Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
before studying at Indiana University School of Music. At Indiana, she was classically trained.Come for 'Jewgrass,' stay for Selichot, New Jersey Jewish Standard 28 August 2009 Leverett later became interested in klezmer
Klezmer
Klezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations...
, a traditional musical style of the Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
of Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
.Bridging PeaceMusic: YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe She studied with klezmer clarinettist Sidney Beckerman
Sidney Beckerman
Sidney "Sid" Beckerman was an influential klezmer clarinet player. He learned the style from his father Shloimke, who was himself a well known klezmer soloist....
The Art of Klezmer Clarinet: album and was a founding member of The Klezmatics
The Klezmatics
The Klezmatics are a Grammy Award-winning American klezmer music group based in New York City, who have achieved fame singing in several languages, most notably mixing older Yiddish tunes with other types of more contemporary music of differing origins...
in 1985. The Klezmatics, a band associated with the Klezmer Revival of the 1980s and onward, would later become the first klezmer band to win a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
.Leverett honors sounds of shtetl, The Boston Herald 14 January 2000
Margot Leverett is a New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
-based clarinettist. Born in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, she lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
and Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
before studying at Indiana University School of Music. At Indiana, she was classically trained.Come for 'Jewgrass,' stay for Selichot, New Jersey Jewish Standard 28 August 2009 Leverett later became interested in klezmer
Klezmer
Klezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations...
, a traditional musical style of the Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
of Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
.Bridging PeaceMusic: YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe She studied with klezmer clarinettist Sidney Beckerman
Sidney Beckerman
Sidney "Sid" Beckerman was an influential klezmer clarinet player. He learned the style from his father Shloimke, who was himself a well known klezmer soloist....
The Art of Klezmer Clarinet: album and was a founding member of The Klezmatics
The Klezmatics
The Klezmatics are a Grammy Award-winning American klezmer music group based in New York City, who have achieved fame singing in several languages, most notably mixing older Yiddish tunes with other types of more contemporary music of differing origins...
in 1985. The Klezmatics, a band associated with the Klezmer Revival of the 1980s and onward, would later become the first klezmer band to win a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
.Leverett honors sounds of shtetl, The Boston Herald 14 January 2000Grammy-winning Klezmatics push the klezmer genre forward, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 15 October 2009Celebrating the Klezmatics' Grammy, JVibe, April 2007
In 1999, Leverett was a founding member of another klezmer band called Mikveh. This band is named after the mikveh, a traditional ritual bath in which Orthodox Jewish
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
women immerse themselves. They released a self-titled album in 2001, described by Rambles magazine as "a potent and heady mix of passion and power."Article about Mikveh in Rambles, 12 January 2002 Mikveh calls itself a band whose music "reflects the experience of Jewish women," drawing on Yiddish
Yiddish language
Yiddish is a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. It developed as a fusion of German dialects with Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages...
song and klezmer instrumentation to produce a mixture of older pieces, newer adaptations of historical material, and original compositions.Mikveh website
Leverett also released a solo CD called The Art of Klezmer Clarinet in 2001. The 17-track album was favorably reviewed—Klezmershack.com called it a "tribute to greats of the American Klezmer clarinet" and a "tremendous leap in skill and soulfulness."Klezmershack.com review, 1/1/00New Mexico Folk Music and Dance Society Newsletter, Jan/Feb 2005
Her current musical project is The Klezmer Mountain Boys, a band she founded in 2001 that aims to fuse the styles of klezmer and bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
.Margot Leverett bio on Klezmer Mountain Boys websiteJewish Daily Forward article The Klezmer Mountain Boys have released two albums: a self-titled album in 2002 and an album called Second Avenue Square Dance. Leverett said, “I’ve always liked American fiddle tunes of all kinds—Cajun tunes, fiddle tunes, bluegrass. I didn’t get many opportunities to play it, because clarinet is not so invited at these parties. But the more I heard it the more I wanted to give it a try.”
Leverett has been a guest soloist for the Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
. She teaches at several klezmer camps, especially KlezKamp
KlezKamp
KlezKamp is a yearly Klezmer music and Yiddish culture festival which takes place in late December in New York State. Founded in 1984, participants come from all over the world, but especially the East Coast of the United States and Canada, for a week of immersion in the culture and the chance to...
where she has served as an instructor for over 10 years.
External Links
- Margot Leverett and the Klezmer Mountain Boys: Official website
- Mikveh: Official website
- The Klezmatics: Official website
- KlezKamp website