A Glezele Tey (Klezmer Trio)
A Glezele Tey (Yiddish for “a little glass of tea”) is a Northampton-based klezmer trio focusing on new interpretations of traditional klezmer repertoire, Yiddish folk songs, and tkhines (traditional Ashkenazi prayers centering the experiences of women, trans, and gender non-conforming people). Drawing from old recordings and contemporary culture rooted in the Eastern European Jewish diaspora, A Glezele Tey cultivates a sense of home wherever they play. Using music as a tool of connection and community-building, A Glezele Tey invites audiences into an intimate exploration of communal joy, deep grief, and sustained rootedness.
Learn more: aglezeletey.com

Artist Bios

Rachel Leader (violin) is passionate about cultivating vibrant community-led spaces, and is a klezmer violinist, cultural organizer, and educator based in Northampton, MA. She is a founding member of the critically acclaimed klezmer quartet Mamaliga, performing and teaching internationally at Yiddish Summer Weimar, KlezKanada, and Yiddish New York. Rachel is also a founder, violinist, and producer of the Magid Ensemble’s "Shterna & The Lost Voice," an immersive musical storytelling production that transports audiences into the rich world of Yiddish folklore. Rachel received the 2021 Klezmer New Leaders Fellowship from the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, and is a founding member of in-demand klezmer bands Burikes, A Glezele Tey, among other projects. She also regularly performs with Chaia (Kleztronica), blending house and techno grooves with electric fiddle and archival samples to create innovative soundscapes of Jewish diasporic identity. Rachel is the co-founder and director of KlezCummington, an annual klezmer and Yiddish cultural festival on her family’s land in Cummington, MA.

Ariel Shapiro (accordion, vocals) is a klezmer accordionist, cultural organizer, and multi-disciplinary artist based on Nipmuc, Nonotuck, and Pocumtuc land in so-called Northampton, Massachusetts. Ariel believes deeply in the transformative power of music and art that is centered around community and intergenerational relationship-building, rooted in culturally-informed history and artistic practices, and committed to justice and collective care work. Ariel is a core organizer of KlezCummington, an annual Jewish cultural festival dedicated to the creation and deepening of Yiddish diasporic music and cultures, as well the People's Puppet Parade, a community-based, devised spectacle theater processional exploring radical histories and communal expressions of grief and joy. Ariel is a founding member of klezmer bands Burikes, A Glezele Tey, and Khaloymes, performing fresh takes on traditional klezmer tunes and Yiddish songs, leading community jams and zingerays (Yiddish sing-alongs), and accompanying Yiddish dancing and theatrical productions, including Jenny Romaine/Great Small Work’s “Three Cookbooks in the Garden: A stage illusion”, The Un-nameable Children's Project “Across the Ninefold River”, and A.C. Weaver’s “Inhabiting the Tsadik of the Woods”. Ariel also collaborates with Der Tkhines Proyekt, setting old Yiddish prayers (written for and by women and gender non-conforming folks) to new melodies, and composing new works to be sung in the streets, around kitchen tables, and anywhere they can be used to help tear down systems of injustice to build a frayer velt (a freer world).

Richie Barshay (percussion) began drumming inside kitchen cabinets at an early age, and continues banging on things worldwide to this day. From his multi-percussion work with Herbie Hancock in the 2000s, to tours and recordings with Chick Corea, Esperanza Spalding, The Klezmatics, Fred Hersch, and Kenny Werner, he's been dubbed "a major rhythm voice on the rise" by Downbeat magazine, and “a major innovator who also knows how to have fun” by The Guardian (UK). He’s also performed with Natalie Merchant, Bobby McFerrin, Joe Lovano, Lee Konitz, Donald Harrison, Lionel Loueke, Julian Lage, the Curtis Brothers, Joey Weisenberg, Gabriel Kahane, Pete Seeger, and the Tony Award winning musical The Band’s Visit on Broadway and national tour. Since 2004 he’s traveled across 5 continents teaching and performing as an American Musical Envoy with the U.S. State Department, and can be heard on over 90 recordings including two self-produced albums: Sanctuary featuring Chick Corea (2014), and Homework featuring Herbie Hancock (2004). Based in Northampton, Massachusetts and New York City, he is an AmSAT certified Alexander Technique teacher helping performing artists and others regain more body-mind coordination and ease of movement. More at www.richiebarshay.com.

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Join A Glezele Tey for their Yiddish Song Workshop at the Maine Jewish Museum on January 26, more info here.

Funded in part by the New England States Touring program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program and the six New England state arts agencies.

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Saturday, January 25 at 7:00 PM (doors 6:30 PM), 90-minutes, with 10 minute intermission

Tickets are available for $15 in advance, $18 at the door, and $25 for preferred seating (pay-what-you-can available)

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PAY WHAT YOU CAN

No one will be turned away from MSA events for lack of funds; please contact us at 207-879-4629 or info@mayostreetarts.org to learn more and reserve tickets. Our box office staff are also happy to help.

EVENT PARKING

Free on-street parking is available in Mayo Street Arts’ neighborhood.

There is one paid parking lot conveniently located a six-minute walk from the venue: Top of the Old Port Parking (119 Pearl St, Portland ME 04101)

Mayo Street Arts is accessible by Greater Portland Metro bus routes with nearby transfer points 7, 9A & 9B. Click here to learn more.

ACCESSIBILITY

All performances and most other events held at Mayo Street Arts are wheelchair accessible. There are two accessible spots directly in front of our building, however there is not yet a curb cut out at that location.

If you would benefit from additional information or accommodations, we invite you to contact us at info@mayostreetarts.org or 207-879-4629.

COMMUNITY HEALTH

Audience members — in addition to artists, staff & volunteers — who feel sick or exhibit symptoms of illness should stay home out of respect for others.

SEATING POLICY

We will save your reserved seat until showtime, at which point any unclaimed seats may be offered to other people. Please call our box office at 207-879-4629 if you are running late.

CANCELATION POLICY

MSA has a no refund policy for all reservations. In the event that MSA is forced to cancel an event due to weather, illness, etc., refunds will be offered via the Ticket Tailor platform.