Boisterous and driving, lilting and elegiac, Mamaliga melds the klezmer melodies of old country Yiddishland with new-era sensibilities, crafting intricate arrangements of original and traditional tunes to make you dance, laugh and cry – perhaps all at once!

Mamaliga is a critically acclaimed Klezmer band based in Boston MA, and Brooklyn NY. After the 2021 release of their debut full-length album, Dos Gildn Bletl, Mamaliga has performed at Yiddish New York, KlezKanada, Yiddish Summer Weimar, and was awarded best original Klezmer composition at the 2021 Bubbe Awards in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The band is comprised of Rebecca Mac and Rachel Leader on fiddles, Raffi Boden on cello, and Mattias Kaufmann on accordion.

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Friday, March 31, 7:30 PM (Doors 7:00 PM), 75-minutes with intermission

Tickets are available for $15 in advance, $18 at the door, and $22 for preferred seating (sliding scale available).

Photos by Jules Cowan

ARTIST BIOS

Raffi Boden (cello) is a NY-based cellist, composer, and educator known for his groovy bass lines, lush tone, and versatility. With Mamaliga, he’s performed internationally and been a guest artist at Yiddish New York, Yiddish Summer Weimar, and KlezKanada. Their debut album of original klezmer compositions, Dos Gildn Bletl, was released in 2021 and hailed as “virtuosic and vibrant” (In Geveb). Raffi was recently in the Juilliard production of “Indecent”, for which he worked with composer and music director Lisa Gutkin to compose a cello part for the band. In classical contexts, he has performed internationally in Europe and South America, locally in Carnegie Hall, and with members of the NY Philharmonic. He is also a member of the six-piece chamber jazz ensemble Simone Baron & Arco Belo. Raffi holds degrees from Juilliard and Oberlin.

Rachel Leader (violin) is a Massachusetts-based klezmer violinist and Jewish cultural organizer. She is a member of Mamaliga which has enjoyed national and international acclaim for their debut album Dos Gildn Bletl (fall 2021), including winning first prize in the 2021 Sao Paolo Bubbe Awards for best original Klezmer composition. Rachel is also a founding member of Northampton-based 6-piece klezmer band Burikes — performing frequently at local community events, local holiday festivals, spectacle theater parades, weddings, and other Simchas! Rachel was a recipient of the 2021 Klezmer New Leaders Fellowship through the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and studied with klezmer violinist Zoë Aqua. In 2020, Rachel co-founded KlezCummington Cultural Festival in Cummington, MA — a homegrown & community-rooted annual celebration of Ashkenazi Jewish cultural heritage through vibrant music, dance, language, food, and art.

Rebecca Mac (violin) is a founding member of Mamaliga, a contemporary Klezmer ensemble. Mamaliga enjoyed international acclaim for their debut album of original klezmer music “Dos Gildn Bletl”, winning first and third place in the 2021 Bubbe Awards category for “Best Original Klezmer Composition”. Mac has performed at KlezKanada, Yiddish Summer Weimar, and Yiddish New York. Mac is a 2022-24 grant recipient of the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Traditional Arts Apprenticeship program, through which she is exploring the connections between Greek, Turkish and Jewish music with Beth Bahia Cohen. In addition to performing regularly in the Jewish music scene, Mac runs a regular, and inclusive Klezmer jam in downtown Boston. Mac has a degree in violin performance from Berklee College of Music.

Mattias Kaufman (accordion) is an accordionist and co-founder of Mamaliga. Mattias studies Contemporary Improvisation at New England Conservatory in Boston, MA. Mattias has worked with Guy Klucevsek, Carla Kihlstedt, Hankus Netsky, and Ted Reichman. Mattias has spent several summers studying folk music in Hungary, Romania, and Serbia with musicians such as Serbian chromatic accordionist Nenad Ivanović, Hungarian accordionist Bobár Zoltán, and Transylvanian musicians Marcel Ramba and Istvanka Varga. Mattias is a founding member of the duo Farnakht, a collaboration with Brooklyn-based violinist Zoë Aqua. Mattias won first prize for new klezmer composition in the 2021 Bubbe Awards presented by the Jewish Music Institute (IMJ) in Sao Paulo.

SLIDING SCALE POLICY

No one will be turned away for lack of funds; contact MSA at 207-879-4629 or info@mayostreetarts.org for information on our sliding scale admission policy.

COVID-19 POLICY

Audience members, staff, and volunteers will be asked to mask while not actively eating, or drinking.

Mayo Street Arts is committed to the safety of everyone at our events and will adhere to all Federal & Maine CDC guidelines on the day of the event. As we anticipate mid-season changes to our COVID-19 policy, please click here to visit our website and view the most current information.

CANCELLATION POLICY

Mayo Street Arts 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.