Klezmer band to galvanize chamber music series

Montgomery — This season, the Grand Montgomery Chamber Music Series will take a detour to the Jewish villages of 19th-century Eastern Europe and the Lower East Side. The Hester Street Klezmer Troupe specializes in the folk music of Old World itinerant musicians, and the rollicking songs of Yiddish vaudeville and Second Avenue theater. Klezmer music provides a slice of life as it was lived in the old Jewish communities. The clarinet imitates human emotions like laughing and crying. In one of the troupe's recordings, "Sounds of the Shtetl," horses' hooves clop on cobblestone as street vendors hawk their wares and musicians frolic in the street. The troupe has performed extensively throughout the Northeast and Florida, playing to standing-room-only audiences. They combine shtick with popular Jewish songs to get audiences dancing and singing in the aisles. The performance will be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 18, at the Senior Center on 36 Bridge St. in Montgomery. The series, now in its 24th year, is made possible by the Village of Montgomery, the Town of Montgomery, Historic Montgomery Association, Otterkill Animal Hospital, Montgomery Mills/UPS Shipper, McAdam and Fallon, P.C., Attorneys-at-Law, Montgomery Village Pharmacy, Scotts Corners Paint and Hardware, Town of Montgomery Chamber of Commerce, Perfect Temperature Plumbing, Heating and Air-Conditioning, DiBello Gallery/Frames, Devitt Management, Noble Coffee Roasters, Shaggy Dog Groomers, Iron Cafe, Ward's Bridge Inn, Mike's Deli, Walden Savings Bank, Rotary Club of Walden, Hudson Valley Roofing, J.W. Landscape Management, David Lerner Associates, Village Sampler, Cup and Saucer Diner, and Dahlia Bartz Cabe-Qigong. It is a voluntary effort by Howard Garrett, with assistance from the Village of Montgomery Clerk Linda Thompson and her staff, Judy Garrett, Bob Campbell, Barry Plaxen, Eric Hamblin, Jen Parker, Melody O'Connor, Roanne Patterson, Betty and Karl Lauritzen, Ray Ricalde, Tyler Woznick, and Buddy Nelson. Please see related article for other performances planned for the season. For more information call 457-9867. Coming up in chamber series "Masters of the Guitar" — 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 15. Music for Humanity presents guitarists John Sheehan and Charles Mokotoff in a fundraiser to assist exceptional music students. Suggested admission is $10 in advance, or $15 on day of concert. Advance reserved seats cost $20, or $25 on the day of the concert. Call 469-0900 for reservations. Piotr Kargul, viola and Ron DeFesi, piano — 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 13. Piotr of Montgomery is a Polish-born violist with the Greater Newburgh Symphony Orchestra and Schunnemunk String Quartet. His accompanist, Ron DeFesi, is one of the best-known musicians in the Hudson Valley. Free. Pine Bush Community Band — 8 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 28. Annual holiday program. Free. Janie Vance, soprano, accompanied by Jessica Nelson, piano — 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 4. Recital mixes opera and Broadway songs. Free. The Simon Trio — 3 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 22. Violinist Fiona Simon plays with the New York Philharmonic. Free. Kairos — 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 18. Ensemble of early music singers. Free. Jason Cutmore, piano — 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 20. World-class pianist concludes the series. Free.