Our Musicians include:

Ilana Cravitz  is a UK-based violinist and educator. A specialist in Jewish music, she produces klezmer music and dance projects, and runs bands. She performed with and organised recordings & performances around the world for the London Klezmer Quartet for 10 years, including several tours in Australia. Her unique tutorial, Klezmer Fiddle – a How-to Guide, is published by Oxford University Press, and she also edited The Hoffman Book, a family collection of klezmer tunes from 1927. 

Ilana has been Artistic Director for international festivals such as Klezfest London and KlezNorth, and on the faculty for many others, reaching beyond the klezmer world.  Forays into the world of Sephardic music and flamenco have seen Ilana working with UK group Los Desterrados, and Kantos, an ensemble with singer Monica Acosta.   She also concertizes on baroque violin and viola da gamba, as well as guesting with ceilidh and country music bands. 

https://www.ilanacravitz.com/  

Phil Tomlinson is a singer and performer, specialising in singing and teaching Yiddish songs. He is based in Sheffield, England and has for many years performed and taught across the country. Phil was a founder member of the team that runs the highly successful annual Kleznorth weekend, with its programme of Yiddish and klezmer music, dance and song. Phil is also one of the organisers of the Yiddish Cafe Trust which runs the Yiddish Open Mic Cafe, and the annual weekend of the Yiddish Sof-Vokh UK. 

Phil sings and plays guitar, mandolin and piano in the band, Yoyvl, which performs klezmer and Yiddish Song. The band also presents Yiddish Revolutionaries, a history of the Jewish Ashkenazi Left in words, song, music and dance, and Mir Zaynen Do,  a programme of Holocaust related words, song and music. Phil also has a new local band, 7 Hills Kapelye, playing klezmer and performing Yiddish songs in Sheffield.  Phil isn’t Jewish, but has for 45 years been getting ever more involved in secular Jewish Ashkenazi culture through his wife, who comes from an Orthodox Jewish family. Together they led a Yiddish Song workshop in Warsaw Poland last year, and are delighted to be travelling to Porto this year.

www.philtomlinsom.co.uk

Daniel Mawson is a multi-instrumentalist performer, composer, sound designer, klezmer educator, and arts producer based in Manchester, with a Master’s in Musicology from the University of Manchester where he now teaches Klezmer: Ensemble Performance. Company co-director of Modalways CIC.

Theo Malka-Wishart is regular fixture at London’s best known Jazz clubs, bassist, plays with countless artists and bands as well as performing his own original works at renowned venues including Ronny Scott’s, Pizza Express and the 606.

His eclectic musical tastes influence his unique sound drawing inspiration from many sources ranging from early Bebop to Psychedelia and Arabic Qawwali music. He has dedicatedly shaped and nurtured his craft playing in venues all across the UK as well as touring Mexico, India and much of Europe playing across the world in International Jazz Festivals.

A couple of his notable recent projects include playing bass for blues singer Will James as well as touring with the band Urvashi and co-writing their recently released self titled album, playing high intensity, modal, Long-form improvisation to dancing crowds.

Alongside his regular gigs, Theo is currently in the process of writing and recording his debut solo album which explores the musical tradition of Raags with his double bass accompanied by classical Indian percussion. Due for release early next year the album is a product of all his diverse influences, with detailed intricate observations from his experiences over the last decade he has spent as a bass player.

Maya Brown has played the violin for 24 years. Beginning with classical music, she soon discovered folk and improvisation and has played in a range of contexts – from jazz bands to playing with circus and theatre. She has had a passion for Klezmer from a young age and is inspired by the potential within Klezmer and Sephardi music to connect us to deeper levels of our cultural history.

Previously notable projects include playing on a Balkan tour with Jazz infused Latin/Klezmer duo Techo las Mias, and in the UK with psych-folk project The Retinal Circus.

Her current projects include playing with Seven Hills Kapelye (a Klezmer band based in Sheffield), The Heist Ceilidh band, and project with up-and-coming singer Lou Gold. Alongside these musical projects she works part-time as a Development Worker for the Progressive Jewish community in Sheffield, teaches Suzuki violin, and works on her own songwriting/solo projects.

Josie Wexler is a violinist, singer and songwriter who plays in many genres, including Klezmer, Sephardic, jazz, and traditional music from the UK, parts of Europe, the US and Canada.

Her biggest passion is for any music that is super sad, as for reasons unclear, it makes her happy. Luckily Jewish music has much to offer in that regard.

She also plays in the Klezmer band Seven Hills Kapele, the world music band Maskareen and the English ceilidh band Bellamira.