You’ve never seen a Klezmer band like this. Because… this isn’t a band! It’s an orchestra, the Israel Klezmer Orchestra, the only one of it’s kind in the world. Inspired by the large ensembles of the old, earliest Klezmer recordings, the IKO consists of 16 top-notch professional musicians under the direction of inspired bandleader Gershon Leizerson, a virtuoso violinist, singer and scholar.

It’s all there: rousing, virtuoso melodies, intricate arrangements, punchy horn blasts, lyrical string passages, driving percussion breaks, epic singing, and, of course, that crazy danceability! The Israel Klezmer Orchestra takes the modern ‘Klezmer Revival’ movement to a logical next step by recreating the format of the large Jewish orchestras whose recordings form the core repertoire of the genre. This extra-large ensemble creates a striking concert experience for the contemporary fan, and brings a sonic and musical tapestry simply unobtainable by a smaller group.

Leizerson and his orchestra aren’t trapped in nostalgia for the past. Far from it, as an Israeli Klezmer Orchestra show is an interactive, modern and thoroughly entertaining encounter with the grand musical heritage of the Eastern European Jews, as filtered through a distinctly Israeli sensibility. As the dancing becomes more intense and the evocative stories more meaningful, band members go into the crowd to play or lead traditional dances, and the line between the audience and stage disappears completely.

The Israel Klezmer Orchestra was founded in 2017 in Jerusalem and has since taken off like a rocket, with the group performing in countless venues around Israel and collaborating with some of the biggest artists in Israeli music. Since that first ‘open call’ rehearsal, attended by more than a dozen young musicians, the IKO has also served as a training ground for Israeli musicians drawn to learn the style, placing the orchestra at the forefront of a new Israeli wave in the ongoing history of Klezmer music.