Kalinka is a world-folk music ensemble that plays a zesty mix of Jewish Klezmer, Balkan and Eastern European melodies, and Manouche (‘Gypsy”) swing. Their performances offer a fun display of multiculturalism, revealing how cultures mix in the melodies of the Balkans, Eastern Europe, and the Mediterranean world. Kalinka‘s concerts fuse Jewish and Eastern European music traditions, the musical legacy of the Ottoman empire, and Manouche jazz. Kalinka has performed at UCSB’s Noon World Music Series, The Live Oak Music Festival, the Skirball Cultural Center, and Westmont College.

In Klezmer and Music of the Balkans and Eastern Europe students will hear how Jewish Klezmer music of Eastern Europe shares Ottoman (Turkish) influences and connections to Roma (“gypsy”) song styles of Europe and the Balkans. They will hear how musicians blended Klezmer with jazz.

Klezmer and Sephardic Music—Jewish Music of Europe and the Mediterranean performance is ideal for multicultural celebrations, includes a mix of Jewish Klezmer from Eastern Europe and Jewish Sephardic music of the Arab World, along with singing in Jewish Ladino (Medieval Spanish).

Music and Dance of Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and the Ottoman World performance includes singing in Ladino, Greek, Bulgarian, Macedonian, and Romany, as well as a dancer demonstrating the lively folk styles of many nations and cultures.