Culture & Education | Overview STAND UP SING OUT
Stand Up Sing Out! was a resounding success, remarkable on so many levels. It generated high visibility in the area for Boston Workmen's Circle and our community chorus, A Besere Velt. It brought progressives and labor leaders together in a decidedly Jewish context for a joyous event that affirmed common interests. It was a moving way to honor the work of three extraordinary individuals: Sylvia Rothchild, Mark Erlich, and Nora Guthrie (and by extension, of course, her father, Woody). It was a tremendous community builder for those in the Workmen's Circle community and the chorus who worked so hard in preparing for it. It was by all accounts, including the assessment of the Klezmatics themselves, an artistic success. And, finally, between the sold out event itself and the ad sales in the fabulous ad book, it was a wonderful fund-raiser for the organization. Thanks to all who participated, contributed, and especially who joined us on the night of December 4!
See more pictures and read what people had to say...
STAND UP SING OUT
A Double Anniversary Concert celebrating
With special honorees Nora Guthrie, Mark Erlich, and Sylvia Rothchild
Thursday December 4th, 2008 7:30pm
Somerville Theater, 55 Davis Square, Somerville MA
The Artists
 A Besere Velt, the largest Yiddish chorus in the world, weaves the heartache and irrepressible idealism of Yiddish folk music into a vision of justice and humanity for the 21st century. From haunting melodies to workers' anthems, the songs come alive in their multi-layered harmonies.
The Klezmatics have redefined traditional klezmer labels with their spiritual, provocative, and ecstatically danceable music. Now they have added another dimension to the band's repertoire with original compositions and eclectic musical styles that introduce long-lost Woody Guthrie songs to the contemporary world music stage.
The Honorees
Nora Guthrie, daughter of Woody Guthrie, has dedicated her work to keeping Woody's vast legacy alive. She spearheaded the project that led the Klezmatics to previously unrecorded lyrics Woody's Coney Island days and inspired two CDs, including songs kindled by Woody's collaboration with his mother-in-law, Yiddish poet Aliza Greenblatt.
Mark Erlich, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the 24,000-member New England Regional Council of Carpenters, describes his commitment to trade unionism as part of his family heritage. He carries on the tradition of his grandfather (Henryk Erlich), a leader in the Jewish Labor Bund, and his great grandfather (Simon Dubnow), a towering figure among early scholars of Jewish history.
Sylvia Rothchild, a prolific writer on the many faces of Jewish identity, wrote an award winning biography of beloved Yiddish writer I.L. Peretz. A novelist, essayist, and literary critic, she wove 25,000 pages of oral histories from Holocaust survivors into a story of endurance and hope. At 85, Sylvia is also the oldest member of A Besere Velt.
To purchase a greeting in celebration of our honorees, click here.
Host Committee
Henry Allen
Cheri Andes
Janet Axelrod
Marya Axner
David Borrus
Margaret Burnham and Max Stern
Michael Jacoby Brown
Chuck Collins
Jeffrey C. Crosby
Anita Diamant
Enid Eckstein and Dick Monks
Leonard Fein
Ruth and Rashi Fein
Ellen Feingold
Sandy Felder
Lew Finfer and Judy Shea
Abby Flam
Congressman Barney Frank
Marshall and Merle Goldman
Marcy Goldstein-Gelb
David Gordis
Monica Halas
Robert Haynes
Muriel Heiberger
Pat Humphries and Sandy O
Sue Hyde and Jade McGleughlin
Si Kahn
Idit Klein
Aaron Krakow
Aaron Lansky
Geoffrey Lewis
Larry Lowenthal
Ellen and Robert Meeropol
Hankus Netsky
Carolyn Toll Oppenheim and Ward Morehouse
Rabbi Barbara Penzer and Brian Rosman
Sister Mary Priniski
Rob Restuccia and Emily Feinberg
Rabbi Or Rose
Steve Rosenfeld
Robert J.S. Ross
Martha L. Rothman and Elliot Paul Rothman
Rocio Saenz
Enid A. Shapiro
Joel Sherman
Donald Siegel
Representative Frank Smizik and Julie Johnson
Judy Somberg and Larry Rosenberg
Alan and Susan Solomont
Chris Souris
Rabbi Toba Spitzer
Richard Stutman
Bob Taube
Sidney and Libby Topol
Karla Van Praag
Rabbi Moshe Waldoks
Howard Zinn
Event Sponsors:
National Yiddish Book Center
New Center for Arts and Culture
Woody Guthrie Foundation Back
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