Welcome to the 2nd episode of Radiant Others: A Klezmer Music Podcast! Today, I’m talking to tsimbalist, composer, and musical organizer Pete Rushefsky.

As one of the few people really dedicated to the tsimbl (Jewish hammered dulcimer), Pete Rushefsky has played with almost everyone in the American and European klezmer scene, including artists like Itzak Perlman. As the executive director of New York’s Center for Traditional Music and Dance, Pete does loads of vital work behind-the-scenes, organizing tons of events in the NY area, overseeing the newish Yiddish New York, and helping musicians find funding for their projects.

I really enjoyed talking to Pete about his childhood musical explorations, his pretty impressive start in klezmer music, and his ideas about what the klezmer scene is missing today. I hope you’ll have as much fun listening to Pete as I had talking to him.

Thanks again to the Feinstein Center for American Jewish History for their help with this 1st season!

Please rate and review this in iTunes or wherever you listen to it, and please share it on facebook, twitter, or wherever you social media. And send me your questions and feedback at [email protected].

Musical selections (and where to buy them):

“Prince Carol Sirba”: https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/rushefsky

“Chazin’s Sirba”: https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/klezmershack

“Rabinovitsh” from Joel Rubin’s Midnight Prayer (Courtesy of Traditional Crossroads):

http://traditionalcrossroads.com/epages/79bbb619-3828-417a-8326-55a761667bd1.sf/en_US/?ObjectPath=/Shops/79bbb619-3828-417a-8326-55a761667bd1/Products/%22CD%204332%22

“Peshrev” & “Sacred Esplanade”: https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/peterushefskyjakeshulman