The Joy of Jewish Music and Dance - Nat Seelen and Bruce Bierman

Name: The Joy of Jewish Music and Dance - Nat Seelen and Bruce Bierman
Start: 2026-05-17T14:00:00-07:00
End: 2026-05-17T17:00:00-07:00
Location: Congregation Netivot Shalom

Schedule

Sun May 17 2026 at 02:00 pm to 05:00 pm

UTC-07:00

Location

Congregation Netivot Shalom | Berkeley, CA

*Make klezmer sound klezmer.*
How do we take a simple tune and transform it into a beautiful piece of music that sounds, well, klezmer?
Join us on Sunday, 5/17 from 2-5pm with Nat Seelen and Bruce Bierman! They will teach music and dance in our series Joy of Jewish Music and Dance at Netivot Shalom, 1316 University Ave, Berkeley. Tickets: https://klezcalifornia.org/events/the-joy-of-jewish-music-and-dance-3/
In this session, we’ll talk about phrasing in klezmer music, time sense, and the conversational qualities of klezmer melodies. We’ll do a little bit of melodic analysis (no music theory degree required!) to understand the music that we’re playing, we’ll sing together, and we’ll play. What could be greater?
During the first 2 hours we’ll have concurrent Klezmer music and Yiddish dance workshops to choose from, all levels welcome. Bring your instruments, or just bring yourself. Each workshop will teach several fundamentals.
Then participants will have a short break for snacks, and come back together to share what they’ve learned, and dance and play together.

//////////////////////// Artist Bios ///////////////////
NAT SEELEN is a Boston-based clarinetist, composer, and educator whose work explores the intersections of tradition, innovation, and community in klezmer music and beyond. A dynamic performer and creator, he is the founder and artistic director of the Boston Festival of New Jewish Music, a concert series that has presented over 180 artists and reached thousands of audience members with original, culturally rooted music since its inception in 2021.
As a performer, Seelen is a founding member of the internationally recognized Ezekiel’s Wheels Klezmer Band, winners of awards at the International Jewish Music Festival in Amsterdam, Brazil’s Bubbe Awards, and more. With Ezekiel’s Wheels and other ensembles, he has performed at major venues including the Kennedy Center, Tanglewood Music Center, and Jordan Hall, and internationally in China, Denmark, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Spain, and Canada.
Seelen is also the creator of New Klezmer Studios, an innovative remote learning initiative that has taught klezmer music to students on five continents, including musicians from top institutions like Juilliard, New England Conservatory, Berklee, and Oberlin. He is a teaching artist with Arts for Learning Massachusetts and has given workshops, masterclasses, and lectures at the Society for Ethnomusicology Annual Meeting, University of Connecticut, Tufts University, and many more. In 2025, Seelen joined the faculty at New England Conservatory teaching klezmer music.
As a composer, Seelen’s recent works include 56 New Klezmer Tunes for Dancing (2023), Gathering Sparks (2022), and Di Khassene (2021), a multimedia song cycle created during the COVID-19 pandemic. He is a recipient of grants and fellowships from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, CJP Arts & Culture Fund, NEFA, and the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture.
Seelen began his musical training at the New England Conservatory. He holds an AB with honors in Music from Brown University and studied philosophy and music at King’s College London.

BRUCE BIERMAN is a celebrated Jewish dance leader and maven known for his joyful, inclusive, and whimsical approach to teaching. With warmth, humor, and a deep love of tradition, Bruce gets everyone on the dance floor—circling, spiraling, and connecting through dances rooted in Yemenite, Mizrachi, Chasidic, Sephardic, Klezmer and classic Israeli traditions. His transformative dance workshops have brought communities together across the West Coast, inviting dancers of all backgrounds to rediscover the ecstasy and soul at the heart of Jewish culture. Where there is Bruce, there is truly a party—and an unforgettable experience of movement, music, and connection.