Caravan Orchestra & Choir

Since 2017, around 45–50 young musicians from Israel and Germany have come together at Yiddish Summer Weimar for three weeks to create an exhilarating concert program far removed from political agendas and polarization, and to present it to an ever-enthusiastic audience.

The participants from Israel include both Arab and Jewish musicians, while the German group is a colorful mix of young music students from many different conservatories and music universities. What they all share is a passion for exciting music and a desire to make music together and learn from one another: music, languages, songs, dance, rhythms, scales, shteyger, maqamat, and more!

Caravan is led by four outstanding musicians from around the world: Polina Shepherd (UK), Veronika Varga (HU), Josh “Socalled” Dolgin (CA), and Ozan Demir (TR). Together they represent the very top international ranks of Yiddish, Greek, and Turkish music, bringing inspiration and a richly diverse repertoire.

Audiences can look forward to thrilling, high-energy music performed by exceptional young musicians who never stand still, but instead keep moving vayter (Yiddish: “forward”)—toward one another.

Expect klezmer with Turkish-Arabic percussion, Yiddish songs with Ottoman variations, and Greek and Turkish dance music infused with Arabic rhythms—definitely not to be missed!