About
We warmly welcome you into our living room with a little glass of tea from the samovar!
A Glezele Tey (Yiddish for “a little glass of tea”) invites you into their living room for a little glass of tea from the samovar, bringing audiences into an intimate and enthralling world of klezmer, Yiddish folk song, and tkhines (traditional Ashkenazi prayers centering the experiences of women, trans, and gender non-conforming people, set to new melodies). Drawing from old recordings and contemporary culture rooted in the Eastern European Jewish diaspora, A Glezele Tey’s music is an act of deep care—rooted in community gathering, lineage, and ritual, we lift our collective voices to move through grief, inspire action, and build a frayer velt (a freer world).
A Glezele Tey is comprised of acclaimed klezmer musicians and composers Ariel Shapiro, Rachel Leader, and Richie Barshay.
Offerings
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Join A Glezele Tey on tour for intimate concerts featuring both original and traditional klezmer music and Yiddish song! Whether in a listening room or at a raucous dance party, their music brings warmth, energy, and connection to every gathering.
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Join members of A Glezele Tey for an afternoon of singing Yiddish folk songs and learning about Ashkenazi music & culture, with live musical accompaniment! From old classics to newly written melodies, we will explore the breadth and depth of the Yiddish song movement and the current surge of creativity & cross-generational collaboration happening today! Songbooks will be provided, and participants will come away with the tools to continue singing and creating new interpretations, translations, and songs of their own. No prior knowledge of Yiddish needed—all ages are welcome!
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Where does rhythm live in your body? A crash course in body percussion and movement, designed to enhance your groove and rhythmic creativity. For beginners and seasoned musicians alike who are looking to find a little more pocket, rhythmic independence, and more familiarity with drumming in general. The class will tap into eastern and western traditions of movement and rhythm, cultivating a more grounded sense of musical time and the beat. Through elements of the Alexander Technique, you’ll learn to use your body as a gateway to more rhythmic flow! Led by A Glezele Tey percussionist and certified Alexander Technique practitioner Richie Barshay.
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Wailing clarinets! Soulful violins! Grooving accordions! Come learn the foundations of klezmer and start collecting repertoire for your own klezmer dance set! Together we will take a deep dive into klezmer dance music, a Jewish folk music tradition that dates back centuries in Eastern Europe. We will explore the foundational components of klezmer including modes, dance rhythms, and stylistic ornamentation. All experience levels are welcome. We will be primarily learning by ear, but sheet music will be provided. Whether you are learning klezmer for the first time or wanting to deepen your knowledge—there will be something for you! All instruments welcome! Led by members of A Glezele Tey (violin, accordion, percussion).
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A Glezele Tey is available to play for private events, including weddings, b’nai mitzvahs, holiday celebrations, birthday parties and more! Reach out for inquiries: aglezeletey@gmail.com
Meet the band
Ariel Shapiro
Ariel Shapiro (accordion, vocals) is a klezmer accordionist, cultural organizer, and multi-disciplinary artist based on Nipmuc, Nonotuck, and Pocumtuc land in so-called Northampton, Massachusetts. Ariel believes deeply in the transformative power of music and art that is centered around community and intergenerational relationship-building, rooted in culturally-informed history and artistic practices, and committed to justice and collective care work. Ariel is a core organizer of KlezCummington, an annual Jewish cultural festival dedicated to the creation and deepening of Yiddish diasporic music and cultures, as well the People's Puppet Parade, a community-based, devised spectacle theater processional exploring radical histories and communal expressions of grief and joy. Ariel is a founding member of klezmer bands Burikes, A Glezele Tey, and Khaloymes, performing fresh takes on traditional klezmer tunes and Yiddish songs, leading community jams and zingerays (Yiddish sing-alongs), and accompanying Yiddish dancing and theatrical productions, including Jenny Romaine/Great Small Work’s “Three Cookbooks in the Garden: A stage illusion”, The Un-nameable Children's Project “Across the Ninefold River”, and Weaver’s “Inhabiting the Tsadik of the Woods”. Ariel also collaborates with Der Tkhines Proyekt, setting old Yiddish prayers (written for and by women and gender non-conforming folks) to new melodies, and composing new works to be sung in the streets, around kitchen tables, and anywhere they can be used to help tear down systems of injustice to build a frayer velt (a freer world).
Rachel Leader
Rachel Leader (violin) is passionate about cultivating vibrant community-led spaces, and is a klezmer violinist, cultural organizer, and educator based in Northampton, MA. She is a founding member of the critically acclaimed klezmer quartet Mamaliga, performing and teaching internationally at Yiddish Summer Weimar, KlezKanada, and Yiddish New York. Rachel is also a founder, violinist, and producer of the Magid Ensemble’s "Shterna & The Lost Voice," an immersive musical storytelling production that transports audiences into the rich world of Yiddish folklore. Rachel received the 2021 Klezmer New Leaders Fellowship from the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, and is a founding member of in-demand klezmer bands Burikes, A Glezele Tey, among other projects. She also regularly performs with Chaia (Kleztronica), blending house and techno grooves with electric fiddle and archival samples to create innovative soundscapes of Jewish diasporic identity. Rachel is the co-founder and director of KlezCummington, an annual klezmer festival dedicated to the creation and deepening of Yiddish diasporic music and cultures hosted on her family’s land in Cummington, MA.
Richie Barshay
Richie Barshay (percussion) began drumming inside kitchen cabinets at an early age, and continues banging on things worldwide to this day. From his multi-percussion work with Herbie Hancock in the 2000s, to tours and recordings with Chick Corea, Esperanza Spalding, The Klezmatics, Fred Hersch, and Kenny Werner, he's been dubbed "a major rhythm voice on the rise" by Downbeat magazine, and “a major innovator who also knows how to have fun” by The Guardian (UK). He’s also performed with Natalie Merchant, Bobby McFerrin, Joe Lovano, Lee Konitz, Donald Harrison, Lionel Loueke, Julian Lage, the Curtis Brothers, Joey Weisenberg, Gabriel Kahane, Pete Seeger, and the Tony Award winning musical The Band’s Visit on Broadway and national tour. Since 2004 he’s traveled across 5 continents teaching and performing as an American Musical Envoy with the U.S. State Department, and can be heard on over 90 recordings including two self-produced albums: Sanctuary featuring Chick Corea (2014), and Homework featuring Herbie Hancock (2004). Based in Northampton, Massachusetts and New York City, he is an AmSAT certified Alexander Technique teacher helping performing artists and others regain more body-mind coordination and ease of movement. More at www.richiebarshay.com.
