Olga Avigail Mieleszczuk
Olga Avigail Mieleszczuk is a singer, accordion player, and researcher of Eastern European musical folklore. She is known for singing Ashkenazi Jewish songs in Yiddish.[1][2][3][4] In 2012, Olga Mieleszczuk converted to Orthodox Judaism and acquired the first name Avigail. She currently lives in Israel.[1]
Mieleszczuk was born in Warsaw to a Polish Catholic family. She received a BA in classical music from the Chopin University of Music in Warsaw and an MS in cultural anthropology from the University of Warsaw.[1] After enrolling in a course on Yiddish music created by Warsaw's Shalom Foundation,[1] she focused on Ashkenazi Jewish music, particularly that from the Eastern Borderlands of Poland. She also studied Chassidic music, Yiddish folk songs, and Jewish songs in different languages.[5] Her interest in Jewish culture was sparked by an interfaith visit to Auschwitz.[1]
Her musical projects include Jewish Polesye,[6] Li-La-Lo (based on the Yiddish-language cabarets of Poland called kleynkunst and Tel Aviv[7]), and Jewish Tango.[5]
She has had two children with her husband, Shlomi, who is of Kurdish descent.[1]
Albums[edit]
- 2012: Jewish Folksongs From The Shtetl
- 2017: Yiddish Tango Live in Jerusalem (with Tango Attack Band )[8]
- 2021: Songs From The Bible Times Till Today
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f Larry Luxner, "Meet the Catholic-born Polish Orthodox Jew who’s reviving Yiddish tango", Jewish Telegraph Agency, August 20, 2018
- ^ "Olga Avigail Mieleszczuk's Oral History", a video interview by Yiddish Book Center's Wexler Oral History Project
- ^ MALGORZATA P. BONIKOWSKA "Rodowita Polka i jej żydowskie życie i muzyka w Izraelu", Gazeta, Canadian Polinia newspaper, August 27, 2018
- ^ "Olga Avigail Mieleszczuk", folk24.pl
- ^ a b Olga Mieleszczuk's autobiography
- ^ Jewish Polesye project
- ^ Li-La-Lo Project
- ^ YIDDISH TANGO FROM WARSAW
External links[edit]
| Authority control databases: Artists |
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