Mamaliga is...
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Rebecca Mac
Rebecca Mac is a Boston-based violinist, currently pursuing a performance degree at Berklee College of Music. Mac has been interested in Klezmer music since the Klezmer Conservatory band stole the show at her bat-mitzvah. Since then, she has studied with leaders of the Klezmer music scene, including Mimi Rabson, Dave Harris, and Hankus Netsky. She has performed alongside members of Ezekiel's Wheels Klezmer Band, KCB, and Tsibele. Her music is featured in a recent podcast from Folk Will Save Us with Daniel Kahn. Mac has also spent several summers in Eastern-Europe studying with Hungarian, Romanian and Transylvanian folk masters, including Marcel Ramba, Adam Romer, and Istvanka Varga.
Rachel Leader
Rachel began her journey with klezmer music at age 13 when she played her first klezmer tune Yoshke Yoshke at her own Bat Mitzvah. In the years that followed.. Rachel participated as a Klezmer New Leaders Fellow through the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and was mentored by violinist Zoë Aqua. Rachel is the founding member of Northampton-based klezmer band Burikes and performs regularly for community events and simcha celebrations. Rachel is also involved in organizing Jewish music cultural events, most recently co-founding and organizing KlezCummington, a weekend-long klezmer & Jewish cultural festival in Cummington, MA.
Raffi Boden
Raffi Boden is a NY based cellist, composer and educator known for his groovy bass lines and his versatility. With Mamaliga, he has performed internationally and been a guest artist at Yiddish New York, Yiddish Summer Weimar and KlezKanada. Raffi was recently in the Juilliard production of “Indecent”, for which he worked with composer and music director Lisa Gutkin to compose a cello part for the band. In classical contexts, he has performed internationally in Europe and South America, locally in Carnegie Hall, and with members of the NY Philharmonic. Raffi holds degrees from Juilliard and Oberlin. Raffi is also a member of chamber-jazz ensemble Simone Baron & Arco Belo. These days, Raffi is freelancing in NY, teaching, and working on singing in Yiddish!
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Mattias Kaufmann
Mattias is an Accordionist based in Boston, MA. In addition to Mamaliga, Mattias plays in the Klezmer duo Farnakht with violinist Zoe Aqua, and Saltare, a 5 piece ensemble shaped by musical and dance traditions from around the world. Mattias was awarded first place in the 2021 Bubbe awards category, “Best Original Klezmer Composition”. Mattias holds a degree in Contemporary Musical Arts from New England Conservatory, where they have worked with Hankus Netsky, Carla Kihlstedt, Guy Klucevsek, Anthony Coleman, Ted Reichman and Malcolm Barsamian. Before living in Boston, Mattias spent several summers studying folk music in Hungary, Romania, and Serbia with Serbian chromatic accordionist Nenad Ivanović, Hungarian accordionist Bobár Zoltán, and Transylvanian musicians Marcel Ramba and Istvanka Varga.