is internationally renowned as a mandolinist, guitarist, Yiddish singer and teacher. He is on the faculty at Columbia University, and is Founding Artistic Director and Senior Artistic Advisor of KlezKanada. One half of the Strauss/Warschauer Duo, Jeff was a long-time member of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, and played for many years in a trio with Shura Lipovsky and Zalmen Mlotek. Jeff speaks Yiddish, and has researched and collected Yiddish and Hebrew songs and instrumental melodies since the mid-1980s. He is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, and has studied Jewish culture, languages, and religion at the Conservative Yeshiva, Oxford University, Columbia University, the University of Haifa and Tufts University. His awards include the Amalgamated Bank Prize in Yiddish, a Massachusetts Folk Arts Fellowship, and the KlezKanada Distinguished Service Award. He is currently pursuing graduate study in Cantorial music at the Jewish Theological Seminary.
Photo: Avia Moore