Sasha Lurje was born in Riga, Latvia, and has been singing since she was three years old. She has gained experience with many groups and in various styles including classical and folk singing, jazz, rock, and pop. Parallel to her singing career she has also been involved in several theater groups where she focused on musical and improvised theater.

Since 2003 she has been researching traditional Yiddish singing style and repertoire, investigating secular and religious vocal materials. With her band Forshpil, she is developing a new style of Yiddish music by integrating the traditional sound into modern context.

Recently Sasha has collaborated with Daniel Kahn to develop an “interlingual” love song duo program STRANGELOVESONGS for the Maxim Gorki Theater Studio in Berlin. She is involved in a number of international projects varying in repertoire and styles.

Sasha has performed and taught Yiddish singing in Russia, Europe and Canada and has been a longstanding artist and faculty member at Yiddish Summer Weimar.

www.forshpil.com

Photo: Adam Berry