I am a clarinetist and music teacher specialized in authentic Eastern European Jewish music. Born in 1983 I started playing drums at an age of eight, but soon fell in love with the wood winds. At nine years old I was admitted in The Tivoli Boys Guard, a professionel marching band for children, on the clarinet, where I took my very first steps in my professional career.
I am classically trained by Tore Othmar Poulsen (Royal Danish Orchestra) and Jesper Helmuth (Copenhagen Phil), but it was the old recordings of the Jewish masters, David Tarras and Naftule Brandwein, that sparked my interest in Yiddish music. Taught by David Krakauer and Andy Statman, I quickly discovered my own voice in Jewish music leading to establish Mames Babegenush. Rooted in East European dance music Mames Babegenush quickly dazzled both audience and critics, which has led up to concerts in more than 12 different countries. Along with this I also studied Romanian lautari music and Greek music by Alexandros Arkadopoulos.
Some of the highlights in my career has been being selected for the prestigious "Young Artist Program" in Carnegie Hall and the participation in "The 2nd Jewish Music Competition", where Mames Babegenush, as the only band, won 3 prizes, including the much appreciated "Audience Prize".
For the past ten years I have been actively involved in the Yiddish scene both as a performer and teacher. I co-founded the Neukölln Klezmer Sessions and the Yiddish culture festival Shtetl Berlin and have been a member of the faculty of Yiddish Summer Weimar and KlezKanada. Between 2020-2023 I was also elected chairman of the board of the Klezmer Institute that supports Ashkenazic expressive culture through research, teaching, publishing, and programming.