Klezmer Party – Open Stage

The Helsinki Klezmer Kapelye band was founded in 2005 in connection with the Helsinki Klezmer Festival

Since its foundation, Helsinki Klezmer Kapelye has made klezmer music and Yiddish culture known to the Finnish audience. HKK has regularly performed at concerts, festivals and jams where they have sung, danced and even celebrated weddings!

Helsinki Klezmer Kapelye consistently invites and inspires new musicians to play klezmer music together! This collective of musicians is the only one in Finland that performs traditional klezmer music and thus promotes the old Jewish culture of Eastern Europe. The HKK has performed diligently in the Balder Hall, Juttutupa, Tenho Restobar, G-Livelab, Kaustinen Folk Music Festival, Hauho Manor, Tampeere and Hämeenlinna. They released their first album in 2023.

Klezmer roots go back more than two thousand years: some of the modes, or scales, come from the prayers sung at the Second Temple in Jerusalem. Klezmer music is Jewish folk music from Eastern Europe that dates back to medieval Europe. Klezmer is fast-paced dance music that can be played at a variety of parties and weddings. By the end of the 19th century, klezmer music had become a highly developed style, drawing influences from both Jewish and non-Jewish cultures.