A Celebration of "Tfiles" and its Carnegie Hall Premiere

Join us for an intimate evening celebrating the American premiere of Tfiles, a clarinet concerto by composer Alex Weiser, to be performed at Carnegie Hall on October 27th by clarinetist Andrzej Ciepliński and the American Composers Orchestra led by conductor Kedrick Armstrong. The evening will feature a conversation between Weiser and Ciepliński — moderated by distinguished scholar Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett — exploring the work’s origins in Kadya Molodowsky’s poetic reflections on the idea of Jewish prayer, the partnership behind its realization, and the music’s journey from its world premiere at POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw to the stage of Carnegie Hall. The evening will also include a brief solo performance by Ciepliński, followed by a reception with food and the opportunity to meet the artists. Tfiles (Yiddish for “prayers”) recasts the clarinet concerto as a set of musical prayers. Praised after its Warsaw premiere as “full of noble simplicity and warmth” (Polityka), the concerto follows Molodowsky’s lead in reimagining the traditional collective Jewish ritual search for the divine as a personal, individual quest beyond the boundaries of traditional observance.

Andrzej Ciepliński’s participation in this concert is generously supported by the Polish Cultural Institute New York, the American Friends of POLIN Museum (AFoPM) / Association of the Jewish Historical Institute (SZIH), and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute (IAM).

Presented by American Composers Orchestra, American Friends of POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Association of the Jewish Historical Institute, Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Polish Cultural Institute New York, YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, and American Society for Jewish Music