Klezmer, in its essence, has always been about joy for its own sake. Join accordionist Dan Cantrell, visiting from Los Angeles, and clarinetist Asaf Ophir, for an evening devoted exactly to that. We will play some classics, some favorites, some oldies, some newbies, and some more exotic tunes that just go so well together that we couldn't pass them up. Mixed in with storytelling, this is going to be a memorable night!

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Dan Cantrell is an Emmy award winning composer and multi-instrumentalist known for his innovative film scoring approach, and his virtuosic abilities on the accordion, piano and musical saw. An impulsive decision in his teenage years lead him to buy an accordion in a thrift store in Hemet, California.  From that fated day, he pursued the instrument, learning in schools, music camps and eventually traveling to Eastern Europe to learn from Bulgarian Macedonian, and Turkish Romani masters.

Dan has now emerged as one of the most well known living American accordionists.  His unique sound can be heard on the albums of Tom Waits, Joanna Newsom, and Beats Antique, in Major Motion Pictures such as Mean Girls, and The Tiger and the Snow. Recently a featured soloist with the San Francisco Symphony, Dan performed with the Oakland Symphony, and the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, gigged and collaborated with Danny Elfman, Bono, Joan Baez, Anoushka Shankhar, the Klezmatics, and Angelo Moore of Fishbone.

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Asaf Ophir (clarinet) began his professional career in musical theaters in Israel, while studying at the Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, and later at the Jerusalem Academy. Arriving in the United States in 2014, he began to perform in musicals around the Bay Area, such as the award-winning "Love Sick" in 2017, and "The People in the Picture" in 2018. Finding a home away from home, he can most often be seen in world music projects on Jewish, Arabic, and Balkan stages.

Asaf has performed on such distinguished stages as Habima, HaCameri, and Jerusalem Theaters in Israel, as well as the Paramount Theater, the Palace of Fine Arts, the Great American Music Hall, Freight & Salvage, Brava Theater, and others in the San Francisco Bay Area. Throughout his career he has shared the stage with artists such as Miri Mesika, Avi Kushnir, Galit Giat, Rana Farhan, Ustad Mahwash, and Barbra Streisand.