The Shanghai Suite

The Shanghai Suite

The Shanghai Suite explores the migration of approximately 20,000 Jews to Shanghai during World War II, blending European Jewish musical traditions with Chinese music of the period and other sounds that reference the wartime migration. Music, storytelling, and multimedia illuminate a lesser-known chapter of Jewish history and the resilience of Jewish communities in times of displacement. The Shanghai Suite will offer audiences a powerful and memorable way to experience a remarkable chapter of Jewish and global history.

The program is presented by the group FROM CHINA TO APPALACHIA, a trio with GRAMMY winners Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer (guitar, mandolin, banjo, cello-banjo, vocals, songwriting) and Chinese Yangqin virtuoso Chao Tian. Extensive research has included an in person interview with Jerry Lindenstraus, Shanghailander who spent his formative years in Shanghai and now at 96, is in New York. The group has explored archives of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Leo Baeck Institute and YIVO as well as a library of amazing history and memoir books. The trio is traveling to Shanghai in July to research at the Shanghai Refugees Memorial Museum and to perform a concert there.

The Shanghai Suite will have its premiere performances at the DCJCC on October 15 & 17, 2026.

Special guests include:

Alicia Svigals – violinist/composer and a founder of the Grammy-winning Klezmatics, the world’s foremost klezmer fiddler. Alicia almost singlehandedly revived the tradition of klezmer fiddling, which had been on the brink of extinction until she recorded her debut album Fidl in the 1990’s.

Seth Kibel – clarinet, saxophone

Charlie Pilzer – bass, accordion