Dmitri Slepovitch, Ph.D.

Dmitri Slepovitch, Ph.D.

DMITRI ''ZISL'' SLEPOVITCH

Dr. Dmitri ''Zisl-Yeysef'' Slepovitch is an ethnomusicologist, educator, clarinetist, saxophonist, pianist, composer, conductor, and Yiddish singer, a founding member and the Artistic Director of the Minsker Kapelye and Litvakus bands. He serves as an Assistant to the Artistic Director at the National Yiddish Theater – Folksbiene, New York. He performs and teaches Ashkenazi Jewish music and other Eastern and Central European musical traditions.

Dmitri ''Zisl'' Slepovitch has performed with Aaron Alexander, Michael Alpert, Paul Brody, Arkady Gotesman, Psoy Korolenko, David Krakauer, Frank London, Pete Rushefsky, Selim Sesler, Yale Strom, and Theresa Tova, to name a few.

Having moved to the US in 2008, Dmitri Slepovitch brought with him his collection of Litvak musical folklore containing dozens of hours of interviews and region-specific musical material. He published over 20 articles and co-authored a book, “Traditional Jewish Music in Eastern Europe” (2007, in Russian). He holds a Ph.D. degree in musicology (Jewish music) from The Belarusian State Academy of Music (2006).

Dmitri Slepovitch has worked as a music consultant and played character roles in the movies Defiance directed by Edward Zwick (2009) and The Burning Land by Mikhail Ptashuk (2003); a co-producer of the KlezmerShock! International Festival (Minsk, 2005). He served as a co-arranger, stage musician and actor in theater productions Ish Hasid Haya / Once There Was a Righteous Man at the National Belarusian Drama Theater (2001), Gimpel Tam / Gimpel the Fool directed by Moshe Yassur at the National Yiddish Theater – Folksbiene (2008), Mama''s Loshn Kugl (Folksbiene Troupe, 2008-2009).

Dmitri Slepovitch taught courses in music history, theory, ethnomusicology, and Yiddish language and culture— at the Belarusian State Academy of Music, National Music College in Minsk; workshops and seminars in Yiddish music and Jewish studies in Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, and the United States, held by the Sefer Center for Jewish Studies, Moscow, Belz School of Jewish Music at Yeshiva University, New York, Intercollegiate Center for Jewish Education, St.Petersburg - Jerusalem, and Jewish Music Research Centre at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 2010, Dmitri Slepovitch has worked as a community educator at BIMA program at Brandeis University.

Zisl has recorded 3 albums with his band Minsker Kapelye, 4 CDs with the Simcha Jewish Youth Music Theater (Minsk). He appears as a guest artist on the CD appendix to the “Upward Flight” book on An-ski’s heritage,an award-winning album “Kalykhanki” (Lullabies) produced by the UNICEF, and One Ring Zero''s album, "Planets." He has contributed as consultant to Joel Rubin''s compilation "Shalom Comrade! (Yiddish Music In The Soviet Union 1928–1961)". Dmitri Slepovitch has appeared in dozens of TV and radio shows and programs aired throughout Europe, Israel, former USSR and the US.

For bookings and contact, please write at dslepovitch (at) gmail (dot) com