Learn How To Play Baccarat Online
It entails betting on the result of the dealt cards and provides a fast on line casino experience. While these methods can enhance your gameplay, it’s essential to do not neglect that each strategy has its limitations and risks. Hence, figuring out when to finish a betting sequence is significant; for example, the Paroli strategy suggests stopping doubling bets after the third bet and beginning the sequence anew. The Banker’s actions, however, depend upon the Player’s hand and the Banker’s complete. The Banker at all times draws on totals of 0-5, unless the Player has a ‘natural’. On totals of 6, the Banker draws only if the Player’s third card is a 6 or 7, and stands on a complete of 7.Baccarat Wiki
At some on-line casinos, 10 is deducted on scores above 9 (others go away the high scores at two digits). A profitable hand for the primary wager could have probably the most face playing cards, with points being used to find out the score if the number of face playing cards is equal. The goal is to get the very best scoring hand (and not essentially closest to nine). The player and banker get three cards each, with no option for extra cards. In this variant players bet in opposition to the banker, quite than each other.
If nobody is keen to stake this quantity, the model new banker is as an alternative the following player so as, and the financial institution resets to no matter they wish to stake. The third card rules for the participant position are very simple. If the Player hand is worth five or less, then the hand receives a third card.
The supplier has sole accountability for shuffling the playing cards, and the game is played for lower stakes, which makes it more accessible for gamers. Play free or real cash baccarat online right right here with our recommended baccarat on line casino sites. You can be part of one of our trusted baccarat casinos rated by skilled gamers, or practice baccarat strategy with our free play simulator games beneath. Unfortunately, you’ll wrestle to search out any versions of reside baccarat online free play. This is smart, as live casinos must pay their sellers and don’t make any money on free games. You can, nonetheless, get pretty near free stay baccarat by playing with bonus money.
A ‘natural’ win happens when both the Player or Banker is dealt a complete of eight or 9 from the preliminary deal, and no extra playing cards are dealt. Understanding these profitable conditions is essential to making good bets and maximizing your probabilities of success in on-line baccarat. By testing different games and really attending to grip with the rules of baccarat, you can polish your abilities and turn into a true baccarat grasp. While luck has a lot to say in terms of games like baccarat, talent, and technique can make you a better participant that makes sound choices.
Two are dealt to each place, starting with the participant after which alternating between each position. In the sport of baccarat, the item is to guess on the hand that you predict will have the highest value, with a successful hand being the one closest to 9. When taking half in mobile baccarat, take additional security measures corresponding to avoiding saved passwords and activating display screen locks to prevent unauthorized access.
Baccarat Instruments
The recreation is performed with six decks of cards, with one participant and the banker receiving two playing cards each in each round. Again, gamers can take a further card if their hand scores below 5. Baccarat is a vastly popular casino game, each online and in brick and mortar venues, and tons of gamers now reap the benefits of free baccarat.
- This is as a end result of live casino video games are streamed in real time with an actual stay dealer, which requires a lot of resources.
- There are a few other versions of the sport, but these are only found at land casinos.
- Once again, this is a variant that’s much less widespread online, but you should look out for it at casinos whenever you play baccarat online free.
- If the $20 guess loses, nevertheless, you add the 20 to the number sequence.
To play baccarat, you’ll have the ability to guess on the player’s hand, the banker’s hand, or a tie. The hand closest to nine wins, and face cards and tens count as zero. It’s a straightforward and exciting recreation to get pleasure from with associates. Obviously the Martingale system requires a big bankroll to keep doubling bets on losses, and so is not practical for each player. Similar to punto banco, in this recreation players are playing against the banker and aiming for a hand as near nine in two-three cards.
Baccarat Desk
This table is sorted using the bonus quantity, wagering requirement, and high quality of casino, among other components. Victoria is a variation of Macao where players are initially dealt two playing cards. In both sides, any player could “go financial institution”, like in Chemin de fer.
Experience the joys of an online baccarat sport and improve your expertise at your comfort with free baccarat game online. Play online baccarat right now and immerse yourself within the pleasure. If the banker and participant have the same sum on their cards, that is referred to as a tie. Unless a tie guess has been made, both participant bets and banker bets turn out to be a push and are returned. However, it’s extremely difficult to get an edge over the home and you may solely gain a small benefit toward the very end of the shoe, which means it’s not likely value your whereas.
Further Baccarat Articles
As one of many oldest casino video games, baccarat has a very fascinating past. Our quick historical past takes you thru everything, right up to the delicate online baccarat gaming we get pleasure from now. Again, do not forget that this type of system requires you to wager more when your bets are losing.
Without the pressure of taking half in for actual cash, new baccarat players can make mistakes risk-free and build their confidence till their able to play actual cash games. Like other on line casino desk video games baccarat is a recreation of chance and can share similar methods, corresponding to martingale, with games like real cash roulette. Baccarat games nonetheless have a component of logic though, with set guidelines and playing cards which gamers can use to their benefit. With these two approaches combined, gamers have a novel array of betting methods obtainable to help them win at baccarat.
Bets are taken on both the player or banker having the profitable hand, or egalitie (tie). The main differences between punto banco and its European equal lie in a quirk of the latter that’s reminiscent of blackjack. The player can choose whether they wish to stand or draw when the value of their hand is 5, and the banker can select whether to draw a 3rd card or not.
Some on-line on line casino favorites include punto banco, chemin de fer, baccarat banque and mini baccarat. There are lots of totally different baccarat variants out there, a lot of which can be played on-line with a reside dealer. The goal of most variants remains the identical, with just some slight modifications to the rules of play. You can play baccarat for free online with no downloads or signups by clicking on the games beneath.
Her number one aim is to ensure gamers get one of the best expertise online via world class content material. To assist you to get essentially the most out of your online baccarat game, our consultants have listed a quantity of quick tips to bear in mind. In the Labouchere baccarat system, gamers outline an amount they’re trying to win and break this down into a list of numbers.
Betsoft
This might seem like a misnomer, provided that baccarat regularly entails arms of three cards, but this variation is quite different to punto banco. Both arms always obtain three cards for a start, however the number of image cards in each hand can be used to discover out the profitable hand in a points primarily based system. This is a wager on the Banker position having a better worth than the Player position. This is because of the method during which the third card guidelines work and it is the reason why there’s a 5% fee on profitable Banker bets within the common model of the game. To play and win at baccarat, guess on the hand closest to nine and think about consistently betting on the banker for improved possibilities of successful. Managing bets wisely and avoiding risky bets like the tie is key to success in baccarat.
Rest assured, with the proper precautions, you can take pleasure in a protected and secure baccarat gaming experience. Baccarat is a fun sport that is easy for newbies to get began with and attainable for extra advanced players to actually master. By opting to play the game for free, you probably can benefit from the various advantages of free play, including the next.
This is a guess on the Player place having the next worth than the Banker position. One of the explanation why Baccarat is very easy to grasp is that the sport offers simply three kinds of bets. At first look these bets appear incredibly straightforward, and the truth is that they are. Serious Baccarat players who are on the lookout for methods to take the advantage away from the casino and put themselves on prime. This recreation is rendered in mobile-friendly HTML5, so it offers cross-device gameplay.
Players get pleasure from motion in actual time, interact with the dealer and observe and guess on physical card play. You’ll find a alternative of dealers and totally different baccarat varieties at our top reside baccarat casinos. In the US, the full-scale version of punto banco is often performed at giant tables in roped off areas or private rooms separated from the primary gaming ground. The recreation is frequented by high rollers, who could wager tens or tons of of thousands of dollars on a single hand. Minimum bets are relatively high, typically starting at $100 and going as excessive as $500.
One, that gamers and bankers win alternately, making a ‘zigzag’ sample. The second, that players and bankers take turns having profitable streaks. The actuality is each patterns occur alternately in baccarat; the key to profitable is figuring out when to vary your bets.
By taking half in the sport for free, you possibly can play as a lot as you want and grasp the game along the way. You can then determine if you want to strive the sport in real-money variations or simply proceed with the risk-free video games for fun. The one sided baccarat strategy is very simple, and entails selecting to persistently wager on both the participant or banker. The goal of this technique is to learn from the fluctuations of advantageous hands any one facet will see over time. There are three kinds of bets in a baccarat sport on-line – the Player, the Bank, and the Tie.
But remember, to get pleasure from these games to the fullest, you’ll must effectively handle your bankroll. There are totally different versions of the game, together with punto banco, baccarat chemin de fer, and baccarat banque. There are some variations in these versions, but the overall gameplay and goal are the identical. You start by placing your bet on both the banker, the player, or the occasion of a tie.
This system is designed to maximise short profitable streaks and decrease losses. However, you will incur a small loss if you lose on the primary two bets. For example, when you wanted to win $50 on baccarat, you would split this quantity using the sequence 8, 9, 10, eleven, 12 (which provides up to the $50 total). If the guess wins, you cross eight and 12 off the listing and transfer to the following end numbers (9 and 11). If the $20 bet loses, nevertheless, you add the 20 to the quantity sequence.
Six or eight decks of playing cards are used, normally shuffled only by the croupier and sellers. The shoe is held by one of the players, who deals the cards on the instructions of the croupier in accordance with the tableau. On a participant win, the shoe strikes either to the best winning bettor, or to the subsequent individual in clockwise order across the table, depending on the on line casino’s conventions. The shoe could additionally be refused or the croupier could also be requested to deal. Baccarat has each a number of the lowest and highest house edge of any on line casino desk game. The player and banker bets have a low house edge at 1.24% and 1.06% respectively, but the tie guess has a excessive home fringe of 14.4%.
- One of the explanation why Baccarat is very easy to master is that the game presents simply three forms of bets.
- Again, do not overlook that this kind of system requires you to wager more when your bets are shedding.
- Side bets offer some of the finest and worst payouts in baccarat.
- Usually, 1-to-1 even money might be paid on player bets and 19-to-20 on banker bets (even money with “5% fee to the house on the win”).
Below is a comprehensive record of the return tables for the different deck variations offered in Baccarat. Here are the odds for every bet, damaged down by both the Player and Banker total. Our beginner’s guide to Baccarat is an introduction into the world’s hottest on line casino game. Create your free account right now so you can acquire and share your favorite games & play our new exclusive games first. For example, a hand of seven and 6 is price 3, not 13, a hand of four and 6 is worth 0, not 10, and a hand of 10 and 2 is price 2 not 12. A complete listing of gaming software program builders who offer Baccarat as a half of their gaming library.
This streamlined model of the classic sport provides lower stakes, making it accessible to gamers with smaller bankrolls. But if you’re a high roller, High Limit Baccarat Squeeze could be more up your alley, providing greater betting limits and the card-squeezing ritual for added pleasure. This technique combines flat betting with the two sample tendencies talked about above. Start the technique with flat betting and filling out ends in your baccarat score board sheet. By the third column, you should have an thought of which sample to guess on.
Playing baccarat successfully requires a nice blend of luck and a stable baccarat strategy. While you can’t management the playing cards you’re dealt, you’ll have the ability to influence the result via sensible betting methods. The Martingale System, for instance, includes doubling bets after each loss with the objective of recovering all previous losses with one successful win.
Featured Games
It is also important to consider facet bets when taking part in Baccarat. They may be vastly tempting as they provide the chance of far larger payouts than the main bets. However, as a general rule, facet bets have an unlimited house edge and are very tough to win. Tracking your bets, wins, and losses through a journal or digital spreadsheet can help you determine patterns and make extra knowledgeable bankroll administration decisions.
While the gameplay of baccarat relies on the reality that you place a bet on both participant, banker, or tie, you aren’t required to position real-money bets to hitch the fun. With free demo variations of baccarat, you’ll find a way to place bets using play money and enjoy the game 100% risk-free. The sport setup will work precisely like normal, but all bets, wins, and losses are of pretend cash solely. Advanced players generally use this technique to cut back the house edge in baccarat. The thought behind this sample system is that shoes will zigzag between banker and player wins, with double win streaks appearing for both. When a double streak happens, it alerts to gamers to double down on their bets on the opposite hand successful the subsequent recreation.
- However, it’s extremely tough to get an edge over the house and you might solely acquire a small benefit towards the very finish of the shoe, meaning it is probably not value your while.
- Keep in thoughts that this technique also requires betting extra while you’re losing, so you have to be ready for that in your bankroll calculations.
- The participant and banker get three cards each, with no possibility for extra cards.
- Managing your bankroll is as essential as understanding the game’s guidelines and strategies.
Unfortunately, there’s no sure-fire method to know what will occur next. In this fast and simplified version of baccarat, the participant and the banker (rebranded as the Dragon and the Tiger) obtain only one card. It consists of various facet bets like Big/Small – a guess on whether or not a hand might be above or under seven – and Red/Black, Suit, or Odd/Even. A banker must play out one hand, however might retire at any time afterwards. It is then open to some other player (in order of rotation) to proceed the financial institution, beginning with the same stake and dealing from undealt playing cards. The outgoing banker takes the place beforehand occupied by their successor.
Players might recognize this adverse development technique from roulette and craps. The Martingale technique states bettors should wager the identical quantity once they win and double their guess size after they lose. This sounds counter-productive, however the principle behind Martingale is that when a participant eventually hits a win, it’ll greater than cover for any earlier losses. If the sum of the playing cards exceeds this, then players must both subtract ten from their whole or drop the first numeral from the entire. The objective of baccarat is to attain a hand with the closest value to 9, beating the banker’s hand.
Playing free baccarat could be a nice possibility if you are still getting the grasp of the sport – or when you simply do not want to spend any money. Most on-line casinos will offer some of their games in free variations, however often you’ll first have to register an account to realize entry to them. Here at Temple of Games, we offer free baccarat and other fun on line casino games one hundred pc for free. We do not require you to register an account and log in, and there is additionally no download required. All you have to do is to browse our selection of free baccarat games and click to open the one(s) you wish to strive. If you lose two games in a row following one sample, simply swap to betting on the opposite.
One factor to know is that baccarat has the lowest house edge of any other desk recreation. It’s the advantage that the house has and the profit the casino makes over time. In many ways a precursor to baccarat proper, Macao video games run similarly to punto banco. The distinction is you probably can only bet on the participant hand winning – not the banker’s. It’s additionally potential to go bust in Macao, as palms aren’t allowed to exceed 9 (so there is no taking off the primary digit of a double-digit rating as per other variants). If all punters’ bets exceed the financial institution stake, the banker doesn’t have to put more cash.
About Me
What’s Susan up to?
Penn State Center for Holocaust and Jewish Studies will host me as I present a solo program of song and history focusing on the roots of Eastern European Jewish music and related songs.
I have the honor of presenting this year at the annual American Folklore Society's conference. A lecture on papercut arts around the world and a demonstration of my own work will take place during the conference on October 22, 2021!
ELEVEN languages and counting! Over the years, I've crafted ketubot that honor many cultures. In addition to the expected Aramaic, modern Hebrew, English, and even Yiddish, I have included Korean, Kannada, Latin, Arabic, and even the Telugu seen in the cropped image above! What a joy this has been!
What a wonderful experience I shared with the community of Las Cruces, NM and the Guild of American Papercutters when I presented an hour-long lecture on the worldwide history of papercut arts on March 16, 2021. This was in conjunction with the museum's show of Islamic papercut art. We looked at tools, traditions, and especially shared visual vocabularies from India to Mexico, from Persia to China and beyond!
February 18, 2018 - Susan will be hosted by the Sholem Aleichem Center in the Bronx for a concert. Come for a shmuez (a chat) and stay for the music!https://www.pineclubgolf.com/best-electrical-push-carts/
As part of the Sacred: Image, Text, Ritual exhibit at Lebanon Valley College, Susan will be presenting a lecture recital titled "Words as Homeland: Where Jewish Text, Art, and Song Converge to Express a Culture." Thursday, February 8, 2018, 5 pm at the Zimmerman Recital Hall.
A wonderful arts residency in Teaneck, NJ at Congregation Beth Sholom concluded with a full concert, accompanied by Adrian Banner on Piano. Enthusiasm and learning flowed back and forth the entire time. Fabulous community!
What a great night at the Jalopy in Brooklyn on June 16, 2016 as my new trio with Lauren Brody and Jake Shulman-Ment stepped out to strut our stuff! Many languages, many musical cultures, and great joy in blending our voices and instruments.
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In the beautiful summer landscape of Rindge, New Hampshire, I was privileged to teach traditional Jewish papercut arts at the annual National Havurah Committee's Summer Institute. We turned a large, sunny room into an art studio, and the class burst into enthusiastic art creation. I love the celebratory greeting of everyone's creations as skills and appreciation deepen over four days of classes. I'll come to you! Just ask!
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Back to the Catskills, this time teaching for HAZAK, a group under the umbrella of United Synagogue that offers among its programs an annual summer week of learning and camaraderie. I used my lecture/recital format to widen the world of Yiddish song for about 150 life-long learners as we studied, laughed, sang a bit, and grew to know one another in Kerhonkson, NY.
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When Nancy Spielberg screened her film Above and Beyond in Harrisburg's Chisuk Emuna Congregation, I was tapped to create a papercut gift for her. I chose the color scheme of her promotional material and the Hebrew words which translate into "Be strong... and strengthen one another." The filmmaker and I are shown here. (photo by Josh Damrauer)
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Each year the myriad of faith communities in the Harrisburg region come together to celebrate in song. Here's an image of my participation, sharing the beauty of Yiddish song at the Pine Street Presbyterian Church.
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One of three children's programs to wind up a hectic and marvelous Scholar in Residence program at Congregation Beth El in Fairfield, CT. Lectures, singing programs, explorations of Yiddishkayt - and a debut concert of the new Leviton/Brody duo in concert! I'll happily come to your community, too!
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Yiddish Culture on St. Croix! I received the warmest welcome all across the island where I had the opportunities to teach a vocal arts class in a school, offer an adult papercutting workshop, lecture in the synagogue, and get the whole audience at the Reformed Church singing along in multiple languages! Cultural seeds planted and the smiles, voices, and hugs still linger in memory!
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The Judson Church off Washington Square was packed with well over 300 people on December 30, 2014, to honor the memory and brilliance of Adrienne Cooper, and to award Michael Wex with this year's Dreaming in Yiddish prize. Below is an image of the finale of the musical performance of the Kanonen song from Brecht and Weill's Threepenny Opera, translated from the German into Yiddish by Wex himself. An all-star band backed us as we belted out the Army Song and others, accompanied by the brilliant puppetry and staging of Great Small Works and Power Point translations which made the text a little less inscrutable! What a night! Singers below include Sarah Gordon, Eleanor Reissa, Tine Kindermann, Dan Kahn, myself, and others.
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A whirlwind arts week in Caldwell, NJ at Congregation Agudath Israel allowed me to open Jewish folk arts to energetic groups from preschoolers through elders. The tots sang and acted out Yiddish songs with costumes and props, the school students (4 larger groups) explored paper arts and traditional papercutting, and adults were treated to a series of lecture recitals, everything taking place in a large space where I hung over 35 works of framed art. What a fabulous arts residency for all of us together!
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Nearly 100 people attended a lecture/recital stitching together I. B. Singer's writing and the artists who illustrated his books as Susan sang her way through the bookshelves, Sunday, November 16, at Chisuk Emuna Congregation in Harrisburg, PA. This was the second event in the year's programming under a grant from the Koster Foundation.
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I was guest lecturer at Dickinson College today, October 6, singing my way through a program on Jews and Food. Unlike the light weight singalongs I often do on this topic, the class took food songs into the framework of Hasia Diner's examination of the place of food in Jewish life in the Pale of Settlement through acculturation in America. 15 songs unpacked! A great eye-opening experience for all!
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Heeding God's Call is a national organization working at a grassroots level to end gun violence and straw buying. On September 18, within days of two gun murders in Harrisburg, I participated in an interfaith program at the MLK Baptist Church in the heart of our city. We 'sang' Reisen's Dos Naye Lid together as the assembled crowd held colored cards with words in Yiddish and English.
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A happy bride at the huppah with her papercut ketubah! 'Tis the season, and I've been busy with commissions of all sorts!
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A full week of learning and teaching at the Havurah Summer Institute was a welcome experience again this year. Located at Franklin Pierce College in New Hampshire, about 300 Havurahniks from infancy to elder sage-age filled days and nights with enthusiastic work, food, music, and exploration. I taught classes in Yiddish song and helped create a soundscape for Tisha B'Av this summer. Loved it!!!
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A lovely way to begin the summer's KlezKamp's Wisconsin adventure was a solo concert at Chai Point in Milwaukee. Jill Gellerman and were welcomed to the beautiful facility and then I sang for and with a great crowd of elders, eager to be part of the action!
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Quite a surprise when I met the truck from Welch Signage in Maine, carrying the massive synagogue feature wall I had designed, to see a piece of my own artwork prominently displayed on both sides of the vehicle!
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I performed for over 100 people at beautiful Maris Grove in Pennsylvania's Delaware County on May 13. As part of the PA Humanities Council's program of Commonwealth Speakers, I was able to bring the sound of Yiddish to an audience largely unfamiliar with the language and culture. As always, common threads were immediately found!
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Verrry busy these days creating a synagogue feature wall, but I took time last week to be interviewed for Ted Merwin's article "The Aesthetics of Judaism" in The New York Jewish Week. Here's a quote: "For Susan Leviton, a ketubah-maker, paper-cut artist and Yiddish folk song performer ..., it was during the 1960s and ’70s, when many Jews flocked back to their roots, that Jews... 'took Judaism back into their own hands' and began braiding challahs and tie-dying prayer shawls. Hiddur mitzvah 'alters us as we fulfill a mitzvah or perform a ritual,' she told me. A Midrash (Song of Songs Rabbah 1.15) suggests that observance of the commandments makes Jews beautiful, even as Jews glorify God through hiddur mitzvot."
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An outpouring of love and creativity filled the room as we honored the memory of Adrienne Cooper and saw Jenny Romaine accept the first Dreaming in Yiddish award for her visionary work. Here's Susan on stage with Alicia Svigals, Jake Shulman-Ment, Benjy Fox Rosen, Aaron Alexander, Michael Winograd, and Dan Blacksberg, 12/21/13. (Photo by Bob Blacksberg)
When Goucher College Hillel welcomed a gift of two Torah scrolls, I was honored to craft mantles and wimples. So much silk! Garnet polished to look like pomegranate seeds! Text and the visions of students to work with! A grand experience.
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A totally spectacular group of artists, writers, social activists, and even puppeteers joined me for a week of creative work as I served as Artist in Residence at the 2013 National Havurah Conference Summer Institute in Rindge, NH. In 4 days of intense collective learning and creating, we built a musical theater production in a box (a cranky) and shared the story of the plight of needleworkers, past and present, with 300 others in a rapt audience!
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It was a beautiful day in Baltimore as the Jewish Museum of Maryland presented its annual Risch Memorial Program. I was delighted to be the featured performer, following brief, powerful presentations by Andres Salguero, Ssuuna, and the DC Turkish Folk Music Group. It always touches me to rediscover the points of connection among immigrant communities, regardless of geographic homes, cultures, and reasons for relocation. A brilliant celebration of cultures!
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Over 350 pieces of beautiful Youghiogheny Art Glass hand-cut, and now I'm on to wet-grinding the edges! It's a new skill that I'm happy to add to my resume as I take on the responsibility to create a soaring double wall of glass above the Torah ark for Chisuk Emuna Congregation in Harrisburg, building anew after a destructive fire in 2009. Check back in mid-May for a look at the completed wall!
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Getting closer to a new recording! Michael Winograd spent a day in the studio on March 28 with Frank London, Dan Blacksberg, Hadar Noiberg, and Alec Speigelman to lay down horn tracks for my as-yet-unnamed CD. Dan Kahn joined in as a special guest vocalist. Next will come strings and soon after that the mixing and mastering, printing and artwork, and OT AZOY! A new Yiddish recording!
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A whirl of creative activity has sent me to the sewing machine to craft two Torah mantles for Goucher College Hillel. One of the scrolls is a rescued Torah from Czechoslovakia, so armed with a palette of palest greys, golds, silvers, and ivories, I headed to Chinatown in NYC on a rainy day to seek silks! What a delight to discover Belraf Fabrics, owned by an Uzbeki couple. A trip around the world in fabric! Take a peek here are the first days' construction.
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I'll be guest lecturing at Dickinson College in Professor Ted Merwin's class during the week that we commemorate the 102nd anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. My program on the fire in words and Yiddish song continues to grow as I learn, and to sadly resonate as we all ponder how little has changed in global workplace safely in the last century. See "Upcoming Events" for details.
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Each year as KlezKamp ends, I proclaim, "This was the best ever!" And every year I mean it. And this year I mean it more! The staff concert nearly lifted the roof off what had been, in its glory days The Granite Hotel in the Catskills. My classes (traditional papercutting and "Our Lives are in our Songs") were filled with curious, thoughtful participants who challenged one another to take each idea to a new level. What an experience. Do not miss this next December!! (sneak peek? Check out the KlezKamp post under Upcoming Events for a video clip!)
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December 22, 2012. Kaye Theater in Manhattan. I soared on the energy of dozens of the finest performers of Yiddish song and Klezmer as we paid tribute to Adrienne Cooper's memory in a three-hour concert of the songs she most loved. What a thrill to sing 'Di Arbuzn' a cappella, in three parts with women performers including Alicia Svigals, Lauren Brody, Shura Lipovsky, and Marsha Gildin. It was both a humbling and energizing evening. Sing out!
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I've just been selected as one of ten 2013 Guild of American Papercutters/X-acto Masters. This means over the course of the coming year I will be testing tools and materials and interacting with other artists to hone our skills and increase interest in papercutting arts. Very exciting!
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Are you aware of the Commonwealth Speakers program under the PA Humanities Commission? Every two years, a roster of artists, story-tellers, historians, and musicians selected by the PHC are able to travel the state offering specific programs at no cost to groups (schools, libraries, state parks, etc.!) other than a basic application fee. I just returned from Ohev Sholom in Williamsport and will head to Reading on Thursday to bring Women's Voices in Yiddish Song to the Federation's Friendship Circle there. Visit the website at www.pahumanities.org and check it out! Free programming! What are you waiting for???
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It's been a long time coming, but here I am, immersed in the joy of working in collaboration with brilliant musicians as I prepare a new recording! Production is in the fine hands of Michael Winograd, and the initial tracks have been laid down with David Licht, Jake Shulman-Ment, Carmen Staaf, Garth Stevenson, and Avi Fox-Rosen, with Lauren Brody and others joining in soon! Hmm... mostly Yiddish, with some surprises mixed in, and everything from spare acoustic accompaniment to over-the-top orchestrations. There'll be more and more about the project as it emerges from its infancy, so watch for news! Perhaps a concert or cd release party in your neighborhood down the line...
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Kesher Zion Congregation in Reading, PA welcomed me as artist-in-residence for the weekend of November 9, 2012, as the congregation honored the memories of Dr. Robert Greenberg and Evelyn Blumberg. I was delighted to find myself in the company of the congregation's brilliant Rabbi Minna Bromberg and rooms full of enthusiastic people hungry to experience new 'takes' on Jewish culture. My programming included a presentation of Yiddish songs of spiritual yearning, a lecture on contemporary Jewish ritual art, and then a rollicking concert on Saturday night with the newly expanded Old World Folk Band! Be sure to check the "Upcoming Events" tab to see where else I'm scheduled to spread YIddish culture!
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I can't say enough about the wonderful Tree of Life Congregation in MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA, where I just spent a weekend as scholar in residence. If you go to my 'coming events' tab, you may see the whole arc of the weekend, but I want to focus here on the response to my "Rage Against the Sewing Machine" presentation on Saturday night, October 27. Among the folks in attendance were physicians, attorneys, and workplace safety experts who each added to a passionate conversation about the effects of completely unregulated natural gas extraction on West Virginians, coal miners' safety issues, and even the plight of disabled people in sheltered workshops who, like the needle workers of 100 years ago, are largely groups without a voice. 'The more things change, the more they stay the same.' And yet we still find inspiration to act for social justice when we learn and sing the songs of our forebears. "Give us bread and give us roses!"
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A radio interview for a BALTIMORE station (WVIE 1370) allowed me to share some insights into the history of labor activism in the United States on September 2, 2012 - Labor Day weekend. So much more meaningful than running to sporting goods stores for sale items, this was a chance to engage listeners in anthemic Yiddish songs and their contexts. So many songs... so little time! But every time a Yiddish song is SUNG, it lives a new life.
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It's late summer, so a trip to the BLOCK AND HEXTER VACATION CENTER in Poyntelle, PA came around on my calendar. My teaching schedule allowed me to alternate sessions with fellow presenter Saul Silas Fahti, as we worked to expand the artistic, musical, polititcal, and in Saul's case, even cosmological horizons of the elders who flocked to the Poconos to participate, learn, and (it's a Jewish camp!) eat 3 squares a day. Whether singing, lecturing, or engaging in issues, I always learn from interactions with program participants. One highlight this year was meeting two Hungarian-born sisters who offered me a macaronic (mixed language) song that alternates lines between Hungarian and German/Yiddish. Will it make the cut on my upcoming recording? Stay tuned!
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A quick trip to MADISON, WISCONSIN as part of "A Bisele KlezKamp" on July 22 was a terrific bright spot in a busy summer season! Over 200 people buzzed around programming by some of the best teacher/artists in the Yiddish folk arts world as Michael Wex, Cookie Segelstein, Lauren Brody, Henry Sapoznik, Sherry Mayrent, Miriam Isaacs, David Spies, Sara Gordon, Kurt Bjorling, Steve Weintraub, and I managed to compress a week's worth of learning into one fabulous day. Keep up-to-date with U. OF WISCONSIN'S MAYRENT CENTER to find out what Yiddish programming will be offered throughout the year before our triumphant return next summer!
On Friday night prior to 'ABKK' I was hosted by Congregation Shaarei Shomayim where I presented an a cappella lecture/recital titled "Healing the World in Yiddish Song." Given the political upheavals and charged emotions in Madison these days, the program was a welcome one. The room was packed with people of all ages, and it was a special joy to me to be singing in a room within Frank Lloyd Wright's historic Unitarian Church, where the congregation meets regularly.
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Lauren Brody and I head to PITTSBURGH on June 3 for two concerts, a family event in the morning, and a full concert in the late afternoon at the JCC, in conjunction with the Jewish Museum's exhibit on the artists who illustrated the works of I.B. Singer. We're working up new material and are delighted that both PennPAT and the PA Humanities Council are supporting the program with generous grants. Come celebrate Yiddish culture!
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Healing the World in Yiddish - This lecture/recital program drew people from a wide variety of backgrounds and ages to a program sponsored but DICKINSON COLLEGE, the Literary Heritage Fund, Association for Jewish Studies, and the Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg on April 24. With PowerPoint translations and even a visit from Dan Kahn and the Painted Bird on screen, we explored the drive for human rights that infuses Yiddish song, and the activism that the songs inspire. As part of a series titled "Telling Jewish Stories through the Arts," the evening's riches were obvious as participants lingered over tea and cake and shared the stories that bubbled up in response to the presentation. What a great night!
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On Sunday, April 1, the Jewish Federation of Greater DAYTON and the Lynda A. Cohen Yiddish Club welcomed Lauren Brody and me for a concert. It was the first time that Lauren and I had the opportunity to present a full concert and we felt like siblings on the stage, finding parallel expressions of meaning and intention in her accordion and my voice without even a nod or a word. Utilizing the full range of her instrument, Lauren crafted a unique setting for each song, and the 'whole cloth' was fantastic.
We're already warming up for an upcoming event in June, so stay tuned for details!!
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MAURICE SENDAK! I write this on the day of Maurice Sendak's passing. (If you haven't heard both the recent Fresh Air interview and the hilarious pair of Colbert interviews with the incomparable Mr. Sendak, go find them NOW and come back here in an hour...) I am grateful and humbled to have had the opportunity to spend several months immersed in the life and work of Mr. Sendak, preparing for a program built around the Rosenbach's exhibit of the influences of his Jewish world on his life's work. So on Sunday, April 15, the Haverford Public Library swelled with the sounds of Klezmer as I took over the children's wing of the library to present "Yiddish in the Nutshell" with Ken Ulansey on clarinet and Heath Allen on keyboard. Sendak's early life in a Yiddish-speaking immigrant neighborhood in Brooklyn, the awareness of evil in the world, and the fears and bravery of children shaped much of his life's work, and I blended his personal life into songs and stories for a rollicking hour. The program was interactive, with sing-alongs, props, costumes, and wild Sendakian tales abounding. It was a Yiddishe Vilde 'Rumpus' for everyone's inner child! Pick up a book by Maurice Sendak and look deeply into it. You may be changed!
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LAFAYETTE COLLEGE Hillel hosted me on Tuesday night, March 20 for a program in song and story on the actual history of the Sarajevo Hagaddah. It was a real one-woman show as I demonstrated design, lettering, and gilding techniques of the centuries-old masterpiece, as well as recounted its improbable story interspersed with songs in the Sarajevo dialect of Judeo-Spanish, in Yiddish, and in Hebrew, along with a Moroccan chant - all related to the Hagaddah. The audience included students, college faculty, and local residents, and there was a lively Q and A at the conclusion of the program. Lafayette has a gorgeous old campus perched above the city of Easton at the confluence of the Delaware and Raritan rivers. I hope to return!
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LAUREN BRODY will join me in presenting a full concert in Dayton, Ohio on Sunday, April 1 for the annual event honoring the memory of Lynda A. Cohen. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to share the stage and have been working up two terrific sets for the Yiddish club and expected gathered throngs!
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A presentation of my concert "Women's Voices in Yiddish Song" at Penn State University in Middletown, PA on February 23 drew people from Lancaster, York, Lebanon, and the greater Harrisburg area. Having been interviewed for an upcoming article in a Dayton, Ohio paper the night before, I kept thinking during the concert of a particular question I was asked: "What do you want people to take away from your performance?" So I'll tell you: I want people to be so surprised and touched that they come away with a desire to dig a little deeper into Yiddish culture and discover something about themselves. The values and history that are packed into our songs go far in teaching us how to know ourselves if we just open our hearts a bit. That's why I sing. Oh, and also, I sing because I can't NOT sing!!
Only a week to go before Kerhonkson, NY becomes the temporary capital of Yiddishland! This year at KlezKamp I'll be teaching the hands-on papercutting course and a four-session a capella lecture/recital course.
I'm especially looking forward to the time I'll be carving out with fellow PennPAT artist SUSAN WATTS to work on some vocal duets and arrangements, and to begin taking concrete steps towards my NEW RECORDING, which will be produced by the amazing MICHAEL WINOGRAD! Check this website regularly for announcements, too, of a new duo in the works featuring MICHAEL WEX and Susan Leviton. Use your imagination for now - details to follow soon!
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On Sunday, November 20, 2011, I presented a "Conversation with the Artist" in conjunction with the "Making it Better: Folk Art in Pennsylvania Today" exhibit in which one of my papercuts is featured. I demonstrated the art of Jewish papercutting and shared insights into its history and contemporary expressions with about 30 museum-goers. On exhibit through April 29, 2012, Making It Better tells the stories of over 30 master artists whose works represent a wide array of traditions such as African dance, stone wall construction, Native American clay flutes, Pysanky eggs, contemporary blacksmith work, woodcarving, and Vietnamese funerary portraits. I'm honored to have been chosen to have my work represented among so many brilliant examples of folk arts.
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Groundbreaking for Chisuk Emuna Congregation's new synagogue took place in Harrisburg on Sunday, October 16, 2011, and over 350 people celebrated with a block party that featured kugel in a sukkah, carnival food, games and abundant crafts for children, and an afternoon of outstanding music: klezmer, jazz, and old-timey. Bands set up on a concrete pad at one end of the soon-to-be-a-shul property, and music filled the air! I had the pleasure of singing once again with the Old World Folk Band, which has recently welcomed several new musicians as regulars, and which added additional guest performers for the outdoor event.
The synagogue was destroyed by an accidental fire in 2009, and more recently was left homeless when The Flood of 2011 forced the congregation from temporary quarters in the JCC. The sense that the next plague was waiting in the wings was banished by the wonderful welcome to a new neighbrhood, and it looks like the block party may become an annual event!
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A whirlwind few days at the 14th annual IAYC (International Association of Yiddish Clubs) conference in Novi, Michigan offered me the opportunity to perform and teach, and to meet people from all over the country who gathered to celebrate Yiddish culture. Highlights for me were presenting my powerful lecure/recital, "Rage Against the Sewing Machine" in this 100th anniversary year following the Triangle Fire, and joining Dan Kahn on the bandstand following my solo concert.
To see parts of one of my programs at the conference, please visit www.yiddishlives.com/susanleviton
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