About MKS
We love Klezmer music — playing it and teaching it.
Melbourne is home to one of the world’s most vibrant Yiddish communities, an ideal environment for a thriving and sustainable Klezmer music scene.
So MKS was created in 2024 to expand the knowledge and enjoyment of Klezmer music in the Melbourne community and Australia, and to make a global contribution to the Klezmer world.
Warm and inclusive, classes will include learning music by ear and by reading notation. Levels ranging from intermediate (age 12+) through adult professionals are welcome. We will delve into stylistic elements that set Klezmer apart from other genres and explore the role of each instrument to create a harmonious and danceable ensemble.
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About the Directors
Adam Starr has been a professional musician, composer and educator for over 30 years. During this time, he has composed and performed in many different styles of music, throughout Australia and abroad, but found that more and more, he was asked to play Klezmer music. His last two documentary scores ("The Lost", and "Revenge") featured his original Klezmer music, and he performed his original Klezmer compositions live on the SBS show ‘Who The Bloody Hell Are We?' (2023). He performed them on guitar as he walked down the streets of Coburg, accompanied by Amy Zakar Banner on violin, Tony Hicks on clarinet, and a Golem! Adam attended the Yiddish New York festival in December of 2023, and was thrilled to play beautiful music with many wonderful musicians there. To these experiences, he adds over a decade of lecturing in Melbourne Polytechnic's Bachelor of Music, and a truckload of enthusiasm to teach students Klezmer repertoire and style.
Amy Zakar Banner has called Melbourne home since 2022, having arrived from America where she served on the faculty of the KlezKanada, KlezKamp and Yiddish New York festivals and toured and recorded with The Klez Dispensers. Amy specialises in Klezmer violin and is versed in musical styles galore. She has collaborated with Adam Starr on musical, theatrical and television productions including performing in Kadimah's Yiddish Divas: Into the Red Tent, 2023's In One Voice festival, and John Safran's SBS special. Most recently Amy co-produced and performed in the Modern Yiddish Opera at Classic Southside. Amy holds a master's in music education, teaches lessons and coaches ensembles from children through adults, and is on the instrumental music faculty at the King David School. She also plays piano, mandolin, sings, composes and enjoys transcribing and translating Hungarian music and lyrics. Amy is looking forward to making Klezmer music with the Melbourne community via the MKS.
MKS is an arts organisation that seeks to accept and include people from all walks of life. The MKS is a non-political community that does not tolerate discrimination. All people are treated with respect.
MKS recognises the Boonwurrung and Wurrundjeri people of the Kulin nation as the traditional owners and custodians of the land on which we meet. We pay our respects to Elders past, present, and emerging.