Kugelplex to play at Oats Park Arts Center

Since time forgotten, Klezmer musicians have wandered the cities and countryside of Eastern Europe bringing the party to the people.

Called the “rockin-est” purveyors of that genre, this six-piece ensemble (accordion, bass, clarinet, piano, saw, violin, vocals) carries on this exuberant musical tradition.

Kugelplex plays at the Oats Park Arts Center’s Barkley Theater on Saturday. The box office, Art Bar and galleries open at 7 p.m. with the performance at 8 p.m. Individual tickets are $17 members, $20 nonmembers. To purchase tickets, call 775-423-1440 or charts@phonewave.net. Tickets are also available at Jeff’s Copy Express and ITT@Naval Air Station Fallon. All seats are reserved.

Not only will Kugelpex perform Saturday evening, but the group’s members will also be part of the free Conversation with the Artists program earlier in the day at 3 p.m., also at the Oats Park Art Center.

Passed down from generation to generation, Kugelplex plays traditional instrumentals and old-world party music of the East European Jews. Delivering wild, soulful dance music at concerts, festivals and Jewish lifecycle events throughout the United States, the band has performed with Joan Baez, the Oakland Symphony, the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, Linda Tillery, and many more.

Members include Jason Ditzian (clarinet/manager), a wind instrumentalist who has composed and performed numerous works for dance, movie and theater; Dan Cantrell (accordion/piano/saw/vocals/musical director), who has been focused on the study of folk and popular music from Eastern Europe, as well as composing for film dance, and theatre; Lila Sklar (violin/vocals) became fascinated with the music of the Middle East and the Balkans in her early 20s and participated in a nationwide tour playing Turkish Sufi music with vocalist Latif Bolat; Michael Pinkham (percussion), a working Bay Area drummer since the early 1990s who has played, recorded and toured nationally and internationally with many artists; Max Baloian (guitar/sound tech), a founder and composer in the legendary chamber music ensemble, Nano Operetta; Eric Perney (upright bass), a virtuosic player of many styles of upright bassness; and Jewlia Eisenberg (lay cantor/vocals), an occasional guest vocalist.

The exhibit galleries will also be open during the night of the performance: Kirk Robertson’s “Homage to Collage: Mixed Media Works from Three Decades” and Jay Schmidt’s “The Middle of Nowhere: Recent Sculptures, Paintings and Collaborations.”

The final day for the exhibits is Nov. 17.

Gailmarie Pahmeier comes to Fallon Nov. 17 with readings of award-winning poetry. She is the 2017-18 recipient of the Nevada Arts Council’s Major Project Fellowship, the most prestigious individual grant awarded by the NAC.