Vira Lozinsky (; born 1974) is an Israeli-Moldovan musician and

Yiddish language Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

singer.

Biography

Vira Lozinsky was born in 1974 in

Bălți Bălți () is a city in Moldova. It is the second-largest city in terms of population, area and economic importance, after Chișinău. The city holds the status of municipiu. Sometimes called "the northern capital", it is a major industrial, cu ...

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

(

Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

) to a family of Jewish artists. As a child, Vira studied music and played the violin at the city music school. She participated in the local

Yiddish theater Yiddish theatre consists of plays written and performed primarily by Jews in Yiddish, the language of the Ashkenazi Jewish community. The range of Yiddish theatre is broad: operetta, musical comedy, and satiric or nostalgic revues; melodrama; na ...

led by her father Mikhoel Felsenbaum. She was exposed at an early age to the cultures and musical styles of the many ethnic groups living in Moldova: Moldovans, Romanians, Jews, Roma, Russians and others. Her repertoire includes new material written mainly by her father, Mikhoel Felsenbaum, as well as classical Yiddish folk songs, Romanian folk songs translated to Yiddish, songs of classical and modern Yiddish poets. After immigrating to Israel at age 16, she pursued Yiddish and Musicology studies in

Bar Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, , ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic university institution. It has 20,000 ...

, and vocal studies in the

Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music Rimon School of Music is a contemporary music school in Ramat Hasharon, Israel. It is Israel's largest independent professional school for advanced study of jazz, R&B, bebop, rock, and pop music. The school was established in 1985, by a group ...

Ramat HaSharon Ramat HaSharon (, ) is an affluent city located on Israel's central coastal strip in the south of the Sharon, Israel, Sharon region, bordering the cities of Tel Aviv to the south, Hod HaSharon, Hod-HaSharon to the east, and Herzliya and kibbutz ...

. For several years was a student of Nechama Lifshitz's Yiddish song workshop. Vira Lozinsky has toured several countries and participated in

klezmer Klezmer ( or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for listening; these wou ...

events in Israel, Europe, and the Americas.

Discography

Album

* ''Wunderweg (Wondrous Way)'' (2011) * ''Vayte Shtern (Distant Stars)'' (2007)

Participation

* ''A Jewish Celebration '', (

Putumayo World Music Putumayo World Music is a New Orleans-based record label that specializes in compilations of world music, jazz and blues. History Dan Storper founded Putumayo in 1975 as a retail store in New York City featuring handicrafts from around the wor ...

, 2012) * ''Postcards'' ( Beyond the Pale, 2009) (winner of two

Canadian Folk Music Awards The Canadian Folk Music Awards are an annual music awards ceremony presenting awards in a variety of categories for achievements in both traditional and contemporary folk music, and other roots music genres, by Canadian musicians. The awards pr ...

for 2010

Awards

* '' Grand Prize: International Jewish Music Competition in Amsterdam'' – 2012 * '' Mira Rafalowicz Prize (best Yiddish): International Jewish Music Competition in Amsterdam'' – 2012 * ''Independent Music Awards nominee 2012 '' World Traditional album category * ''Just Plain Folks Music Awards 2009'' winner – for the song ''Malokhim Lid'' * ''Vira Lozinsky has been nominated for the 7th Annual Independent Music Awards / Best World Music album (2008)'' World Music Central * ''Nester Mayner'' composed by Yuri Povolotsky, with the lyrics by Michael Felsenbaum won the Jury Prize at the 2022 Bubbe Awards for "Best New Original Yiddish Song"

Musical Reviews

Review by Keith Wolzinger

References

External links

Official Site

Vira Lozinsky on MySpace music

Ashkenaz Festival 2008 Toronto

Jewcy Media Group

Canadian Jewish News: "Montreal Chamber Music Festival 2014"

JEWISH CULTURE
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lozinsky, Vira 1974 births Living people Soviet emigrants to Israel Yiddish-language singers of Russia Yiddish-language singers of Moldova Jewish Israeli musicians Moldovan Jews 21st-century Israeli women singers Israeli people of Moldovan-Jewish descent Israeli folk singers People from Bălți Klezmer musicians Bar-Ilan University alumni Jewish women singers