Adrianne Greenbaum, Professor of Flute at Mount Holyoke College, is the foremost  pioneer of the klezmer flute tradition and a nationally acclaimed flutist and clinician, performing on historical instruments of the 18th and 19th centuries. Her other areas of specialization include Baroque and Salon music.

Welcome to the exploration of klezmer music, played by "The Queen of Klezmer Flute".  

“Adrianne Greenbaum is a National Treasure". 

Her musicianship speaks to the listener as she communicates this beautiful, traditional art form of klezmer performed on the flute, an original component of the early klezmer band (kapelye).   

Concerts and Workshops

PARIS, FRANCE!

“I first heard klezmer, about 25 years ago, I was well established as a classical flutist, with a career immersed in teaching at the college level and a fine symphony position. I had my two children and husband. Did I need to now learn a totally different kind of music?  Yes!  I heard the modes, the scales, the sorrowful wailing alongside the excitement and it grabbed me hard. I wanted to learn to play this stuff in the most authentic way and was told to go to Klezkamp in the Catskills. I went, I learned what I could without a flute specialist, listened to old recordings.  

I love improvising in much the same way that musicians did in the baroque period. I learned how to play the kind of flute that was played by the klezmer. I get to even lead dancing while playing the flute. I get to dance up and down the aisle in concerts! I enjoy playing fast, exuberant, more technically demanding tunes that also benefit from the afterglow of the Impressive Factor, to be cheaply honest. Equally, I literally melt into ornamenting the slow tunes, allowing each, plus the flute - and myself - to get totally lost in the soulful vibe.  

For me the flute is my voice. I love the contribution we can make to the whole: the sparkle and the soul that is added to the overall mix. The music itself bit me hard and became a true wow for and from my heart.”   

Adrianne Greenbaum for the newly published book Klezmer for the Joyful Soul by Debbie Burke.  Book landed as #1 on Amazon Musicology page!

Listen TO ADRIANNE GREENBAUM AND FLEYTMUZIK