Violinist, Vocalist, and Arranger Chiara Fasi breathes new life into traditional live string performances. She has shared the stage and recorded with notable artists such as Miley Cyrus, Solange, Dua Lipa, Jay-Z, and John Legend, to name a few. As a soloist she has opened for Talib Kweli, Major Hype at Kings Theatre, and was featured performer at the Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival. Also a band leader and vocalist, her instrumental group, “Chiara Collective,” has performed at BET Black Girls Rock, Highline Ballroom, Blue Note NYC, and Chelsea Music Hall, among others.  A talented arranger, composer, and producer, Chiara has composed & arranged strings for a number of projects, including the BET Documentary Martin: The Legacy of King, the educational website Flocabulary, the short film Moves We Make, and a recent holiday single for Lionbabe. As an educator she has contributed to the music curriculum with the non-profit organization, Music and the Brain; and previously taught at Long Island University.

Steeped in the tradition of iconic duos like June Carter and Johnny Cash and the Everly Brothers, Sasha Papernik and Justin Poindexter together, Our Band, bring their award-winning songwriting, intimate harmonies, and Eastern-European flair to a rich Americana soundscape, this time for the holidays! Together, they have performed for audiences in some of the world’s greatest venues, from Carnegie Hall to Lincoln Center to the Smithsonian Museum of American Art.  Their debut album, featuring American music legend David Amram, was released to critical acclaim in 2021.

Pete Rushefsky (tsimbl – cimbalom/hammered dulcimer) and Jake Shulman-Ment (violin) are two of the leading contemporary musicians breathing new life into old-world klezmer, the celebratory music of East European Jews. This lunchtime performance for Hanukkah will be filled with soulful Hasidic spirituals and rollicking dance melodies.