New York Sings Yiddish

August 11, 2026 (New York, NY) — A Yiddish rock star from Williamsburg. A two-time “Star Search” champion. An award-winning 14-year-old violin virtuoso. An emerging star of television and stage. Songs of resistance, hope and defiance composed during the Holocaust.

A new generation of rising stars of the Yiddish world will light up Central Park at one of the summer’s most popular cultural events: New York Sings Yiddish on Thursday, September 17 at 7 p.m. at Central Park’s SummerStage. Presented by the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF), this popular New York tradition will also include exclusive footage from a new WNET special about songs composed during the Holocaust.

New York Sings Yiddish is a joyful and interactive public event that draws thousands of people from all walks of life. The annual tradition of star-studded Yiddish concerts in Central Park was inaugurated in 1968 and continued for years in a variety of locations until it arrived at SummerStage in 2023 under the name New York Sings Yiddish.  This spectacular event transforms Rumsey Playfield in Central Park into an open-air musical celebration where the entire audience becomes part of the performance, singing and dancing. Lyrics will be projected on giant screens, welcoming all attendees to raise their voices together under the late summer sky.

This year, New York Sings Yiddish inaugurates the NYTF’s action-packed 111th season.

Led by Zalmen Mlotek, acclaimed conductor, composer and Artistic Director of NYTF, with musical arrangements by Grammy Award-winner Frank London — who will accompany the performers with the help of his Klezmer All-Stars — this year’s program — Passing the Torch to a New Generation — showcases emerging luminaries of the Yiddish world, including:

Riki Rose: The Boundary-Breaking Yiddish Rocker from Williamsburg

Daniella Rabbani: Multi-faceted Performer, Creator and Podcaster

The Mamales: A Trio Brought Together by the Magic of Yiddish Song

Yair Keydar: Two-time Star Search Champion and Rising Off-Broadway Star

Margot Weintraub; Emerging star of Television and Stage

Yosef Kogan: 14-year-old Award-Winning Violin Virtuoso

Hosted this year by the Canadian comedy duo, YidLife Crisis, New York Sings Yiddish is more than just an enjoyable summer evening out in Central Park. It is a celebration of the power of community, shared history, and resistance through song.

“This year, we are proud to pass the torch to a new generation of talented and visionary performers who are reinterpreting the treasures of Yiddish,” said NYTF’s Zalmen Mlotek. “New York Sings Yiddish is our gift to the people of New York at the precise moment it is needed.”

The evening will also feature an exclusive sneak preview of the WNET AllArts Special based on NYTF’s Drama Desk Award winning production Amid Falling Walls (Tsvishn Falndike Vent), a groundbreaking musical, portraying the indomitable Jewish spirit during the Holocaust through Yiddish song and narrative.  Originally staged in 2023, Amid Falling Walls has historical significance, presenting — for the first time — a remarkable collection of songs written and performed in Holocaust era ghettos, cabarets, partisan encampments, concentration camps, and clandestine theaters.

New York Sings Yiddish is presented by Capital One City Parks Foundation, SummerStage in collaboration with the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene and supported by the Workers Circle, home to yiddishsongs.org, a treasure-trove of free Yiddish sheet music. The event is produced by Moishe Rosenfeld, President of Golden Land Concerts and Connections.

For further information about New York Sings Yiddish: Passing the Torch to a New Generation or to request interviews with Zalmen Mlotek or any of the performers or request photos from last year’s New York Sings Yiddish, please contact Shira Dicker at shira.dicker@sd-media.com or 917.403.3989. Click here for additional information.

Limited VIP seats are available for members of the press. Please contact Shira Dicker ASAP (shira.dicker@sd-media.com) to reserve.

Please find a press photo available for use attached to this email from New York Sings Yiddish 2025 featuring Lea Kalisch. Photo credit: Victor Nechay.

Date: Thursday, September 17, 2026

Time: Doors open at 6:00 PM | Concert begins at 7:00 PM and continues until 9:00 pm

Location: Rumsey Playfield, Central Park (enter at East 72nd Street and Fifth Avenue)

Admission: Free and open to all ages

Seating: First-come, first-served until capacity is reached. Accommodations will be made for special needs.

Now entering its 111th season, the Drama Desk Award-winning National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF) is the world’s oldest continuously operating Yiddish theatre company and a leading force in preserving Jewish cultural heritage through performance. NYTF produces award-winning plays, musicals, concerts, and educational programs that bridge generations and bring timeless stories to life.

Learn more at nytf.org.

Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage is one of New York’s most beloved, broadly accessible, free outdoor performing arts festivals. SummerStage annually presents nearly 80 free and benefit performances in Central Park and neighborhood parks throughout the five boroughs to 217,000 fans. With performances in genres that represent the cultural fabric of New York City With performances in genres that represent the cultural fabric of New York City ranging from jazz, hip-hop, Latin, global, indie and contemporary dance, SummerStage fills a vital niche in New York City’s summer arts festival landscape. Since its inception nearly 40 years ago, more than six million people from New York City and around the world have enjoyed SummerStage. Learn more at www.summerstage.org.