Lori Lippitz Maxwell Street Klezmer Band

Founded in 1983 by Lori Lippitz, Maxwell Street Klezmer Band has played at Carnegie Hall, toured Europe, and provided the celebratory soundtrack for Chicagoland’s Jewish celebrations for almost 4 decades. The band marked its 40th “Bandiversary” at The Old Town School of Folk Music in 2023. Maxwell Street played with The Lyric Opera of Chicago in the world’s first klezmer opera, and performed with Chicago Sinfonietta in a classical klezmer composition created for Maxwell Street's violinist, Alex Koffman (“Klezmer Rhapsody” by Ilya Levinson) at Chicago’s Symphony Center. They have six commercial CDs. As part of their grassroots mission, their not-for-profit organization, the Klezmer Music Foundation has founded and leads community klezmer bands and the Junior Klezmer Orchestra. They have a special program for schools incorporating Holocaust education and valuing ones roots and culture. Valuing interfaith outreach, they created the Salaam-Shalom Music Project in 2001. Maxwell Street draws on classical and jazz inspiration to create a unique sound that moves and inspires audiences of all ages and backgrounds.

Available Areas: North, West, Central, East, South, Chicago Metro

Core Audiences: Adult, Children, Seniors, General

Contact