“I am writing to thank you for a wonderful musical and cultural experience in Grinnell yestierday. We brought you here hoping to appeal to new audiences, to present an event bridging music and religtous studies curricula, and to add a new dimension to the world music programs we offer at Grinnell College. Your workshops and performance accomplished these aims beautifully.
Sherry Mayrent’s presentation on “Vessels Of Song: The Origins And Development Of Klezmer Music” gave a well-organized and engaging 50-minute tour of disparate influences that shaped the music. The musical examples illuminated her points effectively. tt was a pleasure to learn about the music from such a knowledgeable and articulate performer.”

“Sherry was a member of the Wholesale Klezmer Band for 17 years during which her mastery of the music and her musical leadership helped transform a ragtag bunch of musicians into a well respected performing group. She has a knack for identifying the essential core of a melody and stripping away everything else so that variations and ornamentation can be added back in to make the music fresh and alive. And she has the skill of conveying that message to other band members and to her classes at Klez Kamp.

In my role as vocalist in the band, Sherry has always been able to anticipate where I want to go with a song and to play exactly the background clarinet parts that are needed while simultaneously directing the other musicians , leaving me free to interpret the song without worrying about what is happening behind me. Before Sherry decided to leave the band, she took the extraordinary step of training her replacement so that, although we miss her dearly, we are just as strong as ever. Thanks, Sherry, for everything you’ve done for me and for the Wholesale Klezmer Band.”

“Working quietly and away from the limelight, Sherry has gently and patiently raised up nearly an entire a generation of Yiddish music players and enthusiasts with her infectious positive attitude and by establishing a process of learning in a nurturing and goal oriented environment that closely mirrors her own enthusiasm and personality. If you know someone who plays Yiddish music today, from here to Europe and back. they learned something for someone who learned it from Sherry, a Tzadikim Nistarim of Yiddish Culture.”

“Sherry has a lovely way of clarifying the complexities of music theory.
She peppers her lessons with examples from her treasure trove of
historical recordings so that every class is filled with little “aha!”
moments. I took her “Klezmer Fundamentals” course twice because I enjoyed it so much and knew I would learn as much the second time around as the first. In both her playing and her teaching, she injects new life into the most beautiful and haunting tunes of the klezmer repertoire.”

“Mayrent’s well-reasoned analysis of Yiddish instrumental music is revealing. Throughout the class, she supports her observations with recordings from her extensive private collection of klezmer tunes froim different eras, including the oldest know recordings. She was the first teacher that I met that is able to clearly verbally express WHERE klezmer ornaments should be placed in a melodic line. Her knowledge of the lexicon of Yiddish music is extensive, and she has helped me to discover many aspects of Klezmer music which I had only an inkling about before taking her class. Her communication style is excellent, and she is able to get a skilled musician to change aspects of their playing without bruising anyone’s ego - a difficult task, in some cases!”

“Having had the pleasure and honor of working with Sherry Mayrent for most of my career in the Yiddish arts I am continually thrilled and amazed at her passion for sharing and democratizing access to traditional Yiddish music and her vision of making her ever expanding catalog of historic sound recordings part of the birthright for future generations”