A recent article from the Jewish Telegraph Agency recounts how the New York Public Library acquired a ‘treasure trove’ of Jewish and Yiddish music after being hidden in a cantor’s basement in Yonkers for 40 years.

Sheet music, manuscripts and orchestral arrangements for close to 4,000 musical works — including cantorial music, Hasidic melodies, Yiddish theater, klezmer and opera — that were performed live on the radio station WEVD between 1927 and 1995 are now part of NYPL’s Dorot Jewish Division

At the NYPL’s main branch on Wednesday, November 13 at 7:00 pm there will be a live musical performance and a panel conversation to celebrate the Library’s acquisition of rare sheet music and manuscripts from the legendary New York radio station WEVD.

Tickets for “WEVD and the Sounds of Jewish New York” are sold out but the event will be live-streamed here.

How fortunate we are to have access to the WEVD Music Collection which contributes to the understanding of Jewish and Yiddish music history in the United States and which allows us to reflect on the importance of preserving such cultural artifacts.