International search for new Yiddish songs

A songwriting competition created in Melbourne is calling on musicians, writers and Yiddish speakers to write new music in the language.

Kadimah Jewish Cultural Centre launched YidLid: The International Yiddish Song Competition on August 1, inviting local and international entries from established and emerging songwriters, composers, translators and musicians. Entries close on December 1.

Entrants can either create an original song in Yiddish or reimagine an existing well-known song in Yiddish, in accordance with the competition rules.

According to Kadimah, the competition aims to inspire a new body of Yiddish music and encourage people to see Yiddish not only as a language of heritage and memory, but as a living language in which new art and culture continues to be made.

“Yiddish has an extraordinary musical history, but its story is far from finished,” Kadimah cultural producer Mikhaela Bourke said.

“YidLid is an invitation to the next generation, as well as Yiddish speakers, writers and musicians of all ages and backgrounds – from fluent speakers to anyone with a bisl Yiddish – to add their own voices to that story. We want people to take the language somewhere new – to write something original, playful, moving or unexpected.

“You don’t need to be a renowned Yiddish scholar to participate. You might be a songwriter who is beginning to explore Yiddish, a language student with a great idea, or someone who has always wondered what a favourite song might sound like in Yiddish,” she said.

The competition will be judged by an international panel comprising Australian composer and performer Adam Starr; lifelong Yiddish speaker, educator and translator Ann Gawenda; New York-based actor, singer and director Eleanor Reissa; and Berlin-based musician, songwriter and Yiddish cultural activist Daniel Kahn.

Shortlisted songs will be performed by singers and a live band at a YidLid concert in Melbourne in 2027, where the winners will be announced.

Founded in Melbourne in 1911, Kadimah describes itself as one of the world’s longest-running Yiddish cultural organisations. Its work spans theatre, music, language education, literature, performance and community programs, and it holds a Yiddish cultural archive.

Through YidLid, the organisation hopes to connect Australia’s Yiddish cultural history with the growing international movement of artists and young people creating new work in the language.

“We cannot wait to hear what the world creates for YidLid,” Bourke said.

More information available at kadimah.org.au

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