Bio

Zhenya Lopatnik is originally from Kharkiv (Ukraine) and is now based in New York (USA). She could be called one of the leading voices in a new generation of Yiddish singers and songwriters. Born into an assimilated Ukrainian-Jewish family, Lopatnik only discovered Yiddish in her mid-20s but quickly made her mark in the field. Heard once or a dozen times, Zhenya’s songs ring deeply familiar. They stir the soul and awaken memories even for those who are too young to remember. And for those old enough to know, the sounds transport them to a world cut short by war and migration.

Zhenya sings in different languages, including Yiddish, Hebrew, Ladino, and Ukrainian, and performs with various renowned musicians.

FESTIVALS

Zhenya performed as a composer, singer, or workshop leader at Zlatne Uste Golden Festival (New York, USA), Ashkenaz (Toronto, Canada), Yiddish New York ( New York, USA), Festival Voix de Femmes (Brussels, Belgium), KlezKanada ( Montreal, Canada), and The London International Jewish Music Festival (London, UK).

As a singer with the Kharkov Klezmer Band, she performed at the Helsinki Klezmer Festival (Helsinki, Finland), Ashkenaz (Toronto, Canada), the Jewish Culture Festival (Kraków, Poland), and the Førde Traditional and World Music Festival (Førde, Norway).

GRANTS AND AWARDS

Brazil Kleztival 2022 – First Prize for Best Partially Original Yiddish Song

PATH funding through the Mayor’s Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes and the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York through COJECO Arts Against Anti-Semitism Initiative for creating a musical project, Murdered Poetry, dedicated to the life and work of Yiddish poet Itzik Fefer, 2022.