The beguiling Argentinian tango zigzagged to Paris, Eastern Europe (especially Poland), then to America. Along the way, it picked up a musical doppelgänger – Yiddish tangos. The Jewish contribution to popular music and tangos in Poland is a significant piece in understanding the symbiosis of Polish and Jewish musical culture through the 1930s. “The Curious Story of Polish-Yiddish Tangos” will investigate that story with an illustrated lecture.

The program’s presenter, Neal Brostoff, taught courses in Jewish and Israeli music history and Jewish music  performance in UCLA’s Departments of Ethnomusicology and Musicology from 2011 to 2016. Mr. Brostoff has also served as the music programs coordinator for the Mickey Katz Endowed Chair in Jewish Music at UCLA. He has taught Jewish music courses at Loyola Marymount University and at American Jewish University in Los Angeles. In his professional career, Mr. Brostoff has produced Jewish music concerts and festivals and has lectured on Jewish music topics. He has also served as director of cultural affairs for the Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles and as a music specialist at the Skirball Cultural Center. Active as a cantorial accompanist and choir director, Mr. Brostoff served congregations Adat Ari El and Temple Aliyah in Los Angeles from 1971 to 2007. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in music from Mount St. Mary’s College and California State University, Fullerton.