5th Annual Merry Christmas from a Jewish Atheist Pianist (Berkeley)

Submitted by the Event Organizer

Join Sam for his fifth annual holiday show at The Back Room

A Message from Sam Rudin:

When I was much younger, I, like many pianists, would get some lucrative gigs during the holidays, playing the seasonal favorites in the background of parties and events. And I used to think, “wouldn’t it be great to play this stuff in a concert setting, for actual listeners?”

Clearly, in terms of heritage and beliefs, my connections to the holiday are slim. But as a sentient being in the USA, I am fully acculturated, and as a musician, I couldn’t help noticing that, if I chose carefully, and stayed far away from Rudolph and Frosty…hey, a lot of this music is really good – and not just good, but flexibly available to a lot of interpretations. And after all, it is an important part of our ever-diminishing shared culture.

So, in spite of the somewhat flippant headline, this will be an entirely respectful, and musically sincere, evening. So if you can’t be with your family tonight, or if your own heritage and belief systems have you heading out for Chinese food – please stop by and and indulge in our shared musical tradition. And no!, the night will NOT include an obligatory chorus of “Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel.”

Sam Rudin is the creator and owner of The Back Room, and is an exciting pianist whose music embraces the whole range of 20th Century American music.

“A master of musical Americana…his scope is near limitless…enormous talent.” — Lee Hildebrand, East Bay Express

Special holiday price: just $10.

Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.