Beskydy play at a Wedding Party on the Battersea
Barge, London.
The name Beskydy refers to the
Beskydy mountain range, which runs through the three main regions
of former Czechoslovakia - Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia. The music of Beskydy is largely
inspired by the music from that region but also includes music
from Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey and from the Jewish Klezmer and
Jewish-Hungarian tradition.
The band has its origins in the Czechoslovak music and dance
tradition brought to England in the 1950s by Hedda Klingerova.
The dance group she founded is now called the Beskydy Dancers.
The band Beskydy formed initially around this dance group,
and still performs with them at folk festivals and other events
throughout southern England and occasionally further afield.
In 1995 the band extended its membership and
repertoire, and started to develop activities independently
of the dance group. The band has five core members but it is
sometimes joined by one or two others from a small number of
'support musicians' - depending on the event and instruments
required.
PERFORMANCES
The Purcell Room, Southbank with the Beskydy Dancers in a
Russian Jewish Day celebration
The Hackney Empire and The
Place Theatre in London, in a choreographed
performance with a contemporary dance group
The Bloomsbury Theatre, London as part of a fund-raising gala
night
in aid of victims of the 1997 floods in Central and Eastern
Europe
The Budweiser Budwar London promotion
The Biennial Folk Festival in Roznov pod Radhostem
in the
Czech Republic - 1995, 1997 and 1999
Annual folk festivals around London and southern England:
Stoke Newington, Walthamstow, Kew, Rochester, Milton Keynes,
Islington Folk Club
The Czech and Slovak National
Club and The Czech and Slovak
Embassies
Clubs, pubs and charity
events throughout London, private
parties, weddings, birthdays, etc.
