"a very successful evening. The group were great and got our 25/26 season off to a lively start. They were friendly and very appreciative of our hospitality. The audience thoroughly enjoyed the programme and several people took time to talk to the artists at the end."
"Well, what a brilliant lively start to our 25/26 season. We were treated to some fantastic playing by Alba Challah. Klezmer music was a new experience for some of our audience and these talented musicians presented it so well. A joy to listen to. An enjoyable evening was had by all."
"Brilliant concert, the music terrific.""
Biggar Music Club, 27/09/25
"It was a terrific gig last night! We got rave notices on Facebook this morning and people going out last night were incredibly enthusiastic. A great success."
Heather Gough, Music Arran, April 2024
"Alba Challah gave an outstanding performance, and were hugely appreciated by the capacity audience. They were also as charming and delightful as ever, and a joy to look after.
– we will be inviting them back!"
Ann Napier, The Osprey Music Society, January 2024
"a fine Klezmer band, relying on impressive classical training on their respective instruments. Ruaridh Bakke, the group's excellent clarinettist and front man, is clearly also the chief driving force behind the ensemble, providing many of the arrangements..... extraordinary and beautiful instrumental music played in Spanish Holy Week processions..... excellent musicianship and youthful energy of the players.... a promising future "
D James Ross for Music in Nairn, September 2023
"Alba Challah were a delight, and they were exactly the right choice for our post-AGM recital. The recital was fun, varied, lively and the musicianship was excellent.
Our audience appreciated the personal introductions to each piece, and it was great to see the band clearly enjoying their performance. The noisy applause after each piece showed how much our audience enjoyed the show, and an encore was well-deserved and well-received."
Bill Stevenson, Linlithgow Arts Guild, April 2023
".... a charming and delightful group of young men, and it was a real pleasure to to deal with them. We are so pleased they felt they had a wonderful time with us, as the 120 members of the audience felt the same about them! ..... excellent and entertaining performance.... a great evening's entertainment.... freshness and enthusiasm of these young men, along with their undisputed talents made it a memorable evening.
...such a talented group of young musicians to come and entertain us here in Boat, what a delightful evening! They brought a smile to all our faces and without a doubt, for us, one of the very best evenings of entertainment we have had in a long time..... clearly a group of very talented musicians.... The variety of items in their programme was excellent, as were the arrangements and composition of Ruaridh, Michael, and Isidor.... they are a Band of a quality well above that of the average Klezmer Band, and they deserve to go far."
Ann Napier, The Osprey Music Society, Boat of Garten, December 2022
""
Alba Challah / so much more than a klezmer band
Please contact daisy@classicalmusiciansscotland.com for more information or to book Alba Challah.
Klezmer (Yiddish: קלעזמער) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for listening; these would have been played at weddings and other social functions. The musical genre incorporated elements of many other musical genres including Ottoman (especially Greek and Romanian) music, Baroque music, German and Slavic folk dances, and religious Jewish music. As the music arrived in the United States, it lost some of its traditional ritual elements and adopted elements of American big band and popular music.
After the destruction of Jewish life in Eastern Europe during the Holocaust, and a general fall in the popularity of klezmer music in the United States, the music began to be popularized again in the late 1970s in the so-called Klezmer Revival. During the 1980s and onwards, musicians experimented with traditional and experimental forms of the genre, releasing fusion albums combining the genre with jazz, punk, and other styles.
While studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, clarinettist Ruaridh Bakke got a few friends together to play some klezmer music. They were invited to play at the Spire concert series on 14 May 2022, and six-piece band Alba Challah was formed. Not only do they play klezmer repertoire, there is so much more in the form of thrilling classical/operatic repertoire arranged specifically for the band.
Bacchanale, Samson et Dalila (Saint-Saëns arr Ruaridh Bakke)
Ruaridh Bakke, clarinet
Ruaridh Bakke is a Scottish clarinettist, originally from Aberdeen, currently based in Govan. He did his formal classical training at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, studying with Nicholas Cox, before receiving a scholarship to study a Master of Music Performance degree at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) with tutors John Cushing and Yann Ghiro, from where he graduated in 2020. Additionally, he studied for one year at the Conservatorio Superior de Música Manuel Castillo in Seville, Spain
Alongside having engaged with professional and semi-professional orchestras throughout the UK, including the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Mozart Symphony Orchestra and Mowbray Orchestra, Ruaridh has enjoyed exploring exciting Klezmer and folk music with his band Alba Challah, who, alongside showcasing repertoire from Eastern Europe and featuring their own arrangements, seek to fuse classical music with folk music and to challenge the traditions of classical music performance.
Masha Zhuravlova, violin
Masha Zhuravlova is a Ukrainian violinist studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with Donnie Deacon and Greg Lawson. Masha grew up in Kharkiv, Ukraine and finished Lyatoshynsky’s Kharkiv Music College with honours in 2021. In her final year she was leading both Symphony and Chamber orchestras and gaining prizes in local competitions. While studying at the RCS, she formed a piano trio and a tango ensemble with her fellow students, participated in various competitions and student productions, including operas, musicals and symphony orchestras. She is also developing her musical skills in different contexts – as a klezmer, country and a jazz violinist, performing and recording with bands and taking part in cross-disciplinary experimental collaborations with dancers, electronic musicians and actors. She’s delighted to be joining Alba Challah.
Josiah Duhlstine/cello
Josiah Duhlstine grew up in Phoenix Arizona, where he studied with Jenna Dalbey, cellist of the community-focused Tetra String Quartet, and was very active in the local youth symphony and folk music scenes. In 2017, he attended the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival in Vermont, meeting Alison Wells and eventually moving to Glasgow to study with her at the RCS in 2018.
One of the main focuses in his undergraduate career has been chamber music, having played in dedicated string quartets all four years and receiving coaching from the Brodsky Quartet, Joseph Swenson, and David Watkin. Josiah’s quartets have been awarded runner-up prizes for both the Governor’s Chamber Music Competition and Mable Glover Quartet Competition.
Josiah is also part of a duo with pianist Catriona Mackenzie, largely exploring not only some of the classic cello sonata repertoire but that of living British Composers, having the chance to work with Errolyn Wallen on her piece, Dervish and currently exploring the Cello Sonatas of James MacMillan. Catriona and Josiah received the Louis Carus Duo Ensemble Prize and are now extremely excited to be performing with Live Music Now Scotland. Their work with LMNS has allowed them to not only explore the rich world of short character pieces for this ensemble but to also experiment with Scottish Traditional Music and Folk Song as a way to interact with audiences and stretch the possibilities of this instrumentation.
Josiah has performed as a soloist in masterclasses for Steven Isserlis, Matt Haimovitz, and Mathew Sharp, and has played in ensembles for masterclasses with Philip Setzer and Violaine Melançon, as well as a traditional music masterclass for Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn.
While officially on the classical cello course at the conservatoire, Josiah has become increasingly involved in the school’s Traditional Music Department, attending performance and technique classes, receiving one-on-one lessons from traditional cellist Ellen Gira, and performing in departmental concerts. During the previous two summers, Josiah attended online folk music festivals such as Mike Block String Camp and the Silkroad Ensemble Global Musician Workshop.
In 2022, Josiah won the American String Teachers Association 75th Annual Composition Contest – Solo Division, with his piece for solo cello, Passabluegrasslia, blending classical forms with American Folk colors and techniques.
Isidor ten Hooven/bass guitar
Isidor is a Dutch electric bass player and composer based in Glasgow. His style of playing is influenced by many different worlds, such as classical music, punk, folk music and the Dutch free improvisation scene. After his undergraduate studies at Het Utrechts Conservatorium, he has been working as a freelance composer and bassist in multiple project throughout the Netherlands involving music theatre, free improvisation and workshops, before coming to Glasgow for his Masters degree in composition.
Michael O’Rourke/percussion
Formally educated in the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Michael O’Rourke is a talented percussionist adept in world music.
Trained by renowned players such as David Hassell and Guy Nicolson of Moishe’s Bagel, Michael explores creative ways to enhance the rhythmic backbone of Alba Challah.
Duncan Ritchie/accordion
Duncan, an emerging artist hailing from the picturesque North East of Scotland, is making waves in the music industry with his unique and fresh approach to traditional music, composing, and arranging. He has captivated audiences at renowned folk festivals like Celtic Connections and embarked on unforgettable tours throughout the UK. Duncan is proud to be a member of Alba Challah, exploring an exciting fusion of genres, including Klezmer, European, Classical, and World music.
Having recently completed his Bachelor’s degree in Traditional Music, Duncan is now taking his passion to the next level as a Master’s student at the prestigious Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. In addition to his studies, he hosts an energetic traditional music session in the vibrant West End of Glasgow, bringing musicians and enthusiasts together to celebrate the richness of the genre. Duncan is set to make a lasting impact on the diverse and ever-evolving world of music.
Rehearsal for Music Nairn September 2023
Performances
7.30pm, Friday 6 November 2026, Bute Arts Society
7.30pm, Saturday 7 November 2026, Mid Argyll Arts Association, Lochgilphead
3pm, Sunday 8 November 2026, Newton Stewart and District Music Society
3pm, Sunday 15 November 2026, Dunfermline Music
7.30pm, Saturday 27 September 2025, Biggar Municipal Hall
7.30pm, Saturday 22 March 2025, Osprey Music Society, Boat of Garten 3rd visit
7.30pm, Saturday 20 April 2024, Music Arran
7.30pm, Saturday 16 March 2024, Music in Dollar, Dollar Academy
7.30pm, Saturday 13 January 2024, Osprey Music Society, Boat of Garten return visit
4pm, Sunday 10 December 2023, Clarkston Halls, Chanukah Association
7.30pm, Saturday 09 September 2023, Nairn Community and Arts Centre
8.30pm, Saturday 22 April 2023 – Linlithgow Arts Guild
2.30pm, Thursday 16 March 2023 – Ross Priory, Gartocharn (private event)
1pm, Saturday 4 February 2023 – Giffnock South Concert Series
12:30pm, Friday 27 January 2023 – Celtic Connections on Campus, Glasgow Caledonian University
7.30pm, Friday 09 December 2022 – Osprey Music Society, Boat of Garten
1pm, Saturday 14 May 2022 – Spire Concert Series, Glasgow (debut performance)
