Klein Judit és a Haverim - Zene határok nélkül. Az ország egyik legismertebb és legelismertebb klezmer zenekara.

Band Members

Judit Klein

singer

Judit Klein was born into a traditional Jewish family of classical musicians and cantors, the Stern-Kelen-Klein family, renowned worldwide.

A particular talent, she began learning instrumental music (cello, piano) in kindergarten.

She attended elementary school with a music department while simultaneously studying at a music school.

She sang in several children's choirs, including the Opera House Choir and the Bethlen Square Jewish Children's Choir, which her father, Chief Cantor Ervin Klein, founded and directed.

Under her family's influence, both Jewish culture and her connection to music became crucial to her.

She graduated from the Department of Jewish Studies at the OR-ZSE, and her musical talent has since been increasingly recognized in various venues.

She first became a soloist with the Tikva Band, which performed Israeli music. This was followed by stints with the Dávid Klezmer Quintet, Judrom, Jazzrael, and Sabre.

At the age of 28, driven by her own vision, she began giving Jewish music concerts, creating an entirely new genre in the world of Jewish culture and music. Her recitals showcased diverse selections from the vast world of Jewish music: Yiddish and Ladin songs, Klezmer, ancient Oriental melodies, Jewish folk songs, liturgical and Israeli songs, and works by Jewish composers: musicals, evergreens, and international hits.

She has released two of his own albums and can be heard as a contributor on several CDs.

Even at a young age, she performed in musical ensembles. Today, she has written several pieces on Jewish themes, in which she also performs:

• Ghetto Melodies, Musical Remembrance
• Three Yiddish Mame
• Moonlight Rendezvous

Her current main musical activity is her own band, Judit Klein and the Haverim.

She also teaches, directs a children's choir, composes music and songs, gives regular concerts, performs in plays, and is working on her future productions.

Her mission is to present the thousands of years of Jewish culture through the universal power of music, bringing it into the present day.

In her shows, she bridges historical eras, geographical locations, and musical styles.

Her name is known throughout Hungary and Europe! She has performed and toured in Serbia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Austria, Germany, France, Italy, and Tunisia.

With her extraordinary, globally unique voice that transcends genre boundaries and her captivating stage presence, she has become a deservedly popular and inimitable performer.

Mehr Infos: juditklein.hu

Zoltán Neumark

piano

Awarded the Hungarian Order of Merit in Gold, he is a highly educated pianist, lecturer, theater music director, and music teacher.

He is a versatile artist and a leading figure in Hungarian cultural life in the fields of classical music, theater productions, and Jewish musical culture (Klezmer, synagogue choir).

After his initial musical training, he graduated from a conservatory. He then continued his musical studies in Budapest and Vienna and subsequently spent several years in Israel, Austria, and Germany, where he was actively involved in the music scene.

He was an art instructor at the Institute of Jewish Studies at the National Rabbinical Training Institute – Jewish University (OR-ZSE).

Since 1997, he has performed regularly at the Jewish Cultural Festival.

He is the music director of the long-standing and deservedly popular ensemble "Judit Klein and the Haverim," which performs regularly at national and European festivals.

He works as a music director, conductor, singer, and pianist at numerous theaters in Budapest and the surrounding area.

As a composer, two of his plays are performed in musical theaters.

Awards:

• Hungarian Golden Cross of Merit (Civil Division): awarded in March 2025 in recognition of his exemplary career as a music teacher and his work as an internationally acclaimed performer and lecturer.

• 2022 – Recipient of the Mensch Foundation Prize.

• 2018 – City Prize for his cultural contributions to the Szeged Synagogue.

Zsigmond Lázár

violin

Composer, performer, conductor.

He graduated from the University of Pécs with a diploma in singing, conducting, and mathematics.

He then studied composition and orchestration at the jazz department of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music.

He was a finalist as a violinist in the "Who Knows It?" competition in 1983.

There is hardly a Hungarian theater, either in Hungary or abroad, where his compositions and accompaniments haven't been performed. He also works as an arranger and collaborator for renowned Hungarian pop musicians,

including such luminaries as Magdi Rúzsa, Ibolya Oláh, and Szilveszter Jenei.

As a performer, he has contributed to over fifty albums and film scores across a wide range of genres, from folk music to contemporary music.

He has performed with artists including Mihály Dresch, Ferenc Kiss, Katalin Szvorák, Nikola Parov, Gábor Presser, and Tibor Szemző.

He taught at the Music Department of the University of Pécs and at the Academy of Theatre and Film Arts.

He is currently the conductor of the synagogue on Dohány Street.

He has been active in Klezmer music for over 25 years and was a founding member of the Odessa Klezmer Band.

Many know and appreciate him as the keyboardist for the rock band ZÁRTOSZTÁLY, with whom he also plays violin in the bands Klein Judit and Haverim.

Péter Nagy

clarinet

His musical career was sealed by fate in the music kindergarten and the music elementary school, and in the latter place he also formed a fateful childhood friendship with Zoltán Neumark.

From there, a straight path led to the Béla Bartók Secondary School of Music, then to the Academy of Music. He started with a serious foundation in low strings by studying the cello, but life - and his lung capacity - eventually pushed him towards the soul instrument of Jewish music, the clarinet.

This instrument became his official passport around the world, with which he managed to thoroughly tour both sides of the former Iron Curtain in the former GDR and the FRG.

He also played on the famous German luxury island, Norderney, which was followed over the years by Cuba and then Johannesburg.

In the meantime, he tried his hand at several jazz and rock formations, where the saxophone also appeared, as well as on studio recordings, on which he improvised a lot.

And he is now making great use of this improvisational routine in Jewish music.

He is a versatile performer and creative creator with a background in theater, television and music.

He has proven himself as an actor on stage and in well-known TV series, and as a composer he has written the music for several children's theater musicals.

He has also released his own author's CD titled "Sebastian, the Clarinetist", of which he is the full composer, arranger, performer and sound engineer.

Given their shared musical background and past, Zoltán Neumark invited him to the position of clarinetist of the Judit Klein and Haverim band, so klezmer and Jewish melodies have become his profession for good.

With the latter formation, they have guested in Serbia, Transylvania, Tunisia, Germany, and they also regularly tour dozens of Hungarian cities.

His connection to the world of Jewish music is thus not only theoretical, but a dedication tempered in real bonds on the most diverse stages of the world.

Nowadays, he blows the melodies with true Jewish virtuosity and humor in this great formation.

Gábor Zsoldos

drums, singing saw

He was born into an artistic family, the son of Katalin Sárosi and Imre Zsoldos.

He learned to play the piano as a child, but switched to percussion at the age of 14.

While studying at the Academy of Music, he joined the band Hungária as a drummer in 1982 at the age of 20, remaining with them until their breakup in 1983.

He then founded the band Dolly Roll with the members of Hungária, with the exception of Fenyő.

In 1986, he left Dolly Roll with Öcsi Flipper to form the band STEP.

After STEP disbanded in 1990, he played in various bands, including the Fenyő Gyöngye Band, which accompanied Miklós Fenyő for decades.

At the same time, he is a permanent member of the bands Judit Klein and Haverim, and in parallel, he co-founded the band Sabre with Judit Klein.

He plays drums in the reunited band STEP and has performed as a guest drummer in numerous well-known bands of various genres.

After the final split with Miklós Fenyő, he founded the Budapest Rock’N’Roll Band with members of the former band Fenyő Gyöngye, where he is the bandleader and drummer.

Today, he regularly performs with three groups:

• Judit Klein and Haverim
• BRNRB
• STEP

Last but not least, he plays the singing saw exceptionally well, a technique mastered by only a few worldwide!

In addition to his active musical career, he also teaches drums.