A musician from Belarus left to conquer New York: what came of it

How many years did it take for a musician from Belarus Zisl Slepovich to get back on his feet after moving to the largest city in the United States, what he had to go through and what next - about this in the material for Tut.by пишет Lyubov Kasperovich.

Until 30, Zisl Slepovich lived in Minsk. Here he was educated as a musician, defended his thesis, became a teacher.

However, in 2008, at the height of the global financial crisis, the musician decided to move to New York.

“In the city of millions of opportunities for a musician with a Belarusian education and Jewish roots, nothing awaited - only the unknown, in which everything had to start from scratch,” the source notes.

About the musician

According to the passport of Zisl Slepovich, their name is Dmitry. But so no one has addressed him for a long time.

“It so happened that Zisl is my Jewish name, which eventually became artistic. It has grown to me, I feel it mine. Nobody called me Dmitry for many, many years, ”the musician said.

For many years, the musician has been living in New York, but despite the “loss” of an ordinary Belarusian passport, Zisl never refused his Belarusian identity.

“It means a lot to me. I rarely visit Belarus, but when they ask me, I always emphasize that I am from there. Still, I lived here for 30 years, grew up, unlearned, received all my degrees. This is a big part of my life, ”Zisl shared.

About Jewish music

During the Minsk period of his life, Zisl Slepovich studied at the Academy of Music, and then taught at it. In his Ph.D. dissertation, Zisl studied Jewish music - that niche, which even today a rather narrow circle of people are interested in.

“My specialty was musicology - not performing. It so happened that thanks to my scientific advisor and later my research partner Nina Samuilovna Stepanskaya, I was infected with the research virus from the 10th grade of the college at the Academy of Music. And then I just moved along these tracks to my Ph.D. thesis, ”the musician recalls.

He compared it to a drug.

“We went on expeditions, worked in the archives. When I was lucky to find not just factual material, but directly musical material, it was really great, ”he said.

Jewish culture is a huge layer in the history of Belarus. However, it is almost inaudible. According to Zisl, the biggest problem is erasing the history of the Jews.

“This is what happened during the Soviet period. There were some “persons of Jewish nationality”, but their stories were not. In fact, such a terry legacy of Stalinism continued, ”said the musician.

Therefore, living in Belarus, through his work, Zisl tried to regain interest in the Jewish history of this country. For a long time, he simply “went about his business”, not thinking about whether anyone needed it.

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Speaking about Jewish music, Ziskl emphasizes that its main feature is its contextuality.

“Jewish music has always been influenced by the context in which it was found. Phonemes, the sound of instruments played in a certain area, were added to it. After all, everyone used to play with everyone. There was no isolation in the society, ”he explained.

The musician also set an example from his life when he went on an expedition to one of the Belarusian cities.

“Everyone knows that this part of the city is Polish, this is Lithuanian, this is Tatar, this is Belarusian, and this is Jewish. And here is the marketplace where everyone meets. And around the market there are cult establishments. At the same time, everyone knows each other, they find a common language, which they speak, ”he said.

He emphasized that he would not like to see Jewish culture as a dinosaur, which "we are now trying to resurrect from the Stone Age."

And he recommended to come to New York in order to better understand what a single cultural space is.

Moving to New York

Zisl Slepovich moved to New York in 2008. He thought of how to change his place of residence, expand the boundaries of the niche in which he worked, and find new opportunities for development. He was prompted to move by family circumstances.

“The other half that I found and with whom we raise children together did not live where I lived. Therefore, the question arose: either she came to me, or I came to her. At the same time, I thought about moving before. We live in an open world, and I do pretty niche things. There are more opportunities for development in this niche than only in Minsk, ”he said.

According to the musician, the moment came when he realized that at home he had done quite a lot in the area in which he worked.

“It was necessary to look for new opportunities and horizons. It's okay to move on, ”he said.

In New York, Zisla was waiting only for her husband - he had neither work nor connections at that moment. Despite all its degrees and achievements, it was necessary to start from scratch.

In addition, it was the height of the crisis.

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“A huge number of people have been fired. I stood in line to look for a job with my Ph.D., and unemployed people with Harvard degrees were standing in line with me, ”Zisl recalls.

At that time, Zisl received dozens of recommendations to change his profession, give up klezmer music and start his career anew. However, he decided not to back down from his path.

"I am a musician. This is what I can do well and what I can learn more and better. I am a supporter of the fact that in your business it is worth going to the end, ”Zisl argued his decision. And he added that "he was right."

Hard reality

The new American reality turned out to be pretty tough.

“New York is a great city to be a good musician, or not at all,” says Zisl.

At the same time, the musician notes, in it you need to forget about the right to relax or just catch a cold.

“It is very difficult to stake out even a minimal place for yourself. If you go somewhere for a long time, it is fraught with consequences: they very quickly forget about you and delete you from the lists. It is easy to find a replacement, no matter what the person in whose place they are looking for, ”Zisl shared his experience.

In New York, one of the duties of a musician is to assemble and form orchestras.

“For example, my second violin writes that her temperature is under 40 and she just can't get out. Two hours later, the rehearsal begins, and then the concert. I write a post on Facebook - and two hours later I have another second violin in my armchair, ”the musician said.

Another incident he recalled was related to a smuggler who “slipped, injured himself and the double bass”.

“I found out about it on the subway on the way to the concert. Only half an hour remained. I found a new musician right in the subway. I showed him the notes - he closely followed what I showed, like a hawk - and everything worked out, ”Zisl recalls.

According to him, New York is a city in which there are many upscale hungry musicians, and everyone needs work.

“They are very friendly, but everyone stands for themselves and their work. Such a situation awaits anyone, ”he stressed.

How a musician made his way

To be in demand, Zisl from the very first days was looking for any people who can give work, and opportunities to show themselves to them.

To increase his chances, he mastered new tools: this is the demand of the industry. And even being at that time already a professional, Zisl tried to meet all these requirements.

“It's a must for woodwind performers here. I came with one clarinet, but I had to learn to play the saxophone, flute, bassoon. Because you can't show up to the Broadway Orchestra Pit with one clarinet, ”he explained.

Zislis also emphasized that in New York every performance, even for free, can be considered an audition.

“Any of yours - the language does not dare to say - hack is always appreciated. It's like listening. Therefore, you always need to be in shape, ”Zisl said.

According to Zisl, it took him 11 years to begin to understand that he was doing everything, and to feel the ground under his feet.

“And this period is increasing. Even 20 years ago, they said that a person needs ten years to stake out a place for himself, start playing real works, and get on his feet. Now this period is stretched to 15 years, sometimes even up to unimaginable 20 years, ”he said.

He also shared that he still has a feeling of insecurity. However, he found a way to deal with it.

“For the last year and a half I have been playing in a Yiddish production of Fiddler on the Roof, which has attracted a lot of attention. When various celebrities come to see the performance, I take pictures with them. Not only for the sake of vanity, but also in order to remind myself at the moments when I feel like a g ** n: maybe it’s me and it, but not 100%, ”the musician noted.

And he added: “After all, these people watched the production, but these said that I played amazingly.”

Present and future

Today Zisl is a freelancer. He works as a performer, composer, arranger, orchestrator, conductor.

“From the first days my main work was the national Yiddish theater“ Folksbine ”. This is an organization that has existed for more than 100 years and which only in recent decades has reached a new level, their performances have won many prestigious prizes, ”he said.

Zisl also noted that he had never worked in an office.

“Because there are no repertory theaters in the USA, as in the countries of the former socialist camp. There is a production here - your name is, there is a concert - they are also called, no - you are looking for another job, ”he explained.

At the same time, he shared that he "still likes this fantastic feeling of stability."

“When you play music for a year and a half, first seven, and then eight performances a week and you know that every Thursday you will have a fee on your account. Every person needs a sense of routine stability. It is psychologically necessary, ”the musician noted.

And he added that in January this feeling for him will shake - the musical is closed.

“But, probably, new opportunities will open up: that's what New York is for,” the musician does not lose heart.

The most unpleasant question, according to Zisl, sounds to him like this: “What's next?”

“Honestly, I don’t know what will happen next. I live in the moment, work and try to find the next job. Again, I do not know how much this is a virtue or not, but it disciplines and forces you to keep yourself in shape. Doesn't let you relax, but makes you a good professional, ”he summed up.