Instant Klezmer Mandolin Orchestra™

In the early 20th century, among the many mandolin orchestras playing light classical and popular music in Europe and America were those emphasizing Jewish music. Carrying on this tradition, and named in recognition of its infrequent assembly, spontaneous musical arrangements, genre, instrumentation, and plethora of plinky pluckers, the Instant Klezmer Mandolin Orchestra features members of many of the San Francisco Bay Area's leading klezmer groups, and as well as mandolinists prominent in other genres, celebrity cameos, and innocent bystanders. The group originally formed to play at the San Francisco Festival of the Mandolins in 2005, returning in 2008, 2009, and 2015.  IKMO also performed in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2015 at the Jewish Music Festival of the JCC East Bay Community Music Day in Berkeley, where it was acclaimed as the most populous group each year.