ARTS AND CULTURE

Zalmen Mlotek

Conductor and composer

The distinguished American Jewish conductor and composer Zalmen Mlotek, who studied at the Juilliard School under the legendary Leonard Bernstein, has served as the artistic director of the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF) for more than two decades. In 2018, Mlotek's team at the NYTF debuted Fiddler On The Roof in Yiddish at The Museum of Jewish Heritage to overwhelming critical acclaim. Originally set to run for eight weeks, the production was repeatedly extended until it was transferred to the Off-Broadway venue Stage 42, where it still runs, and where Mlotek works as musical director and conductor, except on Shabbat and Jewish holidays. An internationally recognized authority on Yiddish folk and theater music, Mlotek has lectured at Columbia University, Yeshiva University, the Jewish Theological Seminary, and Bar-Ilan University in Israel. (Photo: Mlotekfamily / CC BY-SA 4.0)