WASHINGTON (JTA) – A Jewish documenter and performer of Klezmer music was honored at the Library of Congress.

Michael Alpert was among 15 artists recognized in Congress on Thursday as 2015 National Endowment of the Arts fellows.

Announcing its fellows in June, the endowment described Alpert as a “key figure in the renaissance of East European Jewish music and culture worldwide since the 1970s.”

A founder of the Klezmer band Kapelye, Alpert “is one of the only Yiddish singers of his generation adept in the style of pre-WWII generations,” the endowment said.

The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent government agency that seeds arts programs. While it rarely fully funds programs, its imprimatur is known to attract major funding by private donors.

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