The Progressive Musical Benevolent Society was a mutual aid and burial society in New York City which counted among its members many of the celebrities of old American klezmer music, as well as upwardly mobile musicians who left klezmer behind. Most of its members were Yiddish-speaking immigrant musicians from the Russian Empire, but many were children of immigrant klezmer musicians who were born in New York City. The PMBS changed over several eras of New York Jewish life, from its start as a labor union, to a mutual aid and social organization, to mainly being a burial society after WWII.
Through an online exploration of Dan Carkner's archival research and Dave Levitt's family lore, this talk will explain how and why it was formed, what its purpose was, and who some of its notable members were.
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Daniel Carkner is a historian (MA UBC '20) who works as a library technician at Langara College in Vancouver. He has been an active member of the Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture in Vancouver since 2017. His current research interests relate to immigrant klezmer musicians in New York from the 1890s to 1920s, including their biographies and family histories, their professional relationships, and their efforts to copyright their compositions with the U.S. Library of Congress during the interwar years.
Dan was a Music Editorial Board member of the Klezmer Institute's Scholarly Editions Project (2023–24), an active volunteer for the Institute's Kisegof-Makonovetsky Digital Manuscript Project (KMDMP), and recipient of the YIVO Institute's Ruth and Joseph Memorial Fellowship in East European Arts, Music, and Theater (2025). He shares his research on klezmer music and musicians on his blog, Old Klezmers. -
Dave Levitt is a 4th generation Klezmer musician with roots stemming back to Kiev. His grandfather Jack Levitt and great uncles were very busy in the field during its heyday. Dave’s dad Marty was a bandleader in the Jewish field starting in the early 50’s. The bandstand also featured Dave’s mother Harriet Kane who sang in Yiddish as well as many other languages. Dave started going on “gigs” with his parents at the age of 8. He was introduced to many people in the business and worked with many of them over the years. The list includes Pete Sokolow, The Epstein Brothers, Ray Musiker, Andy Statman, Sid Beckerman, Max Goldberg and more. Levitt has a Masters degree from Manhattan School of Music. He has a trio recording out featuring Michael Winograd and Christina Crowder. Picture courtesy of Lloyd Wolf.