published: 07 Feb 2026, 3 min read
when: 26 Feb 2026 | cost: $26.73 | address: 3200 California Street, San Francisco, CA 94118, United StatesAn electrifying night of klezmer and Transylvanian folk rhythms brought to life by the internationally renowned klezmer fiddler and her band
When Zoë Aqua stepped into a 150-year-old synagogue in Satu Mare, Romania, its star-painted ceiling and natural acoustics transformed her music. That moment – when sound, place, and history converged – gave rise to In a Sea of Stars, a live album recorded during her Transylvanian Synagogue Tour.
Drawing on Transylvanian folk traditions captured in historic Jewish spaces, Aqua blends klezmer, Hungarian, and Romani influences into a sound that feels both ancient and strikingly alive. A Fulbright scholar who spent two years studying Transylvanian folk music, she performs with three leading musicians from Romania’s folk revival scene, featuring instruments rarely heard on American stages: the cimbalom and the brácsa, alongside violin and upright bass.
In their first U.S. tour together, Zoë Aqua and her Transylvanian String Band deliver a powerful, joyful, and utterly unique concert experience – one that will resonate with fans of klezmer, Yiddish music, bluegrass, old-time, and Irish fiddle alike. There is truly nothing else like it.
Featuring:
Zoë Aqua (violin, composition)
Gergely Réman (cimbalom)
Kálmán Szopos (brácsa)
Károly Dénes (bass)
Already a spectacular, mesmerizing fiddler… her playing is so intense it’s almost architectural, able to hold up the walls of the synagogues.” — Songlines
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