Musical director of world-renowned New Jewish Music group, Brave Old World, Alan Bern is one of the leading scholars, performers and creators of Yiddish and New Jewish Music. A native of Bloomington, Indiana, Alan has travelled around the world to perform and recording with groups such as the Klezmer Conservatory Band, The Klezmatics, Andy Statman, Kapelye, Itzhak Perlman and others.
As well as Brave Old World, Alan directs Diaspora Redux (a New Jewish Music septet with Aaron Alexander, Paul Brody, Alex Kontorovich, Cesar Lerner, Martin Lillich and Marcelo Moguilevsky; directs The Other Europeans (a 14-piece klezmer/lautar project with Kalman Balogh, Dan Blacksberg, Paul Brody, Marin Bunea, Matt Darriau, Christian Dawid, Matt Darriau, Csaba Novak, Petar Ralchev, Stas Rayko, Adrian Receanu, Mark Rubin, Adam Stinga); and a membr of a trio with Paul Brody and guitarist Michael Rodach and a duo with accordionist Guy Klucevsek.
Based in Berlin since 1987, he is the program director of Yiddish Summer Weimar and the Other Music Academy, based in Weimar, and is a frequent consultant and/or faculty at many international Yiddish and Jewish musical festivals.