The Epstein Brothers Orchestra (also known as the Epstein Brothers) was a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

musical quartet from the United States who mainly played

Klezmer Klezmer ( yi, קלעזמער or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for l ...

music. It consisted of the four

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

born brothers, Max Epstein (October 4, 1912 – March 18, 2000), William "Willie" Epstein (March 3, 1919 – July 2, 1999), Julius "Julie" Epstein (November 4, 1926 – July 25, 2015) and Isidore "Chi" Epstein (December 28, 1913 – November 9, 1986). In 1996 Max, William and Julius Epstein performed together in the documentary ''A Tickle in the Heart'' which told the story of the four brothers. Chi died in 1986. The Epstein Brothers were recipients of a 1998

National Heritage Fellowship The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States government's h ...

awarded by the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

, which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. Since the death of William on July 2, 1999 and Max on March 18, 2000 in

Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, Julius Epstein was the last surviving member of the band. He lived with his wife Esther in Sarasota, Florida until his death in July 2015.

References

External links

''Epstein Brothers''
at the NEA American instrumental musical groups Klezmer groups National Heritage Fellowship winners {{US-music-bio-stub