Karsten Troyke


Karsten Troyke is a German singer of Jewish songs, as well as an actor and speaker.

Early life

Troyke was born to a non-jewish family, his father Werner "Josh" Sellhorn though had a paternal grandmother who was jewish.
Troyke worked in various jobs: as a gardener and with cognitively challenged children. He studied singing as well as drama and speaking, performing on stage since 1982.

Career

In 1990 he gave up work to dedicate himself full-time to musical performance and theater. Troyke participated in radio plays, worked as a voice actor, and appeared in various stage plays.
As a singer, his album Yiddish Anders received the praise of German record critics. Jidische Vergessene Lieder contained previously unpublished songs of Sara Bialas Tenenberg, who became his mentor for the Yiddish language.
In his performances, Troyke worked with Bettina Wegner, Suzanna and the :de:Trio Scho|Trio Scho. His interpretations of the songs of Georg Kreisler received mention in the writer-musician's 2005 biography. In 2006, two documentaries, Yiddish Soul and Concert Yiddish Soul, featured Troyke, Shura Lipovsky, Myriam Fuks, and The KlezRoym.
Troyke holds workshops on interpretating Yiddish songs and teaches rare songs from his collection. He was a guest professor at the Jewish Music Institute of School of Oriental and African Studies, London, at Carleton College Northfield and at the summer school of :fr:Centre Medem Arbeter Ring|Centre Medem, Paris.

Work

Books

In collaboration: