Co-Directors

Meg has played violin almost her whole life. A devoted chamber musician, she more recently has delved into klezmer, a tradition that deeply resonates with her. She feels fortunate to have studied with the always-inspiring klezmer master Alicia Svigals. She is thrilled to play in Tsuzamen with her Klez Fest Midwest co-organizers: Dan Grabois (her husband) and Michael Bell.

Before moving to Madison, Meg taught middle and high school math in New York City and co-founded Kaleidoscope, a program that brought math to life through hands-on art projects for students and teachers throughout the New York City public schools.

When not playing violin, Meg enjoys baking sourdough bread, finding the perfect Benjamin Moore paint color, and taking slow walks around the neighborhood with her elderly dog Libby.

Dan is Professor of Horn Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, having retired at the end of the spring semester of 2026 (he started his teaching career, though not at UW, in 1989). He has had a long career playing and teaching the French horn, first in New York City and then in Madison. His interest in klezmer was lit on fire several years ago, and led him to take up the melodica and the Continuum Fingerboard. He has polished his klezmer skills under the guidance of such luminaries of the genre as Alicia Svigals, Frank London, Josh Dolgin, and Jake Shulman-Ment.

Dan also enjoys woodworking, exercising, speaking French, arguing politics, drinking a glass of bourbon, talking on the phone (yes, there’s an app for that), and napping. His podcast, entitled $2 Broom, can be seen and heard on youtube. He is married to Meg Lamm, and they collaborate on their klezmer work on a daily basis.

Michael is, after many years on the University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty, a professor with a very long title: the Philip David Lowe and Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of Community and Environmental Sociology. But when he is not teaching or researching in those areas (both of which he loves to do), he is most likely to be discovered performing or composing music, from grassroots to classical, often combining them, and often with a klezmer flair — what maybe should be called klez-sical music! Some sweet moments of his klezmer and classical bridging can be heard in his symphony, Regeneration, which was premiered in February of 2026 by the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. He writes lots of songs too, many of which are in the set lists of Madison’s indie klezmer band, Tsuzamen, and Elm Duo, his duet with his daughter Eleanor Mayerfeld (who also performs in Tsuzamen).