Schedule
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Tribute to Avram Sutzkever
Tuesday, August 31st at 7:30pm in the Beth Emeth Bais Yehuda Synagogue - $10 at the door
Ashkenaz honours one of the great 20th century Yiddish poets and partisansm Avram Sutzkever, who died earlier this year at the age of 96. Featuring Yiddish vocal stalwarts Mitch Smolkin, Theresa Tova and Efim Chorny, this tribute will feature Sutzkever's poetry and music and relevant work from his contemporaries that contextualizes and brings to life the milieu that gave birth to arguably the greatest Yiddish poet to have lived.
Deli Duos
Wednesday, September 1st at 2:00pm at Caplansky's Delicatessan - Free
With: Fern Lindzon and Kiki Neret
A Gilgul Fun a Nign (Metamorphosis of a Melody)
Wednesday, September 1st at 7:00pm at Al Green Theatre - $15 Buy Tickets
With: Rafael Goldwaser
Yiddish theatre actor Rafael Goldwaser returns to Toronto with his newest one-man show, based on a story by I.L. Peretz, the father of modern Yiddish literature. Goldwaser’s latest traces a melody by the legendary klezmer fiddler Pedotser as it evolves and reincarnates across time and space, eventually coming full circle to its original conception. Featuring unique projections of images on talitim, Goldwaser’s existential musings on the soul of a melody and those who possess it is a full of beauty and universal meaning.
Yiddish Humour in Song
Thursday, September 2nd at 12:00pm at Koffler Centre of the Arts - Free
With: Binyumen Schaechter
Who Said There Are No Funny Yiddish Songs? Composer, conductor, performer and Yiddishist Binyumen Schaechter will lead a fun-filled interactive session looking at the lighter side of Yiddish song, bringing forth little known gems from his repertoire. It’s a special summertime gathering of the Koffler Centre's crEATivity Club in conjunction with the Ashkenaz Festival. Bring your lunch and we’ll provide nourishment for the soul...and beverages too!
Deli Duos
Thursday, September 2nd at 2:00pm at Caplansky's Delicatessan - Free
With: Mike Anklewicz and Ali Berkok
Song of the Lodz Ghetto (2010)
Thursday, September 2nd at 7:00pm at the Sheppard Grande Theatre - SOLD OUT
With: Song of the Lodz Ghetto (2010)
Long-awaited film by Toronto filmmaker David Kaufman about the protest songs created in the Nazi ghetto of Lodz Poland and their transformation by the group Brave Old World into a contemporary concert program (presented by Ashkenaz in 1999 and 2007)
Ashkenaz at Lula
Thursday, September 2nd at 8:30pm in the Lula Lounge - $10 at the door
With: Geoff Berner , Michael Winograd Trio
Vancouver–based rebel Jewish singer-songwriter. His latest album, “Klezmer Mongrels,” is a klezmer punk folk dance album about mixed-breeds of all kinds. Having now completed his "Whiskey Rabbi" CD trilogy, Berner is now pushing his sound in new directions and preparing to record his next album, to be produced by Yiddish beat scientist Socalled.
Deli Duos
Friday, September 3rd at 2:00pm at Caplansky's Delicatessan - Free
With: Brian Katz and Jonno Lightstone
Isaac Bashevis Singer and His Artists
Saturday, September 4th at 6:00pm at MBCS
Monday, September 6th at 12:00pm at MBCS
- Free
A unique exhibit of drawings and paintings by 16 different artists who illustrated various books and short story collections by the famous Jewish author.
Lenka Lichtenberg
Saturday, September 4th at 6:00pm at the Lakeside Terrace - Free
On her boundary-busting new CD “Free,” Prague-born singer, composer and cantorial soloist blends modern Yiddish poetry with global musical influences including classical Indian, Egyptian, Middle-Eastern and North and South American styles.
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Short Films From KlezKanada
Saturday, September 4th at 6:00pm in the Studio Theatre
With: KlezKanada Film Scholarship Retrospective
Entertaining and highly creative perspectives on the KlezKanada Yiddish Culture Festival experience, by participants in the David Stein Memorial Film Scholarship program.
Flory Jagoda
Saturday, September 4th at 7:00pm at the Enwave Theatre - $18 in advance/$25 day-of Buy Tickets
Bosnian-Ladino legend known world-wide as the ”keeper of the Flame;” in 2002 Flory was honoured with a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts for her contribution to preserving a traditional art form.
The Black Sea Station
Saturday, September 4th at 7:00pm in the Brigantine Room - Free
Fresh modern spin on traditional klezmer music from this Canadian band, featuring three founding members of Canada’s first Klezmer revival band Finjan, as well as renowned Canadian music producer Ben Mink.
“Abraham Cahan and the Forverts”
Saturday, September 4th at 7:00pm in Miss Lou's Room - Free
With: Boris Sandler
Elaine Hoffman Watts
Saturday, September 4th at 8:00pm on the Sirius Stage
79-year old Philly Klezmer legend and 2007 recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellowship Award, joined by her daughter, trumpet and vocal powerhouse Susan Watts and a cast of all-star Klezmorim.
Taqasim (2007)
Saturday, September 4th at 8:30pm in the Studio Theatre - Free
Shot in the streets of Cairo, Tagasim features Arabic and Jewish musicians and memorable back-ally jams featuring Felix Misrachi, Zehava Ben, Abraham Salman and many others.
Havdallah
Saturday, September 4th at 9:00pm on the Redpath Stage
One of the most revered Jewish rituals, the celebration of Havdallah at the Ashkenaz Festival is likely Canada’s largest outdoor Havdallah ceremony. Thousands of people come together to awaken their senses by smelling spices, drinking wine, and basking in firelight as the passing of shabbes (the Sabbath) is marked. Led this year by Sruli and Lisa, Ashkenaz’s Havdallah features mysticism and music for the many souls present, in preparation for the Festival and work week to come.
The Other Europeans
Saturday, September 4th at 9:30pm on the Sirius Stage - Free
14 piece Jewish/Roma super-group with members from seven different countries nations. Created and directed by Alan Bern, this new intercultural supergroup is creating powerful, deeply emotional and virtuosic music that restores a centuries-old cooperation between two groups who cohabited many of the same spaces in eastern Europe (particularly present-day Moldova) before being torn apart by war, holocaust and immigration.
Sponsored by David Sela, Herschel Segal
Sponsored by Zukerman Family Foundation
Travel Assistance provided by Consulat Général de France á Toronto
Slichot
Saturday, September 4th at 10:00pm in Miss Lou's Room - Free
With: Slichot, Yair Dalal
Observed nightly beginning on the Saturday before Rosh Hashana, Slichot is an ancient Jewish ritual in which penitential prayers, poems and piyuttim are recited. The first such observance ever presented at the Ashkenaz Festival, this participatory/experiential event will explore the mysteries of the Slichot service through a fusion of music, chanting, liturgy, poetry, meditation and prayer. The service will be lead by the award-winning singer and prayer-leader Aviva Chernick, of the Juno-nominated group Jaffa Road. She will be joined by an ensemble featuring Israeli oud and violin master Yair Dalal, and some of Canada's top world music performers, including Jaffa Road bandleader Aaron Lightstone (guitar, oud and saz), Indian tabla virtuoso Gurpreet "the tabla guy" Channa (percussion), multi-instrumentalist Josh Engel (guitar, mandolin) and Ernie Tollar (nay, bansuri, saxophone). This unique ensemble will create beautiful, engaging, and organic musical textures that bring together, and are firmly rooted in the musical/spiritual traditions of Ashkenazi and Sephardic Judasim, as well as India, the Arab world, and Sufism.
Sephardic and Mizrachi Cabaret
Saturday, September 4th at 11:00pm at the Lakeside Terrace - Free
With: Sephardic and Mizrachi Cabaret, Yair Dalal
A variety performance featuring multiple festival artists working of Jewish traditions of the Mediterranean, North Africa, Israel, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, and beyond.
Shtiller Tants
Saturday, September 4th at 11:00pm on the Boardwalk
Sunday, September 5th at 11:00pm on the Boardwalk
- Free
With: Steve Weintraub
The duo of master klezmer musicians Steve Greenman (violin) and Pete Rushefsky (tsimbl) lead unamplified dance sessions by moonlight on the Harbourfront Centre Boardwalk.
Yiddish Princess
Saturday, September 4th at 11:00pm in the Brigantine Room - Free
NYC band performs Yiddish songs in 80’s rock and power ballad style. Think Molly Picon meets Pat Benetar. A bizarre yet compelling reimagination of Yiddish music that rocks out without leaving the shlock out.
Idelsohn Society for Musical Preservation
Saturday, September 4th at 12:00am in the Brigantine Room - Free
With: Josh Kun
Vinyl archaeologist Josh Kun dips into his amazing treasury of 20th century Jewish recorded sounds to keep Ashkenaz going well past midnight
Bella Did Ya Eat Jewish Brunch
Sunday, September 5th at 12:00pm at Free Times Cafe (offsite)
With: Les Bâtards du Bouche
Toronto's longest running presenter of live Jewish music and home of the city's top Jewish brunch. Clogger of arteries, incubator of bands - Free Times Cafe and its colourful owner Judy Perly keep the Jews-and-food connection going strong!
Parade Crafts with Shadowland
Sunday, September 5th at 12:00pm in the ZOOM! Kids Tent - Free
Help create the festival’s largest work of art! Assisted by Shadowland Theatre, kids can create their own costumes and props for the Ashkenaz Parade on Labour Day Monday.
From “Others” to Brothers
Sunday, September 5th at 1:00pm in Miss Lou's Room - Free
With: Meet The Other Europeans
Meet the fourteen members of The Other Europeans, a unique intercultural group of Jewish and Roma musicians hailing from seven different countries. Over the last three years this unique assemblage of world-class soloists has worked to explore and rekindle the historic musical symbiosis between Klezmer and Lautari musicians, along the way developing into one of the most exciting ensembles in contemporary world music circles. Joined by the entire ensemble, creator and musical director Alan Bern will present the project’s vision, objectives and historical context, revealing the challenges and successes encountered over the last three years of cross-cultural collaboration and performance. Featuring perspectives from each group member and video footage of research expeditions by members of the group to Israel and Bessarabia.
Michael Winograd Dance Band
Sunday, September 5th at 1:00pm in the Brigantine Room - Free
With: Michael Winograd Trio
“La Nona Canta”
Sunday, September 5th at 1:00pm at the Lakeside Terrace - Free
With: Flory Jagoda
Flory Jagoda, the nona (grandmother) of Ladino music, is the last surviving member of the Altaras family, a group of well-known singers and musicians from Bosnia. The Altaras' centuries-old musical tradition sung in Ladino and coloured equally by Spanish and Balkan influences, is characterized by the importance of families, particularly women, singing together and passing musical heritage from generation to generation. Flory embodies this tradition in its purest form, having learned the music as a child from her grandmother and having spent her life sharing it with her own children and grandchildren, and with many thousands of Ladino music performers and enthusiasts who consider her their own nona. Telling tales of her childhood in pre-WWII Sarajevo, Flory will illuminate a world that no longer exists, sharing some of her best-loved songs in sing-along style.
"You will Know us by the Trail of our Vinyl"
Sunday, September 5th at 2:00pm in the Studio Theatre - Free
With: Josh Kun
Sruli and Lisa
Sunday, September 5th at 2:00pm in the Lakeside Terrace Tent - Free
With: Jewish Jug Band with Sruli and Lisa
The Spirit of Sepharad
Sunday, September 5th at 2:00pm at the Enwave Theatre - $25 in advance/$30 day-of Buy Tickets
With: The Spirit of Sepharad, Yair Dalal
Multimedia show tracing the history of Sephardic music and dance from Spain through North Africa to the middle-east.
Klezmerata Fiorentina
Sunday, September 5th at 2:30pm in the Brigantine Room
“Chamber-Klezmer” quartet from Florence Italy.
Ashkenazic Storytelling
Sunday, September 5th at 3:00pm in Miss Lou's Room
Monday, September 6th at 3:00pm in the Studio Theatre
- Free
With: Aubrey Davis
Jewish storytelling.
Di Shekhter-Tekhter
Sunday, September 5th at 3:00pm on the Redpath Stage - Free
Scion of a profoundly influential family of American Yiddishists, Binyumen Schaechter plays piano and directs his two singing daughters, aged 9 and 14, in a charming journey through Yiddish song.
Isacc Bashevis Singer and His Artists
Sunday, September 5th at 3:30pm at MBCS - Free
With: Laura Kruger
Red Hot Chachkas
Sunday, September 5th at 3:30pm on the Sirius Stage - Free
Making their Canadian debut, this group of multi-talented musicians plays traditional Eastern European dance tunes, ranging from frenzied freylekhs to tranquil tantsn, plus many original compositions, arrangements, and improvisations, building on the klezmer tradition and fusing with a variety of traditional and contemporary musical styles.
Efim Chorny and Susanna Ghergus
Sunday, September 5th at 4:00pm at the Lakeside Terrace
With his soulful voice and charismatic style, Efim Chorny is one of Eastern Europe’s leading practitioners of traditional and contemporary Yiddish song, and a major figure in the revival of Yiddish culture in the former Soviet Union.
The Kugel Valley Klezmer Band
Sunday, September 5th at 4:00pm in the Studio Theatre - Free
Presentation combines reading of the touching story by Joan Betty Stuchner and Richard Row, projection of illustrations from the book, and live klezmer musicians with interactive dance components.
Sephardic Roundtable
Sunday, September 5th at 4:30pm in Miss Lou's Room
With: Flory Jagoda , Gerard Edery , Yair Dalal
A panel discussion featuring artists from a diverse range of Sephardic and Mizrachi musical traditions, including Yair Dalal, Gerard Edery, Flory Jagoda and Galeet Dardashti.
Jewish Dance Band
Sunday, September 5th at 5:00pm in the Brigantine Room - Free
With: The Other Europeans
Zebrina
Sunday, September 5th at 5:00pm on the Sirius Stage - Free
Toronto-based progressive Jewish ensemble combines eastern melodies with western grooves.
Lorie Wolf “Mazel and Schlimazel”
Sunday, September 5th at 5:30pm in the Studio Theatre
"Mazel and Shlimazel" - a multimedia musical adaptation of a children's Yiddish folk story by Isaac Bashevis Singer; geared toward kids.
“Enchanted” CD Release
Sunday, September 5th at 5:30pm at the Enwave Theatre - $18 in advance/$25 day-of Buy Tickets
With: Adrienne Cooper
Yiddish chanteuse premieres her daring new CD “Enchanted,” an inventive combination of deep Yiddish soul with fearless innovation rooted in klezmer, jazz, pop and world music and backed by a stellar cast of New York’s finest next generation Jewish musicians.
Les Bâtards du Bouche
Sunday, September 5th at 6:00pm at the Lakeside Terrace
An unprecedented, Ashkenaz-commissioned collaboration, this unique group reignites the delightfully campy yet musically sophisticated tradition of harmonica quartets, featuring the entire harmonica family (bass, chord, chromatic and diatonic). Virtuoso Quebecois harmonica players Levy Bourbonais, Samuel Caron, Jason Rosenblatt and Pascal Veillette delve into an entirely original repertoire of Jewish music fused with the avante garde and Quebecois musical traditions.
Sponsored by Gorman & Shore Families
David Buchbinder's Odessa/Havana
Sunday, September 5th at 7:00pm in the Brigantine Room - $15 in advance/$18 at door Buy Tickets
Explosive Jewish/Cuban musical mash-up featuring Cuban Jazz piano superstar Hilario Duran and Ashkenaz Festival founder David Buchbinder (trumpet).
Paint What you Remember (2009)
Sunday, September 5th at 7:00pm in the Studio Theatre
Story of the life of Mayer Kirshenblatt and his paintings.
The House on Bainbridge Avenue
Sunday, September 5th at 7:00pm in Miss Lou's Room
With: Binyumen Schaechter
Binyumen Schaechter reminisces about growing up in one of New York’s most influential families of Yiddish linguists, poets, writers, and activists.
Divahn
Sunday, September 5th at 8:00pm on the Sirius Stage
With: Galeet Dardashti and Divahn., Yair Dalal
Edgy all-female power-house ensemble fuses traditional and original Persian and Middle Eastern Jewish songs with sophisticated harmonies, entrancing improvisations, and funky arrangements.
Glimpses of Yiddish Czernowitz (2010)
Sunday, September 5th at 9:00pm in the Studio Theatre
A visual tale of the all but lost Jewish community of Czernowitz. This filmic essay expresses critical historical moments of Jewish life in the city and in the region of Bukovina.
Balkan Beat Box
Sunday, September 5th at 9:30pm on the Sirius Stage - Free
Electro-folk and Mediterranean fusion from JDub recording artists. Their relentlessly energetic and carnival-esque live shows are quickly becoming the stuff of legend, building wild anticipation for their Toronto debut at the 2010 Ashkenaz Festival.
Sponsored-by Jack Weinbaum Family Foundation
Goldfaden's Legacy (2004)
Sunday, September 5th at 9:30pm in the Studio Theatre
A musical romp celebrating the songs, stars and stories of Yiddish Theatre.
The Sway Machinery
Sunday, September 5th at 11:00pm in the Brigantine Room - Free
Underground Cantorial rock and Jewish afrobeat with downtown NY hipster sensibilities. Featuring special guest, African vocalist Khaira Darby.
Parade Crafts with Shadowland Theatre
Monday, September 6th at 12:00pm in the ZOOM! Kids Tent
Help create the festival's biggest work of art! Assisted by Shadowland Theatre kids can create their own costumes and props for the Ashkenaz Parade, taking place on Labour Day Monday at 4pm.
Toronto Jewish Folk Choir
Monday, September 6th at 12:30pm in the Brigantine Room - Free
Founded in 1925, the Toronto Jewish Folk Choir is the oldest continuing Jewish performing group in Canada. The Choir was formed by workers from the needle-trades district and specializes in perpetuating the heritage of Yiddish folk and working-class music.For Ashkenaz 2010 the group will perform a Suite by Srul Irving Glik with musical settings of work by five Canadian Yiddish Poets, including Peretz Miransky and Rokhl Korn.
Alex Kontorovich Dance Band
Monday, September 6th at 1:00pm on the Redpath Stage - Free
Frank London's "A Night in the Old Marketplace"
Monday, September 6th at 1:00pm at the Enwave Theatre - $25 in advance, $30 day of show Buy Tickets
Grammy award-winning klezmer giant Frank London mixes Jewish, jazz, and world beats in his unique adaptation of a phantasmagorical Yiddish play, written in 1907 by I.L. Peretz. Performed by an outstanding group of 10 musicians and singers plus a narrator, the tragi-comic "shtetl ghost love story" is an unforgettable performance experience.
Jewish and Roma Musicians in European Culture
Monday, September 6th at 1:00pm in Miss Lou's Room - Free
With: Bob Cohen
Budapest based ethnomusicologist and musician (Di Naye Kapelye) will give presentation on Jewish/Roma musical connections and his own fieldwork in Hungary and Romania.
Presented in association with Centre for Traditional Music and Dance
“Everybody’s Song”
Monday, September 6th at 1:00pm in the Studio Theatre - Free
With: Gerard Edery
Moroccan-born Sephardic music master introduces teenage audiences to the shared musical heritage of Jews, Christians and Muslims during the Golden Age of Spain”.
Jaffa Road
Monday, September 6th at 2:00pm on the Sirius Stage - Free
Virtuosic interpreters of inter-cultural music drawing from the worlds of sacred and secular Jewish songs, Classical Arabic and Indian music, modern jazz, rock, pop, and dub. 2010 Juno award nominees for Best World Music album.
Sruli and Lisa “Klezmer For Kids”
Monday, September 6th at 2:00pm on the Redpath Stage - Free
Outwitting History
Monday, September 6th at 2:30pm in Miss Lou's Room - Free
With: Aaron Lansky
Author and founder of National Yiddish Book Center tells the fascinating story of how he saved tens of thousands of Yiddish books from extinction and founded the world’s largest repository of Yiddish literature.
Sponsored-by Harvey & Elise Kalles, Pearl Godfrey
Tio Chorinho
Monday, September 6th at 2:30pm at the Lakeside Terrace - Free
A new Toronto ensemble led by Ashkenaz Artistic Director Eric Stein (Beyond the Pale), dedicated to performing Brazillian choro music in the tradition of the great Jewish mandolin master, Jacob de Bandolim.
Mycale
Monday, September 6th at 3:00pm in the Brigantine Room - $15 in advance / $18 day-of-show Buy Tickets
All-female, a capella all-stars perform the music of John Zorn. Expressive and passionate, Basya Schecter, Ayelet Rose Gottlieb, Malika Zarra and Sofia Rei Koutsovitis are four of the most creative vocalists around, each the leader of a dynamic band of their own.
Ashkenaz Parade
Monday, September 6th at 4:00pm on the Redpath Stage - Free
Shadowland Theatre The undisputed highlight of every Ashkenaz Festival, the world famous parade is a cavalcade of music, song, dance, puppetry, stiltwalking and group revelry.
Kaba Horo
Monday, September 6th at 5:00pm on the Sirius Stage - Free
Bulgarian gypsy funk band combines elements of urban funk/rock/jazz grooves in its incendiary fusion
Sasha Luminsky and Martin Van de Ven with String Quartet
Monday, September 6th at 5:00pm at the Lakeside Terrace - Free
Two of Toronto’s veteran Klezmer and Jewish music performers share a string quartet, performing unique interpretations of contemporary Jewish chamber music featuring themselves as soloists in a combined performance.
“The Frumkiss Family Business”
Monday, September 6th at 5:00pm in the Brigantine Room
With: Michael Wex
Author, raconteur and Ashkenaz icon returns.
The Fellowship of the Strings
Monday, September 6th at 6:00pm on the Redpath Stage
With: Di Tsvey, The Fellowship of the Strings
Before wind and brass instruments began appearing in Klezmer ensembles of the late 19th and early 20th century, Klezmer music was performed almost exclusively by fidl kapelyes (string orchestras) that featured all members of the violin family, the tsimbl (hammered dulcimer) and percussion (poyk). Aiming to recreate the sound of these classic European Klezmer groups, the Fellowship of the Strings is a unique ensemble assembled especially for the 2010 Ashkenaz Festival. Under the direction of two of the world's leading masters of 19th century European klezmer music, violinist Steven Greenman and tsimblist Pete Rushefsky, the ensemble will perform a set of virtuosi showpieces, lively dance tunes, and soulful nigunim, learned over three days of intensive workshops. Building on the playful and delicate musical interaction characteristic of their work in the duo “Di Tsvey,” Greenman and Rushefsky will be joined by special guest instructors Stas Rayko (The Other Europeans), Igor Polesitsky (Klezmerata Fiorentina), and Bob Cohen (Di Naye Kapelye), who will contribute their own unique pieces and arrangements to the group’s repertoire. Note: Workshops for participants in the Fellowship of the Strings will take place at Harbourfront Centre on Sept 4 from 4-6pm, and Sept 5 and 6 from 10am to 12pm. For registration information please see the “workshops” link under the “Festival” drop-down menu on the Ashkenaz Festival website.
The Socalled Movie
Monday, September 6th at 6:30pm in the Studio Theatre - Free
NFB-produced portrait of Yiddish hip-hop renegade Socalled.
“Night Songs from a Neighbouring Village”
Monday, September 6th at 6:30pm in the Brigantine Room - FREE
With: Michael Alpert and Julian Kytasty
A multimedia concert program that brings together East European Jewish and Ukrainian musical traditions, featuring new compositions and arrangements that merge tradition and innovation.
Acoustic Dance Band
Monday, September 6th at 7:00pm on the Redpath Stage
Best of the Fest Finale
Monday, September 6th at 7:30pm on the Sirius Stage - Free
An Ashkenaz tradition, the Festival comes to a rousing close with a series of performances by some of this year’s hottest headline artists, followed by a massive jam session featuring all the festival musicians.
