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There is still room to register for KlezKanada 2008, to be held from August 18 to 24. Act quickly to be part of the richest, most intense experience of Yiddishkeit in North America.
Follow these links to download KlezKanada's
2008 Registration Form
2008 Brochure
2008 Workshop Choice Sheet
Check out the new KlezKanada website, www.klezkanada.org
For 13 years Ashkenaz has brought the finest
in Yiddish and Jewish culture to Toronto.
To celebrate our ‘Bar Mitzvah’ year we
have assembled a diverse and exciting
festival lineup featuring more than
70 performances and 200 individual
artists from a dozen countries. From
music, dance, theatre, and film, to visual
arts, literature, discussions, kids and
family activities, and group celebrations
like Havdallah and our famous Parade,
Ashkenaz offers a wealth of artistic and cultural
experiences for all the senses.
The intermingling of tradition and innovation
has always been the hallmark not just of the
Ashkenaz Festival, but of the global Jewish
community. This year, Ashkenaz once again
presents a mix of traditional arts along with
multicultural fusion bridging communities
and artistic traditions from within and
beyond the Jewish world. And while
contemporary Klezmer music and
Yiddish culture remain at the heart
of our programming, we are thrilled
this year to offer more Sephardic
music and culture than ever before.
In short, Ashkenaz offers something
for everyone, a multi-cultural, multigenerational
experience for Jews and non-
Jews alike.
What an amazing concert. We had a standing-room only crowd that seemed to consist exclusively of people who knew this music and loved it, and the musicians fed right off that in one of those wonderful loops where the music becomes incredibly good. They covered the gamut of folk music from Eastern Europe, and Steven contributed a generous helping of material from Stempenyu's Dream. This lead to the delighful anomoly of a concert that ran the gamut from Walt singing a Balkan drinking song to Steve getting the whole audience to join him in a concert-closing catharsis singing his "Yah Ribon."
I tried out two new recorders, one digital audio (but got only one channel), and one DAT (had to boost amplitude, and kept forgetting to turn it on). The DAT recording is now in the Internet Archive (thank you Steve and Walt) for everyone's pleasure. And, of course, if you like this, you have only to visit Steven Greenman's website for more. (The Harmonia Band website appears to be down—not sure where to pick up their wonderful recording on "Traditional Crossroads").