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Artistic Director Eric Stein is pleased to announce the first of many headline acts appearing at the 15th Anniversary ASHKENAZ Festival, August 31 – September 6, at Harbourfront Centre, Lula Lounge, the Al Green Theatre at the Miles Nadal JCC and Caplansky’s Delicatessen.
The Other Europeans, an multicultural supergroup will perform Saturday, September 4, and Balkan Beat Box, an Israeli trio of Jewish hipsters will perform Sunday, September 5. Both concerts are FREE and take place at the Harbourfront Centre Sirius Stage beginning at 9:30pm each night.
Bringing together some of the most distinguished soloists from seven countries, The Other Europeans is an international gathering of 14 leading klezmer (Yiddish) and lautari (Roma) musicians who are contributing to a new cosmopolitan European identity. The Jews and the Roma are often considered marginally European, but they have played a major role in creating and transmitting European musical traditions.
Building new cultural relationships, The Other Europeans are: Kalman Balogh (Budapest), cimbalom; Alan Bern (Berlin) piano, accordion, musical direction; Marin Bunea (Chișinau) violin; Dan Blacksberg (Philadelphia) trombone; Csaba Novak (Budapest) double bass; Paul Brody (Berlin) trumpet, Petar Ralchev (Plovdiv) accordion; Matt Darriau (New York) flutes, saxophone, clarinet; Adrian Receanu (Paris) clarinet; Christian Dawid (Berlin) clarinet, saxophone; Adam Stinga (Chișinau) trumpet; Stas Rayko (Berlin) violin; Mark Rubin (Austin) tuba, double bass; and Guy Schalom (London) percussion.
Deeply connected to their folk upbringing yet firmly planted in the modern day, Balkan Beat Box’s fearless 21st century fusion has earned them “buzz” band status across Europe, Israel and North America. The New York based trio; saxophone player Ori Kaplan, drummer/programmer/producer Tamir Muskat and MC Tomer Yosef, combine the musical traditions of Europe and the Mediterranean rim with rock, reggae, electronica, hip hop, dance hall, Balkanoid horns, and Greek guitars to name a few.
Balkan Beat Box’s 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.
One of the largest and most prestigious events of its kind anywhere in the world, the 15th Anniversary ASHKENAZ Festival features the best of the global Jewish culture scene, from traditional and boundary-breaking Klezmer, Yiddish, Sephardic and Mizrahi music, to diverse offerings in theatre, film, visual arts, literature, family programming, participatory dance workshops, all-inclusive celebrations and rituals, and the always-popular ASHKENAZ Parade.
The 15th Anniversary ASHKENAZ Festival
August 31 to September 6, 2010
Harbourfront Centre and various other locations throughout Toronto
For more info: 416.979.9901
www.ashkenazfestival.com/ |
