Volume 13 - Issue 2 - October 2007

World Viewby Ka ren AgesThrough Yiddish to Sephardic,by way of Milton BarnesAs I write this, the 6th annual fall Small World Music Festival(see last month's column) is well under way, with performances inmany different venues throughout the city. The festival runs toOctober 5 and details can be found at www.smallworldmusic.com,and in our listings. I hope to head out tonight to see Amazones, thewomen's drum/dance ensemble from Guinea.The Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre presents somenoteworthy concerts this month. October 6, A Song is Bornfeatures Yiddish music presented by actor/singer Mitch Smolkin andan international roster of musicians, in preparation for an up-comingCD . Most at home in musical theatre, Smolkin was also artisticdirector of Toronto's Ashkenaz Festival for six years . Argentina's"Klezmer en Buenos Aires" musicians Cesar Lerner and MarceloMoguilevsky will be there, blending klezmer, folk music, tango andjazz, on a variety of wind instruments, accordion, piano andpercussion. Originally from the Ukraine, multi-instrumentalist BorisSichon, living in Canada since 2004 after spending five years inIsrael working with Habima National Theatre among other pursuits,arrives from BC to lend his talents. Also featured are trumpet playerPaul Brody, living in Berlin for the past ten years, Toronto vocalistAviva Chernick, and originally from Lebanon, Toronto guitaristLevon lchkhanian (feature article in WholeNote April 06) who willbe producing the album. For a sampling of music, visitwww. mitchsmolkin. corn.Also at Miles Nadal JCC on October 22 A Tribute to MiltonBarnes, the late Canadian Jewish composer, features performersDaniel and Micah Barnes, Trio Lyra, pianist Marilyn Lerner andvocalist Dave Wall (Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band) , Brian Katz,Lenka Lichtenberg and others. And closing off the month at theJCC, mother and daughter team of Judith Cohen and Tamar IlanaCohen Adams present a concert of Sephardic music, October 28 ,4pm. I remember hearing Tamar years ago, as a precocious 7-yearold,singing with her ethnomusicologist mother's Balkan Women'sChorus at U of T. Today, she's in her last year there, completing ajoint major in Biology and Spanish, dancing flamenco and singing/drumming with a Maracatu group. Judith meanwhile continues herresearch and performance of Sephardic music, while teaching parttime at York University. She usually spends about 3 to 4 months ayear in Spain and Portugal, and the past summers have includedconcerts and conferences there as well as in Turkey, Bosnia andBulgaria. Judith and Tamar will present songs learned over Judith'syears of fieldwork with Sephardic communities in various countriesas well as from Spanish and Portuguese villages, accompanyingthemselves on percussion and medieval bowed fiddle ; they ' ll bejoined by Geoff Clarfield, also on percussion and oud. For moreabout Judith Cohen's research and recordings, visit www.yorku.ca/judithc.And if your craving for Jewish music is still not sated, you canhead over to Beth Tikvah Synagogue later the same evening (Oct28 , 7:30) forYababai - A Chassidic Concert, hosted by musicologistVelvel Pasternak, starring tenor, Cantor Tibor Kovari. With musicalarrangements by Beth Tikvah's music director Eyal Bitton, theconcert will feature music of the Moditzer, Bobover, Lubavitcherand Gerer sects of Chassidic Judaism.Roy Thomson Hall presents a couple of concerts this monthunder its Eastern Expressions banner. October 12, the AlimQasimov Ensemble, Bardic Divas and Badakhshan Ensemblepresent Spiritual Sounds of Central Asian Nomads, Mystics andTroubadours . 18 musicians from six countries perform in this multimediaevent which includes brief documentary films, and super-titlespresenting the lyric texts of Rumi, Hafez and others. And , October23, famed Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar performs with his daughterAnoushka Shankar, accompanied by tabla player Tanrnoy Bose.The Canadian OperaCompany's Richard BradshawAmphitheatre hosts a couple offree world music events thismonth. October 3, worldrenowned tabla master IlmasHussain Khan, currently Artistin Residence at U of T's worldmusic program, plays a soloconcert. Khan is head of thetraditional Lucknow school ofNorth Indian tabla playing. AndNovember 6, the BalineseGender Wayang Quartet, SekaRat Nadi, comprised of JohnCarnes, Jim Kippen, AnnetteSanger and Albert Wong,performs traditional repertoire forgamelan, stemming from thatwhich would accompany shadowJudith Cohen (pictured) anddaughter Tamar present a concert ofSephardic music, October 28puppet plays (wayang kulit) and religious ceremonies.Juno-award winning Latin guitarist Oscar Lopez, and Junoawardwinning folk musician James Keelaghan perform together asCompadres . Their concert at Hugh's Room on October 16 is part ofa Canada-wide CD release tour, and marks Lopez's return to touringafter a four year hiatus due to depression.York University's department of music is holding a mini worldmusic festival on November 7, with noon and evening performancesfeaturing the Klezmer, Middle Eastern, Balkan, Chinese, Japanese,and Korean music ensembles, in the Tribute Communities RecitalHall, Acolade East building.On the educational front, Worlds of Music Toronto launches itsfall season of classes in various world traditions. These includeZimbawean Marimba Music, Georgian Singing, Klezmer MusicEnsemble, Dumbek Drumming, Canadian Fiddling, and AfricanDrumming. There are probably spots still available (most of theworkshops started in late September). Call 416-588-8813 (ext. I) orvisit www .worldsofmusic.ca for details .Karen Ages is an oboist who has also been a member of severalworld music ensembles. 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