Category Archives: Performances

Andrea and Jaash

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Presenting a refreshing sound by two seasoned world musicians, Andrea and Jaash feature an extensive repertoire of tunes from diverse musical traditions. Their inspirations are vast, drawing from jazz, roots and other, sometimes obscure musics from around the world. The result is a harmonious blend of melodies, rhythms and musical styles that explore and unravel a sonic story.

While circling each other’s musical orbit for years, Andrea Kuzmich (a specialist in vocal polyphony) and Jaash Singh (a multi-instrument percussionist) finally came together to perform in late 2020. Without a doubt, there were challenges in creating music under the conditions of the pandemic, but this did not stop them to quickly develop an extensive repertoire of tunes from diverse musical traditions. Their inspirations are vast, drawing from jazz, pop, and traditional musics from far off pockets of the world, including Eastern Africa, the northern and central Caucasus, and Turkey. The result is a harmonious blend of melodies, rhythms and musical styles that explore and unravel a sonic story.

Below is a rough mix and edit of video of the Georgian song შენზე ფიქრებს ბედავს გული თავხედი (the heart dares to think of you) in the Georgian language.

Andrea and Jaash’s first performance was in a park – the safe outdoors – and soon after, everything closed up from the threat of covid. So their next collaboration was creating this short EP of festive tune.

They have since performed in actual venues around Toronto. Here’s a video of them from December 1 2021 at Hirut Cafe, performing Ой у лісі лісі – коляда – Oh in the Woods in the Forest, a traditional Ukrainian Christmas carol wrapped up in a jazzy feel.

As an award winning singer, a teacher, an ethnomusicologist, and music facilitator, Andrea has performed in and/or recorded with numerous ensembles and choirs throughout Toronto: from Whitney Smith’s Big Steam Band to the conventional SATB Choir of Trinity-St. Paul’s United Church; from the contemporary improvised new music of the Element Choir and vocals she provided for the soundtracks of The Witch and The Tall Grass, to the traditional folk music of Ori Shalva, Gabo’s Trio, Darbazi, ZARI, Kosa Kolektiv or Kalendar. She has worked and performed with many of Toronto’s finest musicians, including Maryem Tollar, Bernie Senenski, Kevin Malon, Alex Samaras, Christine Duncan, and many others. 

Jaash Singh is a highly sought after percussionist, specializing in live performance, dance accompaniment, studio recordings, theatre and television. He performs in a variety of styles, on a variety of instruments including drum kit, darbuka, tapan, cajon, and more. He is currently active in several projects including the Lemon Bucket Orkestra, Ventanas, and Nomadica, among others. He also works as a tour manager and operations manager for festival and conference presenters BLOK and URGNT.

FREE African Drumming Workshop Jun 8 2019 at 1:25 PM

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West African Drumming Workshop open to kids and their parents!

June 8 2019 1:25 pm to 2:30 pm at the MusiCamp YOUTH STAGE at
the Dundas West Festival, 1496 Dundas St West, just west of Dufferin

 

This goes way beyond a drum circle!
West African Drum instructor Anna Melnikoff will teach workshop participants patterns and licks on djembe and will also demonstrate the interlocking patterns on the dunun – the soul of the West African Mande drumming tradition. These rhythms can be extremely challenging, even for pro drummers! And with Anna’s guidance, this workshop is set up to engage and teach the absolute inexperienced while at the same time provide on-going challenges for advanced drummers.

 

In this workshop kids (& parents) will:

  • learn the difference between 3 basic slaps (slap, tone & bass) on the djembe
  • have a chance to practice these on the drum with a fun etude that develops these rudiments
  • have a chance to play the dunun
  • learn a basic accompaniment pattern
  • have a chance to solo
And we’ll even do some singing! Have listen to us at the 2015 Dundas West Festival.

 

The video to your left is from MusiCamp’s Summer Camps. the West African Drumming week. (Note: If you want to hear the groovy bass you’ll have to use headphones.)

Mande drumming is based on three stand-up drums called the dunun that play three interlocking rhythms often thought of as the melody. The djembes play accompanying patterns on top of this and are also used for soloing. To learn more about the Mande drumming tradition follow this link or if you are interested in our West African Drumming summer camp click here.

MusiCamp Stage at the Dundas West Festival 2018!

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MUSIC FOR KIDS AND BY KIDS
ALL IN THE HEART OF THE KIDS ZONE

FREE AFRICAN DRUM WORKSHOP
MEET MUSICAMP INSTRUCTORS
LIVE MUSIC BY YOUNG LOCAL PERFORMERS

We are so so so excited to be part of the vibrant Dundas West community that puts on such an amazing festival. MusiCamp is curating the stage in the Kids Zone again, providing more opportunities for our local and talented youth to showcase their art – plus we’re hosting a drum workshop. All starting at 11 am, at 1496 Dundas St West, just west of Dufferin.
The full line up of events can be found on our Facebook event page

LIVE MUSIC BY LOCAL YOUNG PERFORMERS 11 am – 4:30 pm

From 11 am to 4:30 pm the stage will be filled with live music. This year we welcome back sweet songsters Tangled Chords, Rebekah Wise, Sofia Kay and Gabo. Joining us for the first time is Emma Campbell. While Will Smythe is no stranger to the MusiCamp stage, he’ll be joining us in a whole new context – this year he’s not playing drums in a rock band but playing solo ‘cello! – his instrument of major at the Etobicoke School of the Arts.


 

But rock’n’roller Charley Lukashevsky (formerly of 321 Sleep) will be back with a new band, the Patti King. We’ll also have 2 dance performances by the Eclective Collective and mom-daughter indigenous interdisciplinary urban duo The Graces, who will also lead a dance workshop! And of course students from MusiCamp will feature some body percussion,  blue grass tunes and original compositions – some of which will call on audience participation!

 

 

WEST AFRICAN DRUMMING WORKSHOP 2:25 pm to 3:25 pm


The public joining in on MusiCamp’s African Drum workshop at The Dundas West Festival 2016.

This goes way beyond a drum circle! MusiCamp’s West African Drum instructor Anna Melnikoff will teach workshop participants patterns and licks on djembe and the interlocking patterns on the dunun – side-playing drums.

More info can be found on this post.

Check out MusiCamp’s stage at the 2017, 2016 and 2015 Dundas West festivals.

 

MusiCamp and Other Activities


MusiCamp will have a tent, so please visit us – try our the home made bucket basses and diddley bows, ask questions about our teaching and camps or just come and say “Hi!” Also don’t forget, there will be lots of other activities and crafts offered by other local organizations and business to take part in all around our stage.

A REMINDER
Don’t forget to bring sun screen, sun hats and water bottles! Also, the Kids Stage is located at 1496 Dundas St W, just West of Dufferin.  WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU THERE!

FREE West African Drumming Workshop Jun 2 2018 at 2:10 PM

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West African Drumming Workshop open to kids and their parents!

NEW TIME: June 2 2018 2:10 pmto 3:10 pm at the MusiCamp YOUTH STAGE at the Dundas West Festival, 1525 Dundas St West, just west of Dufferin

MusiCamp is hosting a free hands-on drumming workshop at the Dundas West Festival this Saturday, June 2 2018. Taught by AnnA Melnikoff, one of Canada’s foremost experts in the Mande drumming tradition, a tradition which predates the division of West Africa into the current political regions and arguably represents the roots of African American music, including the Blues, Rock & Roll, R&B, Mowtown, Funk, Soul, and many forms of pop music.

This goes way beyond a drum circle!West African Drum instructor Anna Melnikoff will teach workshop participants patterns and licks on djembe (as seen briefly in the video to your left). But Anna will also demonstrate the interlocking patterns on the dunun – the soul of the West African Mande drumming tradition. These rhythms can be extremely challenging, even for pro drummers! And with Anna’s guidance, this workshop is set up to engage and teach the absolute inexperienced while at the same time provide on-going challenges for advanced drummers.

In this workshop kids (& parents) will:

  • learn the difference between 3 basic slaps (slap, tone & bass) on the djembe
  • have a chance to practice these on the drum with a fun etude that develops these rudiments
  • have a chance to play the dunun
  • learn a basic accompaniment pattern
  • have a chance to solo
And we’ll even do some singing! Have listen to us at the 2015 Dundas West Festival.

The video to your left is from MusiCamp’s Summer Camps. the West African Drumming week. (Note: If you want to hear the groovy bass you’ll have to use headphones.)

Mande drumming is based on three stand-up drums called the dunun that play three interlocking rhythms often thought of as the melody. The djembes play accompanying patterns on top of this and are also used for soloing. To learn more about the Mande drumming tradition follow this link or if you are interested in our West African Drumming summer camp click here.

ICE CREAM! an original song by MusiCampers!

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Our Composition and Song week is always so creative!!! And so productive!!!

What you’re hearing right now is an original song written by the MusiCamp campers from the Composition & Song week of 2013. We run a slew of creative song writing exercises throughout the week, some where the campers work independently on theirs songs, others where they work in groups. These exercises challenge the kids to think of how a pop song is made and the different components that make an effective song – the hook, the chorus, the intro, the verses, the ending, etc.The young campers also learn to identify chord structures in a very practical and accessible way. They even make instruments, like the diddley bow or the bucket bass, and are able to play the basic I IV V chord structure on the instrument!

By the way, ICE CREAM! was written as a collaborative exercise where all the campers contributed to the making of this song. And every year, in just one week’s time, these inspired youngsters write wonderful music! It is always such a blessing to work with these young creative minds!

This year Composition & Song week runs from July 15-19, 9am – 4pm. We still have spots! You can register here.

MusiCamp Stage at the Dundas West Festival 2017!

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MUSIC FOR KIDS AND BY KIDS
ALL IN THE HEART OF THE KIDS ZONE

FREE AFRICAN DRUM WORKSHOP
MEET MUSICAMP INSTRUCTORS
LIVE MUSIC BY YOUNG LOCAL PERFORMERS

We are so so so excited to be part of the vibrant Dundas West community that puts on such an amazing festival. MusiCamp is curating the Kids Stage again, providing more opportunities for our local and talented youth to showcase their art – plus we’re hosting another drum workshop. All starting at 11 am, at 1525 Dundas St West, just west of Dufferin.
The full line up of events can be found on our Facebook event page

WEST AFRICAN DRUMMING WORKSHOP 1:15 pm to 2:15 pm

The public joining in on MusiCamp’s African Drum workshop at The Dundas West Festival 2016.

This goes way beyond a drum circle! MusiCamp’s West African Drum instructor Anna Melnikoff will teach workshop participants patterns and licks on djembe and the interlocking patterns on the dunun – side-playing drums.

More info can be found on this post.

Check out MusiCamp’s stage at the 2016 and 2015 Dundas West festivals.

LIVE MUSIC BY LOCAL YOUNG PERFORMERS 11 am – 4:30 pm

From 11 am to 4:30 pm the stage will be filled with live music. This year we welcome back sweet songsters Tangled Chords (formerly known as The Moir and Tollar Girls, see video below), Rebekah Wise and Sofia Hong. The Makharashvili Family will show us what traditional Georgian folk music is like from the other side of the world and to do a total 180, we go the new pop group Girl Pow-r . We’ll have some dance from Eclective Collective and students from MusiCamp will feature some body percussion and blue grass tunes.

 
And towards the end of our programming, we look forward to the surprisingly well seasoned young rockers 321 Sleep, whose Soundcloud demo you can hear below. The new group Ape, all of whom are students from either Etobicoke School of the Arts or Rosedale Heights School of the Arts, will also be rocking it out.

 

MusiCamp and Other Activities


MusiCamp will have a tent, so please visit us – try our the home made bucket basses and diddley bows, ask questions about our teaching and camps or just come and say “Hi!” Also don’t forget, there will be lots of other activities and crafts offered by other local organizations and business to take part in all around our stage.

A REMINDER
Don’t forget to bring sun screen, sun hats and water bottles! Also, the Kids Stage is located at 1525 Dundas St W, just West of Dufferin.  WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU THERE!

FREE West African Drumming Workshop Jun 3 2017 at 1:15 PM

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West African Drumming Workshop open to kids and their parents!

June 3 2017 1:15pm-2:15pm at the MusiCamp YOUTH STAGE at the Dundas West Festival, 1525 Dundas St West, just west of Dufferin

MusiCamp is hosting a free hands-on drumming workshop at the Dundas West Festival this Saturday, June 3 2016. Taught by AnnA Melnikoff, one of Canada’s foremost experts in the Mande drumming tradition, a tradition which predates the division of West Africa into the current political regions and arguably represents the roots of African American music, including the Blues, Rock & Roll, R&B, Mowtown, Funk, Soul, and many forms of pop music.

This goes way beyond a drum circle! West African Drum instructor Anna Melnikoff will teach workshop participants patterns and licks on djembe (as seen briefly in the video to your left). But Anna will also demonstrate the interlocking patterns on the dunun – the soul of the West African Mande drumming tradition. These rhythms can be extremely challenging, even for pro drummers! And with Anna’s guidance, this workshop is set up to engage and teach the absolute inexperienced while at the same time provide on-going challenges for advanced drummers.

In this workshop kids (& parents) will:

  • learn the difference between 3 basic slaps (slap, tone & bass) on the djembe
  • have a chance to practice these on the drum with a fun etude that develops these rudiments
  • have a chance to play the dunun
  • learn a basic accompaniment pattern
  • have a chance to solo
And we’ll even do some singing! Have listen to us at the 2015 Dundas West Festival.

The video to your left is from MusiCamp’s West African Drumming week in 2013. (Note: If you want to hear the groovy bass you’ll have to use headphones.)

Mande drumming is based on three stand-up drums called the dunun that play three interlocking rhythms often thought of as the melody. The djembes play accompanying patterns on top of this and are also used for soloing. To learn more about the Mande drumming tradition follow this link or if you are interested in our West African Drumming summer camp click here.

A FOLK OPERA

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ZEMLYA / EARTH:  A Ukrainian Folk Opera 
May 17 8pm $30
St. Vladimir Institute (620 Spadina Ave)

 

ZEMLYA / EART : A Ukrainian Folk Opera

ZEMLYA / EARTH is an innovative interdisciplinary original work that features a contemporary context for the powerful and ancient women’s singing tradition of the Ukraine, a polyphonic tradition that has too often been overlooked – by Western academia and the rest of the world.

Growing up with Ukrainian grandparents, I often heard and sang Sovietized arrangements of folk songs. I always thought they were beautiful but, like most of the world, never thought much of the singing tradition. I only discovered how intense and varied their polyphonic tradition was about four years ago. The remarkable thing is that most people – even musicologists and ethnomusicologists – have no idea about this ancient and powerful tradition. So it gives me great pride to be a part of an innovative approach to presenting the music: a folk opera!

This project was initiated by KALENDAR, a performance singing group that grew out of the Kosa Kolektiv urban folk movement. With grants from the Ontario Arts Council, the Shevchenko Foundation, and the Ukrainian Credit Union, we were able to commission the expertise of ethnomusicologist/musician Marichka Marczyk – who is not only the co-created of the award winning Counting Sheep but has also spent over 15 years collecting songs in the fields of Ukraine and has an incredible ability to teach and share the essence of these songs with us. 

The show will premiere with only a single performance scheduled at St. Vladimir Institute on May 18, 2017. It is my hope that Zemlya‘s presentation of the ancient powerful women’s musical tradition (which involves choreographed movement, traditional dance, and background video) will reveal an ageless purpose of the music and viscerally remind us of the universal relationship humans have with the earth and each other.

For more information visit www.Kalendar.ca or visit KALENDAR’s FB event page.
Tickets can be purchased online from http://zemlya.brownpapertickets.com/
Sign up via our email list for more news events like this here here

 

EGGPLANT STEW: A Worldly Feast of Savoury Sounds…

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EGGPLANT STEW:
A Worldly Feast of Savoury Sounds and Melodious Morcels.
8 PM Friday September 16
at CLAY & PAPER’s NEW STUDIO (on Dupont)


Eggplant Stew is a collaborative fundraising event featuring a feast of musical influences, with individual flavours from Georgia, Ukraine, Baghdad, Poland, Finland, Brittany, the Balkans and the Americas but also melding and fusing into melodious savoury morsels. And like a good stew, the event (and the events it is to fundraiser for) is hearty for the soul and nourishes our musical wellbeing. This event is to help raise funds for two members of Toronto’s traditional polyphonic singing community to perform, present papers and study at an international conference on traditional polyphony in Sakartvelo (otherwise known as the mountainous Georgia in the Caucasus).

THE LINE UP IN BRIEF (more details follow)

Mark & Marichka Marczyk of Lemon Bucket Orkestra!
Performing the soul-strenghtening polyphony from Urkaine.

ZARI (Shalva Makharashvili, Andrea Kuzmich and Reid Robins)
Stirring traditional vocal polyphony from the plains & mountains in the Caucasus.

DOULA (Maryem Hassan Tollar and Roula Said)
Ancient Arabic music with new world spirit.

Vlesie (Ewelina Ferenc, Cassie Norton and Matti Palonen)
Forest inspired European folk fusion.

Moskitto BAR (Ahmed Salah Moneka, Yura Rafalui& Tangi Ropars)
Music & improvisation inspired by the road form Baghdad to Brittany.

AND JUST ANNOUNCED!!!
MEDEN GLAS – led by the esteemed Irene Markoff – will also perform!
Grassroots music from the Balkans and beyond.
&
BrouLALA – A cappella, improvising, roots-jazz fusion

LOCATION
Clay & Paper Theatre’s NEW STUDIO
1485 Dupont Street, just west of Dufferin
Suggested donation $20 (includes a beer or wine!)
Seating Limited – For more info or RSVP MusiCampTO@gmail.com
Note Regarding Accessibility: the building’s elevator is not working and the studio is on the 2nd floor. We apologize in advance for this inconvenience.

The idea of Eggplant Stew comes from a Georgian dish called “adjapsandeli”. It’s can be compared to rataouille, though it has many versions. Adjapsandeli also references what seem to be hundreds of different flavourful salads Georgians make with eggplant – and sometimes the word is used colloquially to mean a mixing or a mishmash.

THE PERFORMERS:

Mark and Marichka Marczykmark-marchyk
Mark and Marichka are lead members of Toronto’s famous and award-winning Lemon Bucket Orkestra and the authors/creators of the folk guerrilla opera Counting Sheep, which just returned from an exceptional run (winning multiple awards) at the Edinburgh festival in Scotland.

DOULA
doulaDoula performs ancient Arabic music with a new world spirit. Multiple Juno-Award winning vocalist, Maryem Tollar, whose voice is heard on the theme music to “Little Mosque on the Prairie” and multi-instrumentalist and dancer, Roula Said, will take you on a journey into the heart of the Muwashah tradition, where devotional poetry is set to exquisite melodies and hypnotic rhythms. Doula also performs folk songs that are often performed alongside the Muwashahat.

ZARI

At its core, ZARI is a trio of professional singer/instrumentalists who are profoundly moved by Georgian polyphony. Based in Toronto, ZARI formed in 2003 and has performed from the very eastern tip of Canada to the 2008 fall-out of Gori, the Georgian town that was the epicentre of Russian bombing in the summer of that year. Consistent over all this time, over the many miles travelled and the many venues played, is ZARI’s dedication to studying, understanding and feeling the music. To that end, when ZARI performs, they embrace the profundity of Georgia culture: its roots deeply embedded in ancient times, its strength and courage to survive, and its excessively generous and inspiring hospitality.
Official Website: https://zaritrio.com/
Soundcloud : https://soundcloud.com/singinkuz/sets/zari

VLESIEvlesie
They are VLESIE, which in Polish means “in the woods”. And this is how they met – playing music in the woods. From the Canadian woods they want to take you on a musical journey to Eastern European villages, Southern European wineries and Northern European rivers, lakes and forests.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vlesieband/
Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1R4NkzqFjJY

MOSKITTO BAR

Composed of Ahmed Moneka from Baghdad, Iraq on drum and voice, Yura Rafaluik from Lviv, Ukraine on cimbalom, and Tangi Ropars from Brittany, France on bouton accordion, Moksitto Bar’s energized music and improvisations takes you on a voyage throuth Celtic, Middle Eastern, Balkan and Ukrainian soundscapes.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moskittobar/

MEDEN GLAS

Composed of Irene Markoff (voice, accordion, tambura, and bağlama), Ekaterina Pyatkova (voice and hand drums), Nadia Younan (voice and alto saxophone), Mario Morello (voice and hand drums), and Jamieson Eakin (voice and guitar) Meden Glas studies and performs grassroots music from the Balkans (Bulgaria, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Greece, and Turkey) in addition to peripheral musical cultures (Italian, Russian, Kurdish, and Romani [gypsy]).
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/medenglas

Trio From Canada…

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attends the 8th International Symposium on Traditional Polyphony

MusiCamp director, Andrea Kuzmich, along with her son and friend, Mario Morello (fellow singer, ethnomusicologist and regular MusiCamp student of Georgian polyphony) are going to Georgia to take part in the 8th International Symposium on Traditional Polyphony.
Morello and Kuzmich are both presenting papers and all three will also be performing at a large international community of scholars and singers of traditional polyphony.

Kuzmich’s paper discusses the creation of “urban folk culture” in Toronto by Kosa Kolektiv’s use of traditional Ukrainian polyphony. Kuzmich has been an active member of Kosa Kolektiv symposium-2016community since 2013 and has even reported on their work, specifically their spring festival Haivky, in MusiCamp’s news posts. Morello’s paper discusses his research on the multi-part singing tradition of Salento, Italy.  To read up on both Kuzmich’s and Morello’s abstracts (p33 and 36 respectfully), follow the link to the symposium’s electronic booklet.

 

For those of you in Toronto, come and see them off at a special collaborativeeggplant-stew_colour_sml fundraising event called Eggplant Stew! They will make a few short and sweet cameo appearances amongst a smorgasbord of other excellent world-music musicians – on Friday September 16, 8pm at Clay & Paper Theatre‘s new studio!
Visit the Facebook event for more info.