Category Archives: Content

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.

6-week Georgian Singing Workshop

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A 6 Week Workshop led by Shalva Makharashvili and Andrea Kuzmich
TUESDAYS 7 – 9 PM April 25  – May 30 2017
at the MusiCamp studio
$250 for new participants; $200 for repeat students
More info or register by email through our contact page

The picture above is of workshop leader Shalva with his children singing with Basiani, one of Georgia’s acclaimed state folk ensembles. Have a listen to them here.

IMG_1558Take part in a Georgian singing workshop and join the thousands of voices before you that have contributed to this millennia-old folk tradition. Georgia, is located in the mountainous region of the Caucasus, the crossroads of Europe and Asia. Its ancient singing tradition, known for its distinctive and haunting harmonies, was recognized by UNESCO as an intangible masterpiece of humanity in 2001. The 3-part form defies Western conventions and comes in a plethora of musical dialects, reflecting the diverse geographical and cultural makeup of the land.

 

Canada’s foremost experts in Georgian polyphony, Georgian-born singer/multi-instrumentalist Shalva Makharashvili and Andrea Kuzmich, will be leading the workshop. In this series, we’ll take a look a variety of regional styles and song-types (work/travel/table/love songs and chants). At the end of the 6 weeks we’ll have a little performance for friends and family… and a little toast – to keep it in the Georgian tradition…

To register for the workshop send us an email through the contact us page.

For some samples of Georgian songs have a listen to Shalva’s and Andrea’s trio soundcloud playlist or visit their website ZARI

 

6-week Georgian Singing Workshop

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A 6 Week Workshop led by Shalva Makharashvili and Andrea Kuzmich
THURSDAYS 7 – 9 PM Feb 9  – March 16 2017
at the MusiCamp studio
$250 for new participants; $200 for repeat students
More info or register by email through our contact page

The picture above is of workshop leader Shalva with his children singing with Basiani, one of Georgia’s acclaimed state folk ensembles. Have a listen to them here.

IMG_1558Take part in a Georgian singing workshop and join the thousands of voices before you that have contributed to this millennia-old folk tradition. Georgia, is located in the mountainous region of the Caucasus, the crossroads of Europe and Asia. Its ancient singing tradition, known for its distinctive and haunting harmonies, was recognized by UNESCO as an intangible masterpiece of humanity in 2001. The 3-part form defies Western conventions and comes in a plethora of musical dialects, reflecting the diverse geographical and cultural makeup of the land.

 

Canada’s foremost experts in Georgian polyphony, Georgian-born singer/multi-instrumentalist Shalva Makharashvili and Andrea Kuzmich, will be leading the workshop. In this series, we’ll take a look a variety of regional styles and song-types (work/travel/table/love songs and chants). At the end of the 6 weeks we’ll have a little performance for friends and family… and a little toast – to keep it in the Georgian tradition…

To register for the workshop send us an email through the contact us page.

For some samples of Georgian songs have a listen to Shalva’s and Andrea’s trio soundcloud playlist or visit their website ZARI

 

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.

 

Grateful to Summer 2016

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MusiCamp had another wonderful summer of creative musical growth and fun!

It always goes by so quickly that sometimes I don’t get to properly express my gratitude for having the chance to work with such talented and sweet kids – here at our studio and at the festivals and on-site workshops we offered, like those at Union Station. And before Fall comes rolling in and the school year takes over our parental lives, I want to thank you all – campers, parents, volunteers, guest artists and wonderful inspiring music makers – and wish you a wonderful year ahead.
Keep and eye out for more MusiCamp events – our adult singing workshops will start in October – and we look forward to a new line up of all-day summer camps for 2017!

Making Diddley Bos and Bucket Basses
Painting diddley bo necks
Painted!
Making diddley bos
Guest Artist Bluesman Robert Davis
Pizza Making – it’s an art too!
Song writing exercises
Performing with diddley bo
Body Percussion
The Makharashvili Family at Union Station
West African Drumming at Union Station
Roots Music: “Kahoots and the Gang”
Composition & Song Performance
Singing
Set List for end of week performance
Campers with fabulous volunteer

 

MusiCamp at Union Station

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MusiCamp is so excited to be part of #UnionSummer and the revitalization project at Union Station. With performance in West African drumming and dance, Georgian song and dance, and Roots Music at the Sir John A. Macdonald Plaza in front of Union Station – the busiest, most important multi-modal transportation hub in Canada, serving nearly a quarter-million passengers daily! – MusiCamp is providing culturally diverse and interactive musical experiences to the gateway to Toronto, our wonderful city!

 

  • African Drumming and Dance Workshop, Sundays July 10 12 PM – 1 PM
  • Songs and Dances from Georgia on Sunday, July 17 12 PM -1 PM
  • African Drumming and Dance Workshop on Sundays Aug 7 12 PM – 1 PM
  • The Vocal Roots, Aug 14 12 PM – 1 PM
More info on each week can be read below. Looking forward to seeing you there.

 

West African Drumming and Dance Workshop
July 10 and Aug 17, 12 PM – 1 PM

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

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

Don’t just sit and watch, join the inner drum and dance circle and experience the ancient, mesmerizing West African rhythms like you never have before! Led by Anna Melnikoff, one of Canada’s foremost experts in the West African Mande drumming tradition, and aided by members of Saboumando (www.saboumando.com) and MusiCamp, you will be sure to find the groove and develop a deeper connection to this tradition that has inspired so much music in the world today.

 

Georgian Song and Dance
Sunday July 17, 12 PM – 1 PM.

Georgian Dance

Members of Georgian Soul performing at Toronto Fashion Week

Be prepared for a transformatively visceral experience with songs and dance from Georgia, a small, mountainous country located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. Known for its distinctive harmonies, this millennia-old musical tradition was recognized by UNESCO as an intangible masterpiece of humanity in 2001. Today we bring it to you through the award-winning trio ZARI (www.ZARItrio.com), members of the Makharashvili family, and a special guest from the dance troupe Georgian Soul. We’ll also give you a first-hand taste of this exceptional music, with opportunity for you to get up and sing and dance with us!

 

The Vocal Roots
Sunday August 14, 12 PM –  PM.

Broulala DayoDelight

BrouLaLa performing at Day of Delight

This performance features traditional and contemporary interpretations of Roots Music – from classic tunes on the “Oh Brother Where Art Thou” soundtrack to newly written songs by local roots musicians and borrowings from world music. With a special emphasis on the voice, the performance features many a cappella arrangements, body percussion, child performers from MusiCamp and the jazz/roots vocal group BrouLaLa. We’ll also get you involved, with a chance to sing, snap, stomp and clap along!

MusiCamp at the Dundas West Festival 2016!

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MUSICAL PROGRAMMING FOR KIDS AND BY KIDS
ALL IN THE HEART OF THE KIDS ZONE

FREE AFRICAN DRUM & BODY PERCUSSION WORKSHOPS
CRAFTS by KOSA KOLEKTIV
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 workshops, hosting crafts by Kosa Kolektiv and this year we’ll be smack in the middle of the kids stage, located at 1525 Dundas St West, just west of Dufferin.

BODY PERCUSSION WORKSHOP 11:45 am – 12:30 pm

clap handsLed by MusiCamp Director Andrea Kuzmich and aided by young MusiCampers themselves, the event will demonstrate some pieces that use body percussion and then proceed to teach the audience short cells of body percussion that can be built upon each other and layered ontop of each to create some cool grooves.

WEST AFRICAN DRUMMING WORKSHOP 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm

This goes way beyond a drum circle! MusiCamp’s West African Drum instructor Anna Melnikoff will teach workshop participants patterns and licks on djembe (as seen briefly in the video to your left) and the interlocking patterns on the dunun – side-playing drums.
More info can be found on this post.
 

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

BrighidFry At DuWestFest

From 11 am to 4:30 pm the stage, when not presenting percussion workshops, will be filled with live music. This year we welcome back sweet songsters Brighid Fry, The Moir and Tollar Girls, and Rebekah Wise. MusiCampers will also be performing – a host of blue grass tunes and some African American work songs.

And we also have some new performers as well. We are very excited to welcome Young Voices Toronto (formerly the High Park Choir) to the stage YVTwith their Chamber Choir, many of whom live in or so close the Dundas West Community. Be prepared to be inspired by this choir of 8-11 youth, whose sweet voices and sensitive tuning perform music from around the world. We also have songsters Marlowe Dondertman, Lia Ashkenas, and the Rock Band Kingdom of the Birds joining the stage.
 
 
 
 

CRAFTS BY KOSA KOLEKTIV

Kosa craftsMid day, the spirited Kosa Kolektiv will be hosting some folk crafts in the MusiCamp tent, located just next to the stage. They will be also promoting Folk Camp, an all-ages Folk camp in Grafton (on Lake Ontario) where a wide array of workshops will be available – from print, mask, and instrument making, to Georgian, Ukrainian and other forms of singing, to canning and medicinal herb foraging.
 
 

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 11 2:00 PM

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West African Drumming Workshop open to kids and their parents!
June 11 2016 2:30pm-3:30pm at the KIDS’s STAGE, Dundas West Festival

MusiCamp is hosting a free hands-on drumming workshop at the Dundas West Festival this Saturday, June 11 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 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 last year’s Dundas West Festival.

 

NOTE: To ensure a spot sign up earlier in the day at the MusiCamp booth located next to the stage, at 1525 Dundas St W, Toronto, ON, just East of Dufferin.

 

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.