Category Archives: Events

URGNT LIVE: MAY 8

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SAVE THE DATE!! FRIDAY MAY 8th 7:00 PM.


We were so honoured to get the invitation from our good friend and incredible musician Mark Marczyk (of Lemon Bucket Orkestra). When he first asked us, I don’t think we realized what sort of company we would be associated with or the reach it would have. But looking at the lineup and the list of co-presenters now, we are in awe!

Ori Shalva, our family ensemble, will be streaming at 7:45 PM on May 8. But have a look at the incredibly diverse and exciting lineup of musicians below, many of whom are internationally acclaimed and Juno award winning!  And plan a great evening of great music with URGNT.

And remember, it’s possible and important to support this meaningful cultural work via URGNT’s gofundme campaign.

LIVE STREAM ON MAY 8th 7:00-11:00 PM from:
MusiCamp’s FB page , URGNT or MacCleans.


A bit about URGNT: 

Starting as a livestream series in empty venues created in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, URGNT LIVE, in partnership with Music Together ON and news magazine Maclean’s, quickly adapted to promote social distancing and create a curated platform to present and support the best of TO’s music online. We’re also grateful to the lovely folk at Folk Camp for choosing to cosponsor Ori Shalva!
Past shows can be seen here https://www.urgnt.ca/past. 

MAY 8: SCHEDULE, ARTISTS and CO-PRESENTERS

(Also brought to you by Shopify, Arts & Crafts, and Ontario Live via Ontario Creates)

7pm – Gryphon Trio – Chamberfest
7:20pm – Kobo Town – Northern Lights Festival Boréal
7:45pm – Ori Shalva – Folk Camp
8:20pm – Laila Biali – TD Sunfest
8:40pm – Stewart Goodyear – The Royal Conservatory of Music
9:00pm – Scott Merritt – Hillside Festival
9:20pm- Britta B – Unity
9:45pm – OKAN – Sunfest
10:10 – Meesha Shafi – Small World Music
10:30 – Skratch Bastid – URGNT

FLAVOURS of LOVE

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Flavours of Love: An Alternative Multi-Sensory Valentine’s Celebration

Saturday February 15 2020 7-10 PM

Location (close to King and Jameson) revealed through Artery https://artery.is/showcases/flavoursoflove.

With the idea that we are all labourers of love, comes an alternative Valentine’s celebration through Artery https://artery.is/showcases/flavoursoflove. Join us for FLAVOURS OF LOVE and imbibe on the sounds, the tastes and the ideas of love, community and friendship.

The evening features:

  • live music that grooves and moves by Andrea Kuzmich;
  • stories and samplings of savoury and sweet cheesecakes by Meris Cherian;
  • all framed through a series of thoughtful toasts that Artery attendees are welcome to contribute to and find expression within.

Bring your own drinks and some friends, savour the sounds and flavours, and make a meaningful and memorable evening in the intimate setting of our hosts’ home, a lovely old house that overlooks Lake Ontario. Exact location only known via Artery and visit our Facebook event for updates on the menu.

Some nibblies will provided by the host, and cheescakses, or course, by Meris. Don’t forget to bring your own drinks. Cost is $15.
(NOTE: there may be cats around)

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

MERIS will be giving a multi-sensorial presentation on the history of cheesecake and how it’s travelled around the world. This evening, expect to taste a few ancient flavours, and some newer interpretations of cheesecakes, including a savoury cheese pie. While you savour the flavours of these cheesecakes, you will also learn about the culinary history behind them, and nuances of the cheese used. Learn more about Meris by checking out her Midnight Cheesecake blog. PS: The cakes are not dairy-free, nut-free, or gluten-free.

ANDREA KUZMICH is an award winning singer, a teacher, an ethnomusicologist and music facilitator. She has performed in and/or recorded with numerous ensembles and choirs throughout Toronto, from mainstream big band jazz to church choirs to contemporary improvised music and village-styled folk music. This Artery performance will feature hip arrangements of jazz tunes with a sprinkling of originals for solo guitar and voice.

Andrea draws her listeners into a world of sensuality and inner city blues, Rudy Blair 680 News

Holiday Events 2019

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Tis the season! and MusiCamp’s artistic director and founder, Andrea Kuzmich, will be performing in numerous events around town.

 

November 29 2019 3-6 PM – solo guitar and voice
Festive Fridays at The Candy Bar
849 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M6H 1A1

Join us for an afternoon of Festive tunes! Starting at 3pm and going till 6pm, this week we feature Andrea Kuzmich. Jazzing up the Holidays with an acoustic set of songs in our intimate space, Andrea kicks off the season for us. Stop by, shop, listen and enjoy in store savings and prizes! Bring a friend. The event is free but tips are always welcome for the musicians entertaining us. facebook event https://www.facebook.com/events/593921004677673/

 

Sunday December 8 11 AM -2 PM – solo guitar and voice
The Holiday Pop Up Market at the Barns
Artscape Wychwood Barns 601 Christie Street, Toronto, Ontario M6G 4C7

Join us for a fun, family oriented, community Holiday Market on Sunday December 8 at Artscape Wychwood Barns! We’ll have a wonderful line up of terrific local artisans to shop from, a kids craft & hot chocolate area, live musical performances, and a holiday bar too!!  Facebook event https://www.facebook.com/events/431336750903862/

 

Monday December 9 5-8 PM
Andrea Kuzmich in a Festive Mode featuring Ernie Tollar and Travis Knights
at Drom Taberna 458 Queen Street West

Enjoy an early evening of cool tunes and festive groove. Andrea Kuzmich (voice and guitar) will be performing hip arrangements of jazz, pop and HoLiDAy tunes(with a sprinkling of originals). Joining her will be the musical feet of Travis Knights (tap dancing!!) and the brilliant horn of Ernie Tollar.  The facebook event https://www.facebook.com/events/507351313186901/

 

December 15 5-8ish PM – FEATURED EVENT!!
HOLIDAY SPIRIT CABARET with singer Lieke van der Voort, Jackson Welchner, Shalva Makharashvili and others!
at Hirut Cafe 2050 Danforth Ave

Get your fix of classic, traditional, obscure and wacked-up Christmas carols, winter tunes, and seasonal blessings. Hirut Cafe is a great place for fresh fresh coffee and tibs…. and other amazingly savoury Ethiopian cuisine.  A PWYC event! (suggested $15). Visit our FB event https://www.facebook.com/events/2391600377618138/

 

Didgori in Toronto

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DIDGORI tickets on sale today, June 7, at the door. CASH ONLY. Students/Seniors must bring ID. Doors Open 7:30 PM

MusiCamp in partnership with Clay & Paper Theatre and Folk Camp Canada presents:

DIDGORI IN TORONTO


Friday June 7 2019 8 PM
THE CONCERT
at Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity St Paul’s Centre 427 Bloor St West
$30/$15 student
TICKETS GO ON SALE START OF MAY

Saturday June 8 2019 5-7pm
OPEN WORKSHOP
St Vladimir Institute ( 620 Spadina Ave, just S of Harbord)
$25 at the door (strongly suggested but no one will be turned away)

Sunday June 9 2019 11-4pm
WORKSHOP INTENSIVE
advanced singers, limited to 12 participants at MusiCamp Studio, Toronto $100 contact MusiCamp to register
 

Didgori in Toronto Press Release

For more information about Didgori, for audio/video, or to learn of other performances as part of their Canada tour, visit Didgori in Canada.

 

 

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.

Didgori in Toronto

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MusiCamp in partnership with Clay & Paper Theatre and Folk Camp Canada presents:

DIDGORI IN TORONTO


Friday June 7 2019 8 PM
THE CONCERT
at Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity St Paul’s Centre 427 Bloor St West
$30/$15 student
TICKETS GO ON SALE START OF MAY

Saturday June 8 2019 5-7pm
OPEN WORKSHOP
St Vladimir Institute ( 620 Spadina Ave, just S of Harbord)
$25 at the door (strongly suggested but no one will be turned away)

Sunday June 9 2019 11-4pm
WORKSHOP INTENSIVE
advanced singers, limited to 12 participants at MusiCamp Studio, Toronto $100 contact MusiCamp to register
 

Didgori in Toronto Press Release

For more information about Didgori, for audio/video, or to learn of other performances as part of their Canada tour, visit Didgori in Canada.

 

 

Didgori in Canada

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The Georgians are coming!
It is a very rare opportunity that 6 members of Didgori will be touring Canada from late May to mid June 2019. The last and only time a choir from Georgia was touring Canada was in the 1970s. This time, Didgori will not just be performing but also hosting singing workshops, with stops in Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, and other parts or Eastern Canada. Scroll down to view their Canadian tour schedule to date.
 
The award winning Didgori ensemble has been performing internationally since 2004 and has toured Russia, Turkey, UK, France, Switzerland, Israel, Poland, Uzbekistan, the Czech Republic and Latvia. Declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2001, the millennial old Georgian polyphonic singing tradition, with its close harmonies and untempered scales, is often described as transformatively visceral. It features 3-part singing in a variety of styles, from hauntingly melismatic lyrical genres to exploding counterpoint.

 

Have a listen to a sampler track compiled from Didgori’s most recent CD Singing as a Lifestyle


 

As can be heard from the variety of songs in the above sampler, Didgori are masters of a variety of Georgian musical styles, the wide variety of which reflects the diverse and complex landscape that has housed the Georgian people for thousands of years. Didgori is dedicated to the traditions of their ancestors through mastery and popularization of Georgian polyphonic folk songs and chants, and to the hope that their efforts will inspire future generations. The name, Didgori, honours a historical battle in 1121 that helped reunite Georgia and ushered in a period of growth in arts and culture.
Watch them perform (and even dance!) an Abkhaz round dance in the video above or listen to a performance of a chant in the audio player below.

 

Current Listing of Performances and Workshops

BrouLaLa at Night of Dread!

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Don’t miss out on Toronto’s best festival!! Night of Dread

Where Torontonians are invited to call on, mock and banish their private and collective fears through parade and pageantry, music and masquerade, dance and a devilishly good party.

Drawing on Georgian, Bluegrass, Appalachian, Lithuanian and other musics, BrouLaLa (Andrea Kuzmich, Ryan Brouwer, Lieke van der Voort and Jackson Welchner) will be singing, sounding, improvising and memorializing in the Valley of Remembrance.

Saturday October 27
5 – 9+ PM (BrouLala performing around 7ish)
Dufferin Grove Park

BrouLaLa night of dread 2016

BrouLala Nigtht of Dread 2016 with Hats on to keep us warm!!

 

Poetics of Food and Song

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A rare chance to experience Georgian cuisine and song…

    Friday October 19 2018 7 PM $80 Limited seating (max 15)
    RSVP for exact location (near Dufferin Grove Park)
    Concert includes a gourmet 5 course homemade Georgian meal (Georgian menu below) and 2 glasses of wine. Songs (by GABO’s TRIO and the MAKHARASHVILI FAMILY) and toasts interspersed through the evening. For more info or to reserve your spot, email MusiCampTO at Gmail.com or visit our contact page. Also visit our FB event page for occasional postings on the cuisine of Georgia.

Foodies and music lovers would be interested to know that on October 19th MusiCamp is hosting a fundraising concert that is also an exceptional dinner, featuring Georgian cuisine, “the best little-known cuisine in the world“. In the Post-Soviet states, Georgian food is loved for its elaborate blend of spices, walnuts, and fresh herbs and fruit that result in savoury stews, purees, sauces and salads. In Soviet times, it replaced the French haute-cuisine of the Tsarist era and grew in such popularity. But the only way to understand why this is, is to try it!

Here’s your chance to not only try it but to experience it in one of the most authentic performance opportunities of Georgian song – not on the concert stage but around a dinner table, sharing food, song and toasts!

It is known that Georgian food is best consumed with traditional Georgian song and wine! So what better way to experience the flavours than in this rare chance at this dinner-concert. And given that Georgia is also known as the cradle of wine (the oldest archeological finds of wine making are from Easter-Georgia), of course a few glasses of wine will accompany the dinner.

The Evening’s Menu is still being developed but it would look something like this:
  • Charkhlis Mkhali or Pkhali (beet or spinach puréed with walnuts and fresh herbs)
  • Kharcho (walnut-garlic infused beef stew),
  • Adjapsandali  (eggplant stew) and
  • Khachapuri (Georgia’s most famous cheese pie).
  • Salad Nigvitz (cucumber, tomatoes and red onions salad with walnut dressing – with an option to have the dressing on the side).
All will be served with fresh bread, mint-infused yogurt and walnut puree sauces. Desserts will also be served (yet to be decided, but don’t be surprised if there will be something featuring walnuts!).

 

For more info or to reserve your spot, email
MusiCampTO at Gmail.com or visit our contact page.

If you want to know a little more about Georgian food, consider The Washington Posts’ article “Is Georgian Food the Next Big Thing” or have a look at National Geographic’s Street Food Episode on Georgia.