festival | MusiCamp

This September, for the first time ever,
Ori Shalva will return to the homeland of Georgian polyphony,
to perform & study with the best traditional Georgian singers in the world!

SAKARTVELO BOUND is a crowdsource funding initiative, where each donation holds so much significance, and unique and thoughtful gifts for those who contribute.

OUR THANK YOU GIFTS ARE POSTED! CHECK THEM OUT HERE

Ori Shalva has been invited to sing at two prestigious festivals, the International Folk Festival Sakartvelo in Racha and Tbilisi, hosted by the State Folklore Centre of Georgia; and the International Symposium on Traditional Polyphony sponsored by the International Research Center for Traditional Polyphony at the Tbilisi Conservatoire.

Unfortunately, our original funding fell through and we struggled with the decision of whether we should still go. Given that it’s the first time our whole family will sing and perform in Sakartvelo, we have mustered the courage to embark on this tour!

As you know, travel from Canada to anywhere is expensive. But travelling with a whole family, to a niche location like Georgia is even more challenging! So we have created this fundraiser, SAKARTVELO BOUND, to help with our flight costs (over $8000!) and we welcome any support we can get.

We have lots of heartfelt and unique gifts in exchange for your donations, like:

a seat at an authentic and intimate traditional Georgian feast framed by an elaborate series of toasts punctuated by songs performed by Ori Shalva
music lessons with Shalva (senior)
a personal performance by Ori Shalva
Genuine sheepskin Khevsureti hats
and more!

OUR THANK YOU GIFTS ARE POSTED! CHECK THEM OUT HERE

Since we ourselves are so niche, we will run a grassroots campaign. To make a donation and select your gift/s, we ask you to contact us via email (orishalva AT gmail.com) or through our online form, soon to be posted. And we are excited to update the tally of available gifts and funds raised as we go along.

With deep gratitude,
Andrea from Ori Shalva

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.