MONTRÉAL QC Jul 10 18:00 Concert au Parc Lahaie dans le cadre de « Musique sous un arbre» gratuit/free Jul 12 10:00-17:00 Atelier/Workshop polyphonie géorgienne (limité à 12 chanteurs) $150 email orishalva at gmail.com
BELLEVILLE, ON Jul 13 13:00 at the Kafana, 199 Front Street – time to be determine
The rare sound of harmonized voices form the same family…
Performing a thousand year old singing tradition from a small obscure country…
Sounds that you would rarely hear in North America, let alone the rest of the world…
Saturday, April 12, 2025 7:30 PM Teatro Sur Theatre – 1159 Dundas St E, Studio 145 (at Carlaw) Tickets: $18/$22 Limited Advance | $25 Door | $50 Support/VIP ADVANCED TICKETS HERE WATCH OUR TRAILER PRESS RELEASE
Prepare to be transported to the breathtaking mountains of Georgia (Sakartvelo) through the hauntingly beautiful harmonies of Ori Shalva. On Saturday, April 12th at 7:30 PM, Ori Shalva will present “Echoes of Sakartvelo” at Teatro Sur Theatre (1159 Dundas St E Studio 145, at Carlaw). This concert celebrates their return from Georgia and the release of their debut EP, “Sounds of Georgia.”
Ori Shalva, aka the Makharashvili family, is a family like no other. They formed out of a love for Georgian polyphony, and despite being 9,000 kilometers away from its homeland, for the past 2 decades they have nurtured the rare and intricate tradition of Georgian polyphony—an ancient musical form recognized by UNESCO as an intangible masterpiece of humanity. Their masterful performances offer a rare glimpse of the breadth of this living tradition that remains largely inaccessible outside of Georgia.
Ori Shalva’s performances are not just concerts—they are profound cultural experiences. Their voices evoke images of mountain villages, ancient celebrations, and the unbreakable bonds of family and community. While Georgian polyphony remains a niche tradition rarely heard outside its homeland, Ori Shalva has become a vital link to this rich heritage.
Singer/guitarist Andrea Kuzmich’s signature style is to tickle the listeners’ senses into an irresistible, groove-driven experience. Mixing her 30 years of expertise in Georgian and Ukrainian vocal polyphony with her background in jazz and contemporary improvisation, Andrea (voice, guitar) teams up with the raw driving improvisational skills of some of Toronto’s finest, to unleash an elemental folk energy in performances. But don’t expect to just sit back and take it in. In true folk form, she’ll find a way to invite you in on the celebratory musical affair.
Andrea recorded music for her first EP in September 2025, to be released as singles over the first few months of 2026.
Please follow Andrea on Instagram to keep track of the eclectic musical projects she’s involved with
Andrea first made her mark in the music scene as a versatile Toronto singer with performance, leadership and/or composition/arranging roles in classical choral, Congolese gospel, South Indian singing and drumming, vocal jazz (both big band and small ensembles), as well as contemporary improvised new music.
Yet, perhaps drawn by a musical thread from her Ukrainian heritage, her professional development got sidetracked early on by the mystique of traditional vocal polyphony – first Georgian, then Ukrainian. She went on to lead the Kosa Choir (2023-) and co-found Kalendar (2013-) and Sing with Ukraine (2022-), while also becoming recognized as one of Canada’s foremost practitioners and scholars of Georgian polyphony (Ori Shalva (2020-) ZARI (2003-2018), and Darbazi (1995-2013).
Now based in Toronto, Andrea intuitively weaves this rich diversity into unique arrangements of traditional ritual and lyrical songs from Eastern Europe, her own originals, and spirited reinterpretations of standards. Her performances are fresh and groove-oriented, “drawing her listeners into a world of sensuality” (Rudy Blair Entertainment Media).
Another project to come out of Andrea’s recent musical explorations at the Tranzac is POLYPHONICA: an electro-acoustic project born from the collaboration between Andrea and electronic musician and jazz keyboardist Daria Morgacheva. By weaving ritual and lyrical songs from Georgia and Ukraine with live looping, keyboards, and improvised vocals, the group creates a distinctive fusion of beats, soundscapes, folklore, and song. Their music evokes the ancient traditions of communal gatherings to celebrate cosmic events like solstices, seasonal changes, and personal milestones. Click the image to jump to POLYPHONICA’s playlist on Soundcloud.
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 (see above). She can be heard on Veryan Weston’s “Make” (2017); Tanya Tagaq’s “Retribution” (2016); DoVira’s “DoVira” (2016); Kalendar’s “Sichen” (2016); ZARI’s “ZARI” (2008); Whitney’s Smith Big Steam Band’s “Swing’s Mistress” (1998); movie soundtrack “The Witch” (2015); documentary soundtrack “What is Love” (2016), among others. 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 and has also played and/or shared the stage with international greats like Joe Lovano, Kenny Werner, Dave Holland, Christine Jensen, Maryna Krut, Lena Bloch, and others.
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.
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!).
MusiCamp 