May 12, 2008

Toronto Jewish Folk Choir Celebrates Yiddish and Israel's 60th

TORONTO JEWISH FOLK CHOIR CELEBRATES YIDDISH MUSIC & ISRAEL’S 60TH ANNIVERSARY IN ITS 82nd SPRING CONCERT JUNE 1

A Yiddish work celebrating the joy of playing the fiddle, and a salute in song to the State of Israel on its 60th anniversary highlight the 82nd annual spring concert of the Toronto Jewish Folk Choir. Canada’s oldest continuing choral body performs Sunday, June 1, 2008, 2 p.m. at the Leah Posluns Theatre, 4588 Bathurst St., Toronto.Alexander Veprinsky conducts the 30-voice Choir.

Tickets are $23; seniors and students, $19; children 12 and under, free. For information and ticket reservations, e-mail tjfolkchoir@sympatico.ca or call 416-636-0936 (evenings, weekends) or (416) 593-0750. Information is also available at www.winchevskycentre.org/institutions/choir.html.

Pianist is Lina Zemelman, with soloists Miriam Eskin, soprano; Artour Razgoev, tenor; David Weiss, baritone; and Herman Rombouts, bass. An instrumental ensemble is also featured.

The choir marks the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel in a mélange of evocative tunes, mostly in Hebrew, along with the beloved Sephardic song Adio Querida, sung in Judeo-Spanish. Included is the heartfelt appeal Hand in Hand – A Song For Peace (Shir L’Shalom), a copy of which was found on Yitzchak Rabin the day he was assassinated.

Centrepiece is Oifn Fidl (On the Fiddle), by Russian-born, American-Jewish composer Vladimir Heifetz (1893-1970). The lively work is based on an autobiographical short story by the great Yiddish writer Sholem Aleichem (1859-1916), about a boy’s passion for the violin, despite his father’s misgivings. In addition to David Weiss as baritone soloist, the performance features four teenaged musicians – violinists Lyrit Milgram and Eitan Postavsky, cellist Hannah Belvedere, and flutist Chris James – along with clarinetist Alexander Fedorovsky.

The orchestration is by Maestro Veprinsky, who has also arranged a Yiddish tango and some Yiddish favourites for the choir. An operatic chorus and French folksong complete the program.

The June 1 concert is presented with the assistance of the Toronto Arts Council and the Ben and Hilda Katz Charitable Foundation.

More information on the Toronto Jewish Folk Choir may be found at www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1ARTU0003439 Posted by jmwc at May 12, 2008 10:29 PM