Jewish Music Week artistic director Aliza Spiro promises that the sixth annual event in Toronto will have something for everyone.
Presenting free concerts by day and gala concerts by night, the programs include Sephardi and Klezmer music, Israeli pop, Broadway tunes, as well as jazz, big band, cantorial, folk, and gospel music.
The event, which is always scheduled to run after Lag b’Omer to accommodate observant Jews who cannot listen to music during the Omer, will run from May 29 to June 5.
Spiro said in an effort to cater to all age groups, there is a show for children, another that targets young professionals, and a third that caters to seniors.
The Cool Kids Concert, presented in partnership with Jewish Family & Child on June 5, features American entertainer Eric Komar who recently released a children’s album.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLuz00E4akE
For the first time this year, JMW is helping B’nai Brith reach out to young professionals with a concert by ARI, formerly known as Daniella Watters, on May 31 at EFS on King Street. She will be promoting her debut album Tunnel Vision.
“Young people tend to work, and they’re not around during the day, so for the most part, they aren’t able to attend our daytime events. This year, for the first time, we have a nighttime concert specifically geared to young professionals. It’s downtown at EFS, which is about as hip and trendy as you can get. It’s like the polar opposite of having a concert at a synagogue,” Spiro said, adding that it’s not to say that musical presentations at synagogues aren’t a good thing, but with this event, they’re trying to target an audience that wouldn’t find themselves at a shul for a show.
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Another event presented in partnership with Active 55+, a seniors group based at the Miles Nadal JCC, will honour Austrian-American Jewish actor, folk singer, musician and composer Theodore Bikel, who died last year. Mitch Smolkin and award-winning pianist Nina Shapilsky, will pay tribute to him on June 2.
Spiro said that many of the free daytime concerts, for which you have to register in advance, are at full capacity, and have waiting lists. She expects that JMW will attract between 6,000 and 10,000 people.
“There are a lot of Broadway lovers and every year, we do stuff for Jewish Broadway. Steven Lutvak, who won the Tony for the best musical last year for A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder – which is being presented by Mirvish until June 26 – will kick off the weeklong event on May 29 at Hugh’s Room on Dundas Street.
The following evening, the Shirat Tikvah Jubilee Gala Concert at Beth Tikvah Synagogue will celebrate 50 years of music at Beth Tikvah and will feature the music of the late Srul Irving Glick, Helen Greenberg and Eyal Bitton.
On June 1, Beth Tzedec Cantor Simon Spiro will perform with the Toronto Festival Singers – formerly the Beth Tzedec Singers – at the Glenn Gould Studio.
The following night, four of this year’s UJA Federation of Greater Toronto’s ShinShinim, young Israeli emissaries selected for a year of service in Toronto’s Jewish community, will open the Israel Music Today show with covers of some of Israel’s most popular songs, including tracks by Idan Raichel and Rita, Arik Berman and Keren Peles.
“The opening act of that night is by the Shinshinim. We took four of them who are unbelievably talented. They’re just marvellous. They’ll be opening for the Evan Malach performance. I love the fact that we’re able to give a platform to these kids,” Spiro said.
Another draw is the Canadian premiere of a documentary about Flory Jagoda, a 90-year-old Sephardi composer and performer, called Flory’s Flame, which will be screened at Baycrest on May 30.
