Sundays on Bloor
Lectures, Salon concerts, Interactive talks, Readings...
$9 Drop-in, Includes light refreshments
*FREE events where noted in descriptions below
Between Stages Play Reading: Strange Land, Winner of the 2008 Canadian Jewish Playwriting Competition
Sunday, October 25, 2009 2:00 PM Suggested Donation $8
For more information contact Esther Arbeid, x 606 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Back to Top
Origin & History of the Jews of India
Sunday, November 1 2009 11:00am
Diana Mingail
A spellbinding 2000 year old story set in India, of the four communities of Indian Jews: the Bene Israel and Baghdadi Jews of Bombay; the Jews of Cochin; the Baghdadi Jews of Calcutta; and the Bnei Menashe. A fascinating tale of shipwreck, tiny Jewish kingdoms, Assyrian captivity and travel through China. Discover the fascinating origins, history, politics and partitioning of India, in the hands of a dynamic and entertaining speaker.
Diana Mingail has spoken about India to many Jewish and some Christian audiences, and has appeared in two television documentaries relating to Jewish India. She bases her presentation about the Jews of India on her own knowledge and experiences as well as meticulous and ongoing research.
For more information contact Ilana Hirt x 154
Back to Top
New Lives: Holocaust Survivors in Canada
Sunday, November 8 2009 9:30am-11:00am
*Free Lecture sponsored by the Downtown Jewish Community School and MNjcc
Dr. Paula Draper is an historian who has published widely on the topic of Canada and the Holocaust. She was lead interviewer trainer for the Shoah Foundation and specializes in oral documentation.
For more information contact Joan Schoenfeld x 112
Back to Top
Tales of the Shoah
Sunday, November 8 2009 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Led by Eli Rubenstein and other storytellers
*Free lecture, part of Holocaust Education Week
The past comes to life through stories of theHolocaust, led by Eli Rubenstein and others; with Congregation Habonim.
For more information contact Ilana Hirt x 154
Back to Top
Richard Twardzik: Tragic Genius of Jazz Piano
Sunday, November 22, 2009 2:00 pm
Jack Chambers
A co-presentation with JPEC: Jazz Performance and Education Centre, Toronto.
Richard Twardzik: Tragic Genius of Jazz Piano
With Jack Chambers, respected jazz biographer, author of Milestones: The Music and Times of Miles Davis
Jack Chambers examines the brief life of Richard Twardzik, a piano genius well-respected in his time by some of the greatest figures in jazz including Charlie Parker and Chet Baker.
The primary purpose of JPEC is to inspire and grow audiences for jazz music through performances, education and recordings.
For more information contact Harriet Wichin x 133, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Back to Top
Parchment 15 Launch
Sunday November 29, 2009 11:00 am
Writers and poets included in this issue will read their work, among them award winning Seymour Mayne and Anne Dublin.
For more information contact Phyllis Fien x 155, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Back to Top
The Four Faces of Bar/Bat Mitzvah
Sunday, January 17 2010 9:30am-11:00am
*Free Lecture sponsored by the Downtown Jewish Community School and the MNjcc
Explore the changing meaning of Bar/Bat Mitzvah over time and what it means to our families today. Professor Stuart Schoenfeld, is the Chair of the Sociology Department, Glendon College, York University. He has written extensively on contemporary Jewish life and also works on Middle East environmental issues.
For more information contact Joan Schoenfeld x 112
Back to Top
Talking CODA - Surviving the Perfect Storm Facing Jazz Publishing and Recording in the Digital Age
Sunday, January 17 2010 2:00pm
Mark Barnes, Publisher, CODA Magazine
CODA Magazine Publisher Mark Barnes discusses the challenges facing print publications and traditional recording in our ever-increasing digital age.
A co-presentation with JPEC: Jazz Performance and Education Centre, Toronto.
The primary purpose of JPEC is to inspire and grow audiences for jazz music through performances, education and recordings.
For more information contact Harriet Wichin x 133, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Back to Top
I’ll Never Smile Again: The Musical Legacy of Ruth Lowe Sandler
Sunday January 31 2010 2:00pm $9 Drop-in fee, includes light refreshments
Tommy Sandler
More info about Ruth Lowe Sandler, by Author Betty Nygaard King, from the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada
Ruth Lowe (m Cohen, m Sandler). Songwriter, pianist, b Toronto, of US-Canadian parents, 12 Aug 1914, naturalized US 1937, naturalized Canadian 1942, d Toronto 4 Jan 1981. After living in her early teens in California, she became a songplugger, playing piano in Toronto music stores at 16, promoting the sale of sheet music. With Sair Lee she performed in a two-piano team in Toronto nightclubs, and under the name Nancy Lee she worked in 1933 with the singer George Taggart on radio station CKNC. She was staff pianist with CKLC; sang with The Shadows, a female vocal trio, on CKNC; and performed with Red Hickey's dance band before joining Ina Ray Hutton's all-girl orchestra 1935-7 in the USA. She was pianist 1937-9 with the publishers Bregman, Vocco, and Conn in Chicago.
Lowe returned in 1939 to Toronto, where she was an accompanist on CBL and wrote her first hit song, I'll Never Smile Again. Collaborating on a number of other songs, she wrote the music for "Too Beautiful to Last" (Feist 1940) and the lyrics for "Put Your Dreams Away (For Another Day)" (Barton Music 1942), which was for many years Frank Sinatra's closing theme song. The latter song has also been recorded by Perry Como and Barry Manilow, and was sung by Gisèle MacKenzie on CBC Radio in 1950.
Lowe retired from performance in the early 1940s but continued to compose. The musical Ruthie, based on Lowe's life and employing several of her songs, was staged by Dinah Christie and produced in 1990 by the Smile Theatre Company of Toronto. The songwriter's story is chronicled in the video documentary I'll Never Smile Again: The Ruth Lowe Story (Great North Productions Inc., 2001), which was broadcast as part of the television series The Canadians.
For more information contact Harriet Wichin x 133,
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Back to Top
Lost Tribes: A Link with Afghanistan and Kashmir
Sunday, February 7 2010
Diana Mingail, historian and lecturer
In Afghanistan and Kashmir, historians have found irrefutable proof of a Jewish connection. The former Royal family of Afghanistan openly stated that they are descended from the tribe of Benjamin. Afghanistan is said to be named after Afghana, a grandson of King Saul. There is the Afridi tribe - said to be descended from the tribe of Ephraim - of Afghanistan (and Malihabad, India), whose appearance, customs and traditions attest to their Jewish origin. There are Hebrew place names in Kashmir. There are Jewish synagogues and cemeteries in Afghanistan and Kashmir.
For more information contact Ilana Hirt x 154
Back to Top
The History of Stride Piano
Sunday February 21, 2010 11:00am
Jordan Klapman
Jordan Klapman is a versatile pianist, band leader, accompanist, vocalist and composer with more than twenty years experience performing in venues across Canada and the Caribbean.
Jordan's first love is the music of 1930's Harlem; the era of 'Fats' Waller, Duke Ellington and the great 'Stride' piano players whose upbeat style rocked the Cotton Club. Jordan's influences and abilities extend well beyond the idioms of Jazz and Swing, and include Latin, Broadway, Klezmer, Country, Rock, and Motown.
For more information contact Harriet Wichin x 133, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Back to Top
Renee Barda in Concert
THIS CONCERT HAS BEEN POSTPONED TO FALL 2010. Thank you
Sunday, March 7 2010 2:00pm
In Celebration of International Women’s Day. Renée Barda has a unique stage performance. It is an interactive program and Renée directly addresses the audience in between songs.
Renée Barda is a mezzo soprano of remarkable versatility. Her voice is of an unusual quality, trained to sing in a number of languages and in many different styles.
Renée's most recent successes include solo concerts at the Great Hall, Hart House, University of Toronto and at the McMichael Art Gallery. At Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto, she performed as part of the RBC Jubilee with classical as well as popular songs for an audience of two-thousand and seven hundred people.
Renée received her Bachelor of Music in Performance degree from the University of Toronto's Faculty of Music with the coveted Eaton Award. She entered the world of opera with her debut performance in the title role of Rossini's "La Cenerentola," at the Stratford Shakespearean Festival.
Having studied under Irene Jessner in Toronto, Canada, Renée performed various solo roles for the Canadian Opera Company and was awarded the Floyd Chalmers Award.
In London, England, under a Canada Council Grant, Renée studied with Vera Rosza, famed teacher of Kiri Te Kanawa. On the brink of a marvellous career, Renée decided not to pursue a contract with London's Covent Garden in order to marry into the Italian aristocracy. Renée finally returned to the stage after a thirty year absence and recently recorded her debut CD; "Posterity, Timeless World Music."
Her repertoire is wide in range and general. It includes selections from Broadway musicals, popular songs, old favourites, Italian Neapolitan style, English folk songs, art songs, operatic arias, musical theatre, classical Spanish, operetta, Gershwin and Berlin. She sings in four languages; English, Italian, French and Spanish. The performance can be quite unique, which includes interaction with the audience between songs. She performs along with a piano accompanist, which can be enhanced with the accompaniment of a cello, violin and flute.
Renée is a class act and is quite dramatic. She performs with sincerity, emotion and a definite pouring out of the soul. Her inspiring life story aired on national television in 2003, on "Second Chance; Making it Work."
More about Renee Barda
For more information contact Harriet Wichin x 133, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Back to Top
On Being a Jazz Vocalist
Sunday, March 14 2010 2:00pm
Heather Bambrick, Jazz Vocalist, journalist, educator
A co-presentation with JPEC: Jazz Performance and Education Centre, Toronto.
The primary purpose of JPEC is to inspire and grow audiences for jazz music through performances, education and recordings.
Acclaimed jazz vocalist Heather Bambrick will examine the role of the vocalist in jazz including:
- the fusion of styles within the genre
- influences over the years
- making a tune your own
- Jazz Singing 101 - the fundamentals
Heather Bambrick has been singing for about as long as she’s been talking. Born and raised in St. John’s Newfoundland, she began singing at a very young age, and continued this pursuit with a number of award-winning Chamber Choirs, Vocal Jazz Ensembles, and dinner theatre productions.
In 1993, Heather moved to Toronto begin her studies in the world of Jazz. As a graduate of the University of Toronto Jazz Studies department, Heather has studied and performed with such Canadian Jazz talents as Phil Nimmons, Alex Dean, Mike Murley, Carol Welsman, and Kenny Wheeler. She was a lead soloist in the U of T Vocal Jazz Ensemble, with whom she recorded a CD in 1997 and won the DownBeat Magazine Award for Outstanding College Vocal Group.
Heather was a founding member and lead soloist of the Toronto-based Vocal Jazz/Pop ensemble The Beehive Singers, performing with such artists as Darmon Meader of the Grammy Award-winning New York Voices (RCA), and playing to “standing-room only” audiences at several regional, national and international music festivals. In November, 1999, The Beehive Singers released their debut self-titled CD to critical national acclaim. They twice toured Central and Western Canada, performed repeat sold-out engagements in New York, entertained for a Regent Holidays Western Caribbean cruise, recorded works for the Millenium Celebrations in Mexico and the opening ceremonies for the 2000 Calgary Stampede, and entertained at the 2000 Gemini Awards. The “Hives” have also provided lush backing vocals on several recordings, including those for Carol Welsman, Roger Clown, and Jaymz Bee and the Royal Jelly Orchestra. In April, 2000, The Beehive Singers were awarded “Best Vocal Group” by Jazz Report Magazine.
Heather’s voice can be heard on more than just Canada’s top Jazz club stages. She recorded a number of concerts for CBC’s The Vinyl Café. (Her performance in one of these was included in the Best of the Vinyl Café in 1998.) Other radio and television appearances include: Canada AM (CTV), The Mike Bullard Show (CTV / The Comedy Network), Bravo! (CHUM-City), TVO’s Studio 2, the 2000 Sick Kids’ Telethon, and CBC Radio’s Sound Waves and This Morning. In April 2002, Heather was the featured soloist on the CBC national radio and television live broadcast of the Easter Sunrise Celebration, and in May, 2003, she joined Emm Gryner, Suzie Vinnick, Ron Hynes, Gordie Sampson, and The Irish Descendants on the CBC Radio recording All for a Song. She has performed on a number of television and movie soundtracks, including those for Jacob Two-Two and the Hooded Fang, and Tom Fitzgerald’s Beefcakes, and her voice can be heard on national television and radio commercial recordings for clients like Chapters, McDonald’s, Labatts, T.D. / Canada Trust, and Sears.
As an educator and clinician, Heather has worked with groups at the Huntington Society Jazz Camp, the Toronto District School Board, Ontario Vocal Jazz Festivals, Musicfest Canada, the Labrador Creative Arts Festival, and the Calgary Stampede. She is currently a Vocal instructor in the Jazz Studies Department at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music.
Heather is currently quite active in the Toronto music scene in several musical genres, as a private / corporate entertainer, and freelance vocalist for various studio sessions and live music venues. On the stage, Heather easily demonstrates her effortless technique, lyrical fluidity, and naturally warm audience rapport. Her live shows are an entertaining combination of timeless standards, fresh, accessible original material, and just the right touch of humour, reminiscent of her Newfoundland upbringing. Her solo show “Hi Standards” commanded a large following over a period of two years during which it played to standing-room-only crowds. In March of 2003, after much anticipation, Heather released her debut solo CD It’s About Time. Fans and critics alike embraced this long-awaited recording, which is currently featured on the regular play lists at Jazz FM (Toronto), CBC Radio, as well as on stations in NewYork, Alaska, Florida, and countless satellite stations.
From the U of Toronto, Faculty of Music site
For more information contact Harriet Wichin x 133, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Back to Top
Folk Dance Israel: The Social History of a Movement
Sunday, March 21 2009 11:00am-12:30pm
Dr. Dina Roginsky
A symbol of Israel and favourite pastime around the world. Join us as we trace the development of this movement from its 1930s Kibbutz beginnings to renewed international popularity today. Lecture includes slides and video.
For more information contact Ilana Hirt x 154
Back to Top
The Crypto Jews of Portugal
Sunday, March 28, 2010 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Dr. Judith Cohen
Dr Judith Cohen is among the few people to have spent considerable time in Belmonte and other Portuguese villages with a strong historic, and sometimes contemporary, Crypto-Jewish presence.
She set out on an exploration to these small Portuguese villages in the mid 1990s in order to answer the question: Are there old Crypto-Jewish songs? Since then, she has returned regularly, and is still intrigued by what she continues to learn about the role of music in the lives of the Portuguese "Judeus".
A History of Jazz in Toronto
Sunday, March 28 2010 -2:00pm
Dr. Andrew Scott, Professor and Jazz Performer
A co-presentation with JPEC: Jazz Performance and Education Centre, Toronto.
The primary purpose of JPEC is to inspire and grow audiences for jazz music through performances, education and recordings.
About Andrew Scott...
Toronto native and Sackville recording artist Andrew Scott has become the standard bearer for the next generation of great Canadian jazz musicians.
His many accomplishments include graduating from York University with a PhD in Musicology/ Ethnomusicology, but there is nothing academic about the way Andrew plays the guitar. His “clean, boppish style” has found him compared to everyone from Barney Kessel to Wes Montgomery. His fans include listeners the world over, including legendary musicians Gene DiNovi and George Benson.
Geoff Chapman of The Toronto Star on Andrew's debut Sackville release:
“The opening “This Could Be the Start of Something Big” could well be an omen for the talented Scott… Scott has been hiding his large light under a bushel but comes up trumps with this fine debut disc as a leader…Scott, who shows that driving, clean boppish Kessel style and has absorbed the best of Grant Green and Wes Montgomery…”
Don Brown of Wholenote Magazine on Andrew's latest “Blue Mercer”:
“The leader’s playing is a delight. Scott never hogs the spotlight but his buoyant pulse can be felt throughout. In his beautifully constructed solos one can hear the influence of Barney Kessel and Kenny Burrell. And traces of Wes Montgomery turn up in spots as well. But Scott is by no means a copyist. With his assured, yet relaxed, playing he has become his own man. Highly recommended.”
Russell Carlson, JazzTimes Magazine:
“Scott saves himself for leads where his robust, authoritative tone and stunning improvisational command twist a melody like his “Blues for Sonny” around the fretboard until he’s wrung it for all it’s worth, and it’s great fun listening to him do it. This will likely be the most enjoyable album of its sort that you’re going to hear all year.”
For more information contact Harriet Wichin x 133, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Back to Top
The Holocaust: Facts, Myths and Misconceptions
Sunday, April 11 2010
Professor Kalman Weiser
While the Holocaust looms over contemporary life, few among us have actually studied it systematically as adults. Most have relied on museum visits or the media to learn about a subject that remains today as controversial as it is painful. Common misconceptions and contemporary questions in Holocaust scholarship and relations between Jews and the peoples of Europe.
For more information contact Ilana Hirt x 154
Back to Top
"The Most Passionate Fling": Piere Elliott Trudeau and Canadian Jews
Sunday, April 18 2010 9:30am-11:00am
Professor Hesh Troper
2010 marks ten years since the death of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, prime minister of Canada for all but one year between 1968 and 1984. This lecture explores Trudeau’s special relationship with the Canadian Jewish community, a relationship journalist Larry Zolf once described as “probably the maddest and most passionate fling that Trudeau ever flung.” The lecture will also discuss Trudeau’s Jewish connections, his impact on the life chances of Canadian Jews and his government's response to priority concerns of the organized Jewish community.
Speaker: Professor Harold Troper is a professor in the Department of Theory and Policy Studies at the University of Toronto. He is author or co-author of a number of scholarly articles and award winning books including Immigrants: A Portrait of the Urban Experience; None Is Too Many; Old Wounds and Friend or Foe? His latest book, The Ransomed of God , has recently been reprinted in paperback under the title The Rescuer and he has a book forthcoming with the University of Toronto Press entitled The Pivotal Decade: Identity, Politics and the Canadian Jewish Community in the 1960s.
Sponsored by the Downtown Jewish Community School & Miles Nadal JCC
This program receives assistance from UJA Federation.
For more information contact Joan Schoenfeld x 112
Back to Top
