Part of the Toronto Jazz Festival
Lightstone / Katz / Koller Klezmer Trio
Brian Katz (guitar, piano), famed jazz and Jewish music artist, Jonno Lightstone, acclaimed klezmer clarinettist/flutist and the great “all over the map” bassist, George Koller combine their talents to explore their fresh take on klezmer. Bringing together a multitude of musical styles and experiences, the trio creates a variety of diverse moods by weaving the melodies of klezmer with the sounds and textures of jazz, Indian raga, chamber music, and down-home rock’n blues! Dancing shoes and a whacky hat required!
George Koller
Bassist, Composer, and Producer George Koller has accumulated hundreds of wildly diverse performing and recording credits in his expansive musical career. A prolific composer and producer, yet recognized primarily as a bass player, George plays a variety of instruments, notably Indian stringed Instruments. He has performed professionally and extensively within most genres, best known for his work in jazz, free jazz, folk, world, and world fusion. For over three decades, he has performed and/or produced over 600 CDs, and his playing of Indian stringed instruments has been featured in several films. In the last decade, he has produced music for Yoga and Indian Classical music artists. George was presented with the 2007 national jazz award for “bassist of
$20 and please RSVP at 416-229-0189/ info@sarv.ca
This workshop aims to give the studio music teacher tools for thinking critically about their practice. I am motivated by numerous accounts heard over the years—and my own experiences—of learners’ extreme disappointments in private music study, as well as teachers’ complaints about the drudgery of their work. I hold that the studio music lesson’s unique potential to create a richly fulfilling experience for learners and teachers unfolds when teachers have carefully thought through why, how, and what we are teaching, as well as how we see ourselves situated in society.
This workshop will take the form of an informal conversation whereby topics relating to private study and pedagogy will be introduced and participants will share with each other, take notes, and look at tools so as to generally engage in becoming a more reflective practitioner.
Since there are so many aspects to potentially cover when speaking to what unfolds in a private music lesson, the emphasis for this evening will be on examining the relationship between engaged teacher-student rapport and certain philosophical/pedagogical approaches to music education that I feel support such an engagement whereby “the work of music” is not at the centre per se, but the making of music and the cultivation of two individuals and a unique human relationship highlighting active participation in music—and beyond—is.
I will draw on my experience as a former music student and holistic music educator/artist, on student and teacher narratives, on music education philosophy, methodologies and research, and on various streams of psychology to encourage broad ranging reflection on the multi-faceted nature of studio music teaching and learning.
Unique to the music relationship is communication via musical sound. In my mind, the resultant web of various communication modalities that occur in the music studio open up the possibility for an extremely rich human relationship that can deeply affect the musical—and overall life— development of both parties.
A stellar concert of Klezmer music with our good friend singer Allan Merovitz and an all-star Klezmer Trio: Brian Katz (guitar, piano), Jonno Lightstone (clarinet, flute), George Koller (bass). Allan is widely known as a singer with Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band and some of the world’s top Yiddish and Klezmer ensembles including the Ot Azoj Klezmer Band of Amsterdam and the Montreal-based Merovitz Project. Artword Theatre has directed and produced numerous remounts of his celebrated play If Cows Could Fly.
The Lightstone/Katz/Koller Klezmer Trio: Brian Katz (guitar, piano), famed jazz and Jewish music artist, Jonno Lightstone, acclaimed klezmer clarinettist/flutist and the great “all over the map” bassist, George Koller—all who have worked with Allan in various settings over many years—combine their talents to explore their fresh take on klezmer. Bringing together a multitude of musical styles and experiences, the trio creates a variety of diverse moods by weaving the melodies of klezmer with the sounds and textures of jazz, Indian raga, Yiddish song, chamber music, and down-home rock’n blues! Dancing shoes and a whacky hat required! www.allanmerovitz.com, www.briankatz.com, www.klezconnection.com, www.georgekoller.com
Allan Merovitz is a Juno Award nominee musician/actor widely known for his work as the former lead singer of the Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band and a two-time Dora Mavor Moore award winner for theatre productions in Toronto. Allan has recorded and toured with some of the world’s top Yiddish and Klezmer ensembles including the Ot Azoj Klezmer Band of Amsterdam and the Montreal-based Merovitz Project (Galazie Award, 2009). His musical-theatre productions The Wedding Bard / Der Badchan and If Cows Could Fly (with Artword Theatre) have been performed and produced in Canada and Europe, with recent performances in Ottawa, Hamilton, and Toronto’s internationally renown Ashkenaz Festival. KlezMerovitz, Allan’s Calgary-based band has been featured at the Calgary Folk Festival and has been recorded by CBC on several occasions.
FRIENDS OF YIDDISH PRESENTS A Gala Concert Featuring
The Lightstone – Katz – Koller Klezmer Ensemble
with Yiddish vocalist Allan Merovitz
In Yiddish and English
A lively evening of heymishe, yiddishe lieder as our three award-winning instrumentalists present their freylekh blend of Klezmer … great friends, refreshments, door prizes, silent auction
Simply pay at the event entry desk.
Welcome Guests $15; Current FOY Members $8
Please RSVP by Thursday, June 14th
Brian Katz (guitar, piano), famed jazz and Jewish music artist, and Jonno Lightstone, acclaimed klezmer clarinettist/flutist combine their talents to explore some rarely performed klezmer repertoire. Bringing together a multitude of musical styles and experiences, they create a variety of diverse moods by weaving the melodies of klezmer and Yiddish song with the sounds and textures of chamber music, jazz, Indian raga, Israeli music, and down-home rock’n blues! The inviting texture of the classical guitar and flute will especially intrigue listeners who have yet to hear the more intimate side of klezmer. And when they play some good old-fashioned,up-tempo Jewish dances with clarinet and piano, don’t just sit there!
KatzTollar (Brian Katz, guitar/piano/vocals; Ernie Tollar, sax/bansuri flute/ney)
Brian Katz is widely acclaimed for his personal approach to playing modern jazz and klezmer music on the classical guitar, and for his evocative compositions; saxophonist/ bansuri flautist/ney player, Ernie Tollar for his outstanding ability to synthesize diverse musical traditions. KatzTollar mostly performs original compositions in the “world jazz” genre: the music is rooted in the modern jazz tradition and extends outwards to embrace elements of Middle Eastern, klezmer, East Indian, classical and various world music traditions.
World @ Midday: KatzTollar
(Brian Katz, guitar/piano/vocals; Ernie Tollar, sax/bansuri flute/ney)
The Duo will perform original compositions in the “world jazz” genre. Their music is rooted in the modern jazz tradition and extends outwards to embrace elements of Middle Eastern, klezmer, East Indian, classical and various world music traditions.
Brian Katz is widely acclaimed for his personal approach to playing modern jazz and klezmer music on the classical guitar, and for his evocative compositions; saxophonist/ bansuri flautist/ney player, Ernie Tollar for his outstanding ability to synthesize diverse musical traditions. Of “Leaves Will Speak,” Brian Katz’s recent solo guitar recording, music critic, Stanley Fefferman of Opus 1 Reviews writes: “The whole vibe is Brian’s own blend of classical, medieval, Spanish, Jazz, Blues, finger-picking Folk, Greek, Middle Eastern, and Klezmer— you can hear all those threads in the weave of this album’s harmonic fabric. You can enjoy the play of musical intelligence on this album, and dig into a rich horde of experience gathered along the way of Brian’s 30-year international career.”
Join internationally acclaimed guitarist, educator, and Dalcroze Eurhythmics practitioner, Brian Katz for an afternoon intensive where you’ll discover a variety of new ways to approach playing, practicing, and conceptualizing the guitar as an integral component of your Music Therapy practice.
Brian Katz, a seasoned musician, educator, and long time “inhabitant” of “guitar culture,” will guide participants in a rich variety of hands on/ears on techniques and explorations, with attention, to the necessity of being well-grounded in the basics, and understanding how to expand upon them.
By the conclusion of this workshop, participants will, especially, feel that they have a “tool kit” that will enable them to play at whatever level they are at with good, projected, tone, elegance, dynamics, more embodied, rooted, rhythm and overall confidence. Learners will feel empowered to discover more with their guitars and understand both logical/sequenced procedures (such as permutations of fingerpicking patterns), refinement of particular techniques (such as rest and free strokes), and more playful, discovery-oriented techniques/strategies involving improvisation that will begin to transform their guitar playing. My intention is to inspire participants to grow with their guitar skills and find new and interesting applications of these newfound skill sets to their particular Music Therapy practices. There will be some take-home handouts provided.
Call 416-658-5687 for reservations
$9.00 Admission
Enoch Turner Schoolhouse
Zita Petrak – piano
Brian Katz – guitar
Lenka Lichtenberg – voice
Tickets : $30 , Students $15
$35, $20 – (cash at the door )
CD – $15
To purchase tickets: email ztptrk@gmail.com OR call 647 – 294 6467
Payment by E-transfer to ztptrk@gmail.com
Tickets will be emailed to you or you can pick up prepaid tickets at the concert.
We recommend purchasing tickets ahead of time as we can not guarantee there will be seats available.
