Ashkenaz 2020: Live and From the Archive

Join us online for a virtual celebration of Ashkenaz’s 25^th anniversary! The program will run during what would have been this year’s Ashkenaz Festival dates, September 1-7. The festivities will include two parallel programs: a series of new ‘pop-up’ performances by Toronto based artists, livestreaming each day at 4pm, and a series of archival performances from past Festivals, streaming each evening at 8pm. Streams will take place on FACEBOOK and YOUTUBE (click the text in caps to go to those pages). We hope to capture some of the spirit and energy we would have normally experienced this time of year, and to somehow celebrate our milestone with a taste of world-class Jewish music from around the corner and around the world. See details and schedule below.

Ashkenaz 2020: Live (4pm daily from Sept 1-7 on Facebook and YouTube)

We are pleased to partner with URGNT TRNTO to bring you a daily dose of new “pop-up” performances by some of our favourite Toronto-based Festival alumni. These 20 minute ‘musical interventions’ will be captured live in outdoor locations around the city, with minimal production. Casual slices of musical life from Festival alumni and members of our artistic community, who, despite being deprived for so long of the audiences and incomes that sustain them, continue to inspire us with their artistry and dedication. Artists to be featured include: Ashkenaz’s founding Artistic Director David Buchbinder, Aviva Chernick, Marilyn Lerner and David Wall, Beyond the Pale, Moneka Arabic Jazz Band, Mark and Marichka Marcyk, and Toronto Klezmer Society.

Ashkenaz 2020: From the Archive (8pm daily from Sept 1-7 on Facebook and YouTube)

The nightly archive series will include rarities from throughout the Festival’s history, never before seen since their initial occurrence, but every bit as fresh and exciting as the day they were shot. Programs include: The Flying Bulgar Band (1999); Hasidic New Wave (1999); the Finale from the 2006 Festival featuring a massive band of 40 Festival all-stars paying tribute to German Goldenshteyn; Joshua Nelson and Kosher Gospel with special guests Dave Wall and Ken Whiteley (2008); Zion80 (2014); Baladino (2016); and Yid! (2018).

SCHEDULE:

Tuesday September 1
4pm: Livestream pop-up show with Mark and Marichka Marcyk (Toronto)
8pm: The Flying Bulgar Band (Toronto) from the 1999 Ashkenaz Festival

Wednesday September 2

4pm: Livestream pop-up show with Marilyn Lerner and David Wall (Toronto)
8pm: Zion80 (NYC), from the 2014 Ashkenaz Festival

Thursday September 3

4pm: Livestream pop-up show with Aviva Chernick (Toronto)
8pm: Baladino (Israel/Germany). from the 2016 Ashkenaz Festival

Friday September 4

4pm: Livestream pop-up show with Beyond the Pale (Toronto)
8pm: Hasidic New Wave (NYC), from the 1999 Ashkenaz Festival

Saturday September 5

4pm: Livestream pop-up show with Moneka Arabic Jazz (Toronto)
8pm: YID! (Australia) from the 2018 Ashkenaz Festival

Sunday September 6

4pm: Livestream pop-up show with David Buchbinder (Toronto)
8pm: Joshua Nelson’s “Kosher Gospel” with David Wall and Ken Whiteley (US/Canada) from the 2008 Ashkenaz Festival

Monday September 7

4pm: Livestream mock parade with Toronto Klezmer Society
8pm: Festival Finale and Tribute to German Goldenshteyn from the 2006 Ashkenaz Festival. Featuring an all-star band including Alex Kontorovich, Michael Alpert, Frank London,  Christian Dawid, Susan Hoffman-Watts, Paul Brody, Josh Horowitz, Josh Dolgin, Stuart Brotman, Cookie Segelstein, Aaron Alexander, Guy Shalom …. and many more!