Thieves of Dreams: Music & Poetry featuring Lenka Lichtenberg

Lenka Lichtenberg performs music from her latest album, Thieves of Dreams: Songs of Theresienstadt’s Secret Poetess, which was awarded the 2023 Juno Awards for Global Music Album Of The Year.

Born in Prague, into a family of Jewish origin, most of Lenka Lichtenberg’s maternal ancestors were murdered during the Holocaust. Her late grandmother, Anna Hana, wrote journals between 1940 and 1945, before and during her incarceration (1942-1945) in the Terezin (Theresienstadt) concentration camp. Lichtenberg used Hana’s powerful poems of love, relationships, and dreams of far-away places as inspiration for a stunning musical and spoken word performance.

Lenka Lichtenberg (vocals, narration, keyboard, harmonium)

JUNO Award Winner, vocalist, composer, cantorial singer and a producer, Lenka aspires to build bridges among cultures and transcend the artificial boundaries between folk, jazz and world music in a passionate and often deeply spiritual celebration of her roots. Since relocating to Toronto after spending her early days as a notable child star in her native Prague, the multilingual vocalist has been a prolific collaborator and has also released seven albums of her own. Her works have received dozens of awards and nominations, including two Canadian Folk Music Awards and (International) Independent Music Award. Two of her outings were released worldwide on the U.K.’s ARC Music label. Lichtenberg’s latest project is Thieves of Dreams, based on poems she recently unearthed that were written by her grandmother while she was imprisoned in the Theresienstadt concentration camp during World War 2. The album, 2023 JUNO Award winner for Global Music Album of the Year, is distributed by Six Degrees worldwide, and by Supraphon in the Czech Republic.

Fern Lindzon (piano, vocals, narration)

JUNO Award Nominee (Vocal Jazz Album of the Year), Fern Lindzon is a multifaceted pianist/vocalist/arranger. Fern possesses a technique WholeNote Magazine called ‘breathtakingly beautiful’, while New Canadian Music described her as ‘one of the most adventurous and accomplished vocalists, pianists, and songwriters on the T.O. jazz scene.’ Fern’s three CDs move comfortably and creatively through a highly personal repertoire of her own arrangements of jazz standards, contemporary Israeli and Yiddish music and original compositions. Fern also composes and performs scores for silent films and has worked as a Musical Director for theatrical productions.

Anita Katakkar (tabla, percussion)

With Indian Scottish roots in multicultural Toronto, Anita Katakkar’s music represents a link between her heritage and community. She is a multi-faceted composing, performing and recording artist, with a focus on North Indian tabla. Anita has studied tabla for over 20 years, in Toronto, California and in Kolkata, India. Her solo project called Rakkatak, has released an EP and 3 full length albums; its song, Heliosphere, is the opening to CBC Radio “Big City Small World.”

Note: The Koffler Gallery will remain open an extra hour, from 5 to 6 pm, for those attending the performance.