Cynthia Ramsay – Page 15

Enjoy Bach with a twist

Alon Sariel is Early Music Vancouver’s artist in residence for this summer’s festival. (photo by Suzette Vorster-Van Acker)

‘We are thrilled to offer audiences an adventurous program of some of Bach’s seminal works, but with a twist,” said Early Music Vancouver artistic and executive director Suzie LeBlanc in a press release announcing this summer’s early music festival. “From traditional compositions reworked for unique instruments, such as mandolin and oud, to the introduction of vocal improvisation, inspired by Bach’s own customary practice of instrumental extemporization, Bach Untamed welcomes listeners to seek out new perspectives of Bach’s well-known and beloved classics.”

This year’s festival – which runs July 30-Aug. 8 at various venues – features almost 50 emerging and established early music artists from around the world, including mandolinist and multi-instrumentalist Alon Sariel, who is EMV’s 2024 Summer Festival Artist in Residence.

In addition to headlining two concerts – Alon Sariel: Plucked Bach at Congregation Beth Israel on July 31, in which he will premiere his own Bach-inspired Mandolin Partita, and EMV’s festival finale at the Vancouver Playhouse, which features the Canadian premiere of Amit Weiner’s 2019 reconstruction of Bach’s Italian Concerto – Sariel will perform in several other festival concerts, as well as teach a workshop on Bach for plucked instruments.

Sariel, who was born and raised in Beersheba, Israel, met LeBlanc at the Utrecht Early Music Festival, in the Netherlands, last fall.

“I was playing there with friends from Profeti della Quinta, an Israeli vocal ensemble based in Switzerland, who was already a guest of EMV in the past,” Sariel told the Independent. “Suzie and I had a chat and it turned out I had some very different programs to offer and that a residency could be a lovely idea to feature a few of those.”

Sariel’s first visit to Vancouver was more than 30 years ago, as a kid, with his family. He’s excited to return. He arrived July 24 and will be staying until Aug. 9 – “the final concert, Bach & the Mandolin, with the Pacific Baroque Orchestra, is on Aug. 8,” he said.

“The program looks really splendid (a huge shout out to Suzie!) and I’m very glad and proud to wear the artist-in-residence hat this summer – can’t wait really!” said Sariel.

LeBlanc started the artist-in-residence program in 2021 “to create more exchanges between EMV’s guests and the local community.”

“EMV has under its wing a local baroque orchestra – the Pacific Baroque Orchestra, led by Alexander Weimann – and a Baroque Mentorship Orchestra Program (BOMP) at UBC for students and community players,” she explained. “In addition to his own concerts in the summer festival, Alon will collaborate with these ensembles, working with professionals, students and community players, going beyond concert performances and delivering a collaborative and educational experience.

“He will also lead a three-day course called ‘Unconventional Bach,’ which focuses on playing and arranging Bach’s works for different instruments,” she said, noting, “Alon is also a composer and his guiding principle is ‘giving new life to existing material, as well as creating completely new works.’ We’re excited to have an artist in residence who shares this philosophy with EMV and will be so present beyond the concert stage.”

LeBlanc described Sariel’s Bach solos on mandolin as “captivating and very personal.”

“He fully deserves his notoriety as one of the most versatile and gifted mandolin players, lutenists and ensemble directors of today,” she said.

A soloist, chamber player and artistic director, Sariel has performed more than 1,000 concerts in more than 35 countries, according to his bio. In his Plucked Bach recordings (Pentatone), he interprets Bach’s solo music and creates new arrangements for mandolin and lute, the baroque guitar and the oud. His album Telemandolin (Berlin Classics) was awarded an OPUS KLASSIK, making Sariel the first mandolinist to earn the honour. But the path to professional success hasn’t been easy and, said Sariel, “there are still many obstacles in the way of a mandolin player.”

“For any violinist, pianist, conductor, etc., there are many competitions which could serve as a jump step to a musical career – the mandolin has none,” he explained. “I attended several competitions which were open to all instruments and won them all and, even then, I kept getting lines like, ‘Thank you very much for getting in touch, we’ll contact you shall we be interested in the future.’ Booking agencies, record labels and concert halls can still be very suspicious when it comes to the mandolin, that’s why I feel a great responsibility in every concert that I play. It’s not only about me getting re-invited, but it’s about convincing this or that director and, of course, the audience, to give a chance to something new. The theatres could always go for another Rachmaninoff piano concerto or another Beethoven symphony, they don’t have to ‘take a risk’ with a mandolin player, that’s why I really have to stand out in my artistic profile in order to get the chance.”

LeBlanc first heard about Sariel from Renaud Loranger, the artistic director of the Festival de Lanaudière in Québec. When she met Sariel at the Utrecht Early Music Festival, she said, “Our meeting was very pleasant – his playing was fabulous – and I immediately saw that he would be a great and versatile artist in residence. Also, I knew that Vancouverites love the mandolin player Avi Avital, who has played many times in Vancouver. What perhaps they don’t know is that Alon has collaborated with Avi on a recording of Vivaldi’s concerto for two mandolins (Deutsche Grammophon, 2020). I hope all mandolin lovers will come out to hear Alon – he has brought to light many works for the mandolin from centuries past and commissioned composers to write new pieces for him.”

And to think that Sariel wanted to play the electric guitar when he was a kid.

“I wished to learn e-guitar, but I was much too young for that,” he recalled. “The director of the conservatory gave me a little basic test – I had to clap some rhythms and sing some tones, etc. She suggested I should take the violin, but I wasn’t excited. Then she said there’s also the mandolin – which I didn’t know at all – and that it’s in fact ‘very similar’ to the guitar, you hold it pretty much the same way, but the size would be perfect for an 8-year-old. She mentioned the mandolin orchestra and the fact it gets to represent the city occasionally, even abroad, so I agreed to give it a try and thought I’d shift to e-guitar later on. Very soon I forgot about the guitar and was all invested in the mandolin, I absolutely loved it!”

LeBlanc chooses EMV’s artists in residence “first and foremost for their great artistry, for their extensive knowledge of historical performance practice, and their ability to share their ideas and knowledge generously,” she said. Previous artists in residence have been Cree-Métis baritone Jonathon Adams (2021); Scottish Baroque specialists David Greenberg and David McGuiness, violin and keyboard (2022); and Catalina Vicens, keyboard and curator of the Tagliavini Collection of ancient musical instruments in Bologna, Italy (2023).

“It has been extremely rewarding to watch the program grow over the past few years, and hear the enthusiastic audience feedback to our different artists in residence,” she said.

For more information about and tickets to this summer’s festival, visit earlymusic.bc.ca.

JI picks up four Rockowers

Israeli writer Gil Zohar (standing, seventh from the left) with other 2024 Rockower Award winners in Nashville, Tenn., last month. (photo by Bill Motchan)

At the annual conference of the American Jewish Press Association, which took place in Nashville, Tenn., June 2-4, Israeli freelance writer and tour guide Gil Zohar was there in person to collect his Rockower Award for Excellence in Jewish Journalism. He won an honourable mention for the article “Identifying the victims,” published by the Jewish Independent Nov. 10, 2023. The Independent picked up four Rockowers this year, for work published in 2023.

Zohar’s article (jewishindependent.ca/identifying-the-victims) won in the Wild Card Category – Award for Excellence in Writing about the War in Israel: News and Feature Writing. It explains how staff at the Israel Defence Forces’ Shura base were working around the clock at the time to identify the remains of the 1,200 people murdered in Israel by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, a process made more grisly and difficult because of the extreme brutality of the attack.

Winning first place in the Wild Card Category for weekly and biweekly newspapers was “New era for world Jewry” by Chaim Goldberg, published by Intermountain Jewish News (Denver, Colo.). Taking second place was “A letter from Israel: It’s okay to start dreaming” by Chaim Steinmetz, published in the Jewish Journal of Greater LA (Los Angeles, Calif.).

The Jewish Independent won first place for weekly and biweekly newspapers in the category of Excellence in Single Commentary with Helen Mintz’s article “Opportunity for healing” (jewishindependent.ca/opportunity-for-healing). Originally presented as a d’var Torah at Or Shalom Synagogue, it was “intended as a beginning of a conversation about how we, as Canadian Jews, can heal our relationship with Ukrainians and Ukraine.” Of the article, the Rockower jury wrote: “A powerful reminder that there are many ways to view complex histories. The beautiful way the story is told is both intimately personal and ultimately universal.”

Taking second place in the Single Commentary category was “Wokeism and the Jews: A reckoning” by Monica Osborne (Jewish Journal of Greater LA), with “The inside story of how Palestinians took over the world” by Gary Wexler (also for the Jewish Journal of Greater LA) receiving an honourable mention.

Local musician, composer and bandleader Moshe Denburg earned the Jewish Independent second place for Excellence in Arts – Review/Criticism, weekly and biweekly newspapers, with his review “Erez’s new CD shows mastery” (jewishindependent.ca/erezs-new-cd-shows-mastery). The Rockower jury wrote: “Sounds like a great CD.”

Placing first Excellence in Arts – Review/Criticism was “Oppenheimer, and the lesson of brainy Jews” by Thane Rosenbaum (Jewish Journal of Greater LA) and Tabby Refael received an honourable mention for the article “For a deaf woman from Iran, freedom never sounded so good” (Jewish Journal of Greater LA).

Winnipeg freelance writer Joanne Seiff won the Independent its fourth award, placing second in the category of Excellence in Writing about Jewish Thought and Life. The JI submitted three of her articles for consideration: “Women’s rights evolve,” “Honouring others in death” and “A yearly reminder to return.” The first article (jewishindependent.ca/womens-rights-evolve) talks about parallels between modern events and talmudic discussions – in particular laws that limit women’s ability to control their own bodies. The second article (jewishindependent.ca/honouring-others-in-death) is about how Jewish tradition could inform the debate that ensued after the remains of four murdered Indigenous women were found in Winnipeg-area landfills, and the third piece (jewishindependent.ca/a-yearly-reminder-to-return) connects the renovation of Seiff’s home with the month of Elul and teshuvah, usually translated as repentance, but also meaning return. “Returning to our best selves might require us to listen, pay attention to our gut feelings, do some renovation,” she writes.

In summing up Seiff’s articles, a member of the Rockower jury commented: “I would love to live in Winnipeg, only to read Joanne Seiff regularly. She is an intelligent writer.”

First place in this category for weekly and biweekly newspapers went to “Ten measures of beauty, of fragility, of hope” by Tehilla Goldberg (Intermountain Jewish News) and Refael won another honourable mention, for the article “I’m an observant Jew, and I need Christmas music more than ever before.”

To read the writing of all the 2024 Rockower winners, visit ajpa.org.

Fundraising for vital services

Larry Vinegar, left, and Marcy Schwartzman with Daniel Steiner, who presented them with the Lighting the Way Award at JFS Innovators 2024 on May 28. (photo by Kliri Photography)

JFS Innovators 2024: 18 Years of Lighting the Way raised more than $420,000. “With donations raised by Innovators 2024, we can provide holistic, wrap-around care – the kind that recognizes individual needs, situations and life stages,” Tanja Demajo, chief executive officer of Jewish Family Services, told the Independent. “Picture this: a single mom dealing with a debt after divorce, trying to care for her child with autism on a limited income, as her caretaker role and employment conflict each other. With these funds, we are not just filling their fridges, we are nourishing their well-being and giving them the fuel to keep going when it’s hard.”

The annual fundraising event, which was presented this year by Pollock Clinics, took place the evening of May 28 at Parq Vancouver. Originally a luncheon affair, the new approach was well-received, said Innovators 2024 committee co-chairs Candice and Todd Thal. In an email, they shared some of the feedback they had received: “Great event. Positive responses to the change in format. Open bar and food elevated the evening. Video was informative and touching.”

photo - Innovators 2024 co-chairs Candice and Todd Thal — Innovators 2024 co-chairs Candice and Todd Thal. *(photo by Kliri Photography)*

The Thals have been involved with JFS as donors and volunteers for many years, because they value that JFS “supports our local community, regardless of age, race or religion.” As co-chairs of Innovators, they were responsible for, among other things, marketing and communication, corporate sponsorship and overall event planning, which included sourcing a venue, integrating new fundraising strategies, and developing a menu.

The event started with a welcome and land acknowledgement by actor Christina Chang, who was the night’s emcee. Demajo spoke, offering an overview of JFS and Innovators, and Daniel Steiner presented the Lighting the Way Award to Larry Vinegar and Marcy Schwartzman. After a video featuring former JFS clients Sammy and Tadelu, auctioneer Fred Lee got people bidding. The proceedings wrapped up with remarks from the Thals, who told the Independent that their favourite part of the night was “watching over 350 happy and engaged people come to support the new Innovators format.”

“Having so many people come together to support JFS on this special anniversary of the Innovators event was very inspiring and such a lovely way to spend the evening,” agreed Demajo.

The presentation of the Lighting the Way Award was a highlight. The honour was established to recognize and celebrate “exceptional leadership and commitment within the community,” Demajo said. “This award serves as a tribute to individuals or companies who embody the core values and mission of JFS, particularly in their dedication to uplifting lives and contributing to a world repaired.

“By recognizing individuals or companies JFS not only celebrates their achievements but also encourages others to follow their lead in making the world a brighter place. The Lighting the Way Award serves as a beacon of hope and inspiration, reminding us of the collective responsibility we share in creating a more compassionate and inclusive society.”

photo - Members of the Innovators 2024 committee, left to right: Jessica Hanick, Candice Thal, Tamar Bakonyi and Cydney Shapiro — Members of the Innovators 2024 committee, left to right: Jessica Hanick, Candice Thal, Tamar Bakonyi and Cydney Shapiro. *(photo by Josh Bowie Photography)*

Vinegar and Schwartzman were given the award in recognition of their contributions to JFS and the community at large.

“They truly embody JFS’s values and demonstrate innovation in their commitment to social good, reminding us that finding a way through darkness can lead to a more resilient, compassionate and inclusive society,” said Demajo.

“Larry and his son Moishe had volunteered with the food bank since Moishe was a kid, demonstrating great passion and commitment to food security. In early 2021, Moishe left this world far too early. Larry and Marcy turned their grief into an amazing opportunity to engage young adults in food and environmental justice through the Moishe’s Farm Retreat,” she explained.

“Wanting to do more, they also planted an acre of land with squash in the Okanagan valley with the intention to donate the produce to the JFS Kitchen. Two years ago, Larry came across a piece of land in Richmond, which he, Marcy and their friends transformed into a thriving farm. Their vision attracted numerous supporters who have helped Larry and Marcy grow and donate fresh food to JFS and other organizations. Each week, Larry and Marcy deliver fresh produce to the JFS Kitchen. Since starting the farm, they have donated over 20,500 pounds of food. Their produce enriches lives by not only ensuring food security but also advancing food justice.”

photo - Former JFS clients Tadelu and Sammy — Former JFS clients Tadelu and Sammy. *(Photo by Kliri Photography)*

Steiner, who presented the award to Vinegar and Schwartzman, has a special connection to JFS and Innovators. His wife, Naomi Gropper Steiner, z”l, and her friends Hildy Barnett, z”l, and Kristina Berman started Innovators in 2006. Steiner has been involved since the beginning, and continues to do what he can to continue her legacy.

And there is always more to be done.

“Due to an increase in poverty, hunger, homelessness and mental health issues, JFS faces an unprecedented number of requests for help and support in the community each and every day,” said Demajo. “For every person who receives care and services, there are five more waiting for support. Our mission is to ensure that every single person who crosses our path receives the care they deserve, precisely when they need it most.”

Team Canada wins cup

Team Canada and Team Israel at Softball City July 3 to compete for the Canada Cup International Softball Championship, Women’s division. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay)

The Canada Cup International Softball Championship, Women’s division, took place June 28-July 7, with Team Canada winning the competition in a game against TC Colorado (7-0) on the last day of the tournament.

This year, 12 women’s teams competed for the cup: Saskatchewan 222s, TC Colorado, Team Australia, Team Canada, Team Chinese Taipei, Team Czechia, Team Greece, Team Hong Kong, Team Israel, Team Mexico, Team New Zealand and Team Philippines.

Team Canada and Team Israel played each other July 3 at Softball City, and attendees cheered on both teams, despite the presence of anti-Israel protesters outside the stadium. While Team Israel scored the first two runs of the game, Team Canada went on to win 10-3. In all, Israel won four of its seven games and Canada won all its eight games, which included the final.

For more about the annual event, visit canadacup.com.

Tasty, tangy Shabbat salad

Micah Siva’s Pomegranate Lentil Tabbouleh, the recipe for which is in her book NOSH. (photo by Micah Siva)

This past weekend was hot, and the last thing I wanted to do was cook, so I turned to Micah Siva’s NOSH: Plant-Forward Recipes Celebrating Modern Jewish Cuisine (The Collective Book Studio), which I reviewed for the Passover issue (jewishindependent.ca/tasty-plant-forward-recipes). I made the salad portion of Siva’s suggested summer Shabbat dinner, and it was the perfect meal: fresh and tangy, healthy and filling.

Siva’s summer Shabbat dinner includes the tabbouleh, four variations of hummus, an everything bagel spiced Israeli-style pita (“[t]ypically thicker than other flatbreads or pitas … when made correctly, it contains a pocket”) and falafel balls. Of course, she has recipes for every part of the meal. Here is the one for the tabbouleh. Enjoy!

POMEGRANATE LENTIL TABBOULEH
(serves 4 to 6)

1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 medium tomato, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 english cucumber, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
salt
pepper
2 cups roughly chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup pomegranate arils
1/2 cup cooked brown or green lentils
1 tsp lemon zest
juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tbsp)
3 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup sesame seeds
2 tsp za’atar

In a medium bowl, combine the chopped onion, tomato and cucumber. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes. This helps remove excess water from the vegetables.

While the vegetables are salting, combine the parsley, mint, pomegranate arils and cooked lentils in a serving bowl.

Use a colander to drain the onion and tomato mixture, pressing out any excess liquid. Add the mixture to the serving bowl.

Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, sesame seeds and za’atar and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Note: Make this salad up to 3 days in advance by combining everything but the fresh herbs in an airtight container and refrigerating. Toss with the herbs just before serving.

Variations: Add 2 teaspoons of ground sumac to this recipe for a tangier variation. Omit the sesame seeds and add hemp seeds for added protein.

Get ready to rock at TUTS

School of Rock cast members, left to right: Crosby Mark, Casey Trotter, Colin Sheen, Mya Forrest, Fumi Okochi and Thailey Roberge. Matthew Rossoff is choreographer of the production. (photo by Emily Cooper)

Matthew Rossoff has returned to Theatre Under the Stars – to choreograph his first production for TUTS, School of Rock. The musical, which alternates with Cats at the Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park, previews July 7-8 and opens July 11.

“Over a year ago, I responded to a posting seeking new creative team members to join the upcoming season and thought it would be a great way to reconnect with the TUTS community,” said Rossoff, who grew up in Richmond and performed in TUTS shows in his younger days. “I was actually on my honeymoon when I received the initial call and am thrilled it all worked out!”

Rossoff, who is a member of the Jewish community, has performed in two TUTS productions: South Pacific in 2000 and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat in 2002.

“For several reasons, both of these productions and experiences were huge influences in my career as an emerging artist,” Rossoff told the Independent. “After a long performing hiatus, South Pacific was my first musical after I graduated high school and it was a dream to perform at the Malkin Bowl. Joseph was directed and choreographed by my childhood idol, Jeff Hyslop, and this production catapulted me into my professional career as a dancer and actor, making my CAEA [Canadian Actors’ Equity Association] debut in Fiddler on the Roof at the Vancouver Playhouse later that fall.”

While earning his bachelor of arts at the University of British Columbia, majoring in theatre and minoring in English literature, Rossoff was also doing work in film and traveling across Canada performing in theatrical productions. In 2006, he followed through on his dream to move to New York. There, he performed in several shows, and made his Stratford Shakespeare Festival debut in Camelot and Jesus Christ Superstar.

“Jesus Christ Superstar gained critical acclaim and, eventually, the entire Canadian cast transferred to Broadway in March 2012,” Rossoff said. “I was fortunate to make my Broadway debut, as the dance captain and swing. Our production became a Tony Award nominee for best revival, which offered me a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform on the Tony Awards!”

And to think, Rossoff’s career began in elementary school, when he saw one of his sister’s dance classes. “I was amazed,” he said, knowing it “was something I needed to do. Very much in line with the character Mike from A Chorus Line, I told my parents, ‘I can do that!’

“Tap dancing evoked a passion and spark in my soul so bright that I continued on with it all throughout elementary school,” Rossoff said. “During high school, I decided to put up my dancing shoes for a bit and tried other sports and school activities, but it was after my first show at TUTS, South Pacific in 2000, when I bought a new pair of shoes and reignited my passion for tap dancing. Luckily I did because my career took off and I’ve been so fulfilled and blessed with such amazing dance and performance opportunities.”

He got his first theatre work about the time he started tap dancing, in Grade 3. He played an orphan and one of Fagin’s boys, Mouse, in Oliver!

“My sister was in the production with me and I remember getting bit by the theatre bug,” said Rossoff. “There was a sense of community being created with the cast that I loved being a part of and, of course, the excitement of performing and dancing under the lights.”

photo - Matthew Rossoff choreographs his first production for TUTS this summer – School of Rock — Matthew Rossoff choreographs his first production for TUTS this summer – School of Rock. *(photo from Matthew Rossoff)*

After 10 years living and working in New York City, Rossoff decided to follow another impulse – “to go back to school and deepen my training as a performer, artist and educator.”

He moved to Toronto to attend York University, earning a master’s of fine arts in the school’s performance (acting) program, with a specialization in teaching.

“Those two years changed me at the core of my artistry and revealed a new sense of how I wanted to move forward in my artistic journey,” he told the Independent. “Along with my long-time dance background, my focus became voice, speech and mindfulness work. I quickly became a faculty member at several post-secondary schools and universities in Toronto – teaching voice, speech and movement at York University, Randolph College, Sheridan College, Brock University and, most recently, Toronto Metropolitan University.

“Knowing that choreography and dance were at the base of my creative foundation, I stepped onto the creative team side of the table and began my director/choreographer journey. Shortly after my time at TUTS this summer, I will be returning to Toronto and stepping into the world of Disney as a resident creative team/dance supervisor for Disney Cruise Lines.”

Rossoff’s body presence, mindfulness and yoga work are at the core of his artistic practice and choreography.

“This work stemmed from my training and perhaps lack of intersection between dance and how to connect to the breath and emotional journey as an actor and storyteller,” he said. “Dance is an extraordinary universal language of embodiment, but in musical theatre you also have to put the text onto your full voice and hold space in the body to support and reveal the emotional, physical, intellectual and imaginative journey the character moves through.

“I’m always curious how can an actor lead from the internal impulses and connections to what’s happening in the scene and put it fully into their body through external gesture and movement. To play a truthful human experience, an actor must use the breath to spark the imagination, the senses and full range of expression with their whole sense of self.”

While Rossoff puts his whole self into his work, collaboration is the cornerstone of his creative process.

“Working alongside the director and honouring their vision and design of the show, a movement esthetic and point of view is cultivated,” he explained.

“In my own pre-production work, I start with the words off the page from the playwrights, composers and lyricists: the storytelling. I’m curious, What’s the primary narrative being told and how can movement from the actors elevate and further the storytelling in a compelling and exciting way?”

For productions such as School of Rock, Rossoff said, “I listen to the music over and over again and I daydream and imagine ways to bring this … story to life. Once the show is cast and we’re in the rehearsal hall, I come prepared with an overall structure of how the choreography will unfold or, if the story seeks personalized gestures or movement, bring in exercises to draw out embodied movement from the actors. For example, School of Rock has 13 incredible young performers and their energy brings out creative ideas, movements and impulses [and] I try to hold space for them to join in on the collaborative journey. They certainly inform and bring a unique point of view through their personalized storytelling.

“Choreographing a musical is not all about big production dance numbers,” he added, “but also about sorting out the transitions and the moments in between, as they become key to the flow and momentum of the story. As the show gets closer to opening night, it becomes about the details of precision, economy and relaxation in the movement so that each actor feels at ease and ready to perform with unconscious competence and joy!”

For tickets to School of Rock and Cats, which previews July 5-6 and opens July 10, visit tuts.ca. Cats runs to Aug. 21 and School of Rock to Aug. 22. For tickets, visit tuts.ca.

Obliquestra plays at folk fest

The accordion “has gradually and sneakily taken over my life,” says musician David Symons, member of the group Obliquestra. (photo by Stephanie Reed)

“Klezmer, choro, Tin Pan Alley, French musette, German songs, Russian waltzes, and so on” … Obliquestra plays the music they “most wanted to play after being isolated at home for so long” during the pandemic, David Symons told the Independent. The accordionist, singer and composer is one of the three members of the band who will be playing at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival, which takes place July 19-21 at Jericho Beach Park.

Symons will be joined at the festival by Dr. Sick on violin, guitar and musical saw, and Susanne Ortner on clarinet. It will be their first time performing together in Vancouver.

Obliquestra started when live music started returning in 2021, explained Symons. “Dr. Sick, who I had worked with for years in my band The Salt Wives (and one of the most unfairly talented musicians in town) called me up and said there was a new bar opening next door to his house and it would be amazingly convenient to play there every Saturday. I called Susanne Ortner, who I hadn’t played with, but who I knew was a master klezmer clarinetist, though she mainly does Brazilian choro and jazz now.”

They started playing together in Symons’ backyard with banjoist Aaron Gunn and bassist Stoo Odom, “without any concept, really,” said Symons, just playing what they wanted to play.

“I’ve sort of always had this eclectic approach,” he said. “Discreet genres of music are mostly a marketing convenience. Musicians have always played and been influenced by whatever they heard, whatever was available, and whatever the public would pay them to play. Klezmer is a good example of this, being an amalgam of various musical styles from central and eastern Europe and, later, America. I doubt those old school musikers (you wouldn’t call someone a klezmer in those days unless you were trying to get punched) were concerned with notions of ‘authenticity’ or genre. They were playing what they heard and liked, and what their public wanted to hear. We are at least doing the first part of that.”

photo - Obliquestra – Dr. Sick, left, David Symons and Susanne Ortner – play at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival on July 21 — Obliquestra – Dr. Sick, left, David Symons and Susanne Ortner – play at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival on July 21. *(photo by Stephanie Reed)*

While Symon has “gotten away from klezmer a bit these last few years, really since the pandemic started, mostly for lack of people to play it with,” he said “it’s still the music closest to my heart.”

Why that’s the case, and why he’s also been interested in Yiddish music, despite not being Jewish, is hard to put into words, he said. “In fact, if I could put it into words, maybe we wouldn’t need music. It makes me feel good?”

He said many people assume that a person is Jewish if they play klezmer, and even that it’s a strange thing for a non-Jew to do.

“I’ve always felt this attitude contains an implicit condescension toward the music,” said Symons. “It would never occur to anyone that if someone plays Rachmaninoff they must be Russian, or if they play bluegrass they must be a hillbilly, etc. The music stands on its own merits, whatever one’s ethnic background. Most of the Jewish klezmorim I have known didn’t grow up with the music any more than I did. Still, you have to be careful and respectful. I used to do a lot of Yiddish song and, though I love it, I do less of that now because I realized that, unless I am prepared to devote a few years of my life to learning the language, there’s a lot of nuance that I’m going to miss, no matter how much I work on my pronunciation.”

Symons grew up in rural New Hampshire. “My father plays Latin percussion and guitar, but my folks were divorced and I didn’t see him much, and I had very little interest in music until about 15,” he said. “I was into theatre and acting. Then, I more or less simultaneously discovered Tom Waits and classical music, particularly Beethoven, and suddenly fell in love with music.

“I played guitar for a few years, but the Waits album Frank’s Wild Years convinced me to get an accordion. This was pre-internet in rural New Hampshire, so I put an ad in the local paper asking if anyone had an accordion I could buy. It turned out a lot of people did, and I was very lucky to get something playable. Then, the accordion more or less sat around decoratively for the next couple of years until I happened to see Itzhak Perlman on David Letterman’s show with a bunch of klezmer musicians. He had just released a klezmer album with the top American klezmer bands at the time, and I became obsessed with this music and went down a deep rabbit hole for the next 25 years or so. I taught myself accordion to play klezmer, largely while working in a parking garage in Burlington, Vt., which had nice, cathedral-like acoustics.”

Symons acknowledged, “Of course, no one is truly self-taught – that just means I’ve learned a lot of little things from a lot of different people, without ever having any one teacher or mentor. As for my relationship with the accordion, the damn thing has gradually and sneakily taken over my life. They’ll tell you that you can just pick it up for fun once and awhile and put it down whenever you want, no harm done, but don’t believe them, kids! For many years, I tried to resist accordion clichés and now, in my middle age, I own not one, but two pairs of lederhosen. I started fixing accordions when I moved to New Orleans and there was no one doing it here. Twelve years later, I am sitting in a room in my home with somewhere between 40 and 50 accordions around me, in various states of functionality. The accordions have won.”

About the move to New Orleans, Symons said, “I lived in Vermont for 15 years and was ready for something new. Or, in the case of New Orleans, something old and dirty. I had spent a month in here in 2003 when I was traveling around the country busking in this tiny, ancient Toyota camper. I always thought about going back and trying to live there. Loving New Orleans is like loving a complicated, brilliant, yet self-destructive person. Someone who might be utterly charming one day and destroy a hotel bathroom the next. I still feel like an outsider here most of the time, but I’ve come to terms with that. I’m happy that I’m able to make myself useful to my fellow accordionists by keeping their instruments in working order.”

Symons and his fellow Obliquestra musicians – “Mini-Obliquestra or Obliquestrio,” as Symons quipped – play the folk festival’s South Stage July 21, 11:50 a.m.-12:40 p.m. For the weekend’s full lineup and tickets, visit thefestival.bc.ca.

BCTF’s Nakba motion

“An important part of our work as teachers is to create safety for our students within our classrooms and schools. Globally and locally, we are hearing how increasing rhetoric and hate speech in communities are threatening safety and belonging. With this in mind, a motion was brought forward, and passed by delegates at the BCTF annual general meeting in March,” writes BC Teachers’ Federation president Clint Johnston in the May/June 2024 issue of Teacher magazine.

He goes on to share the motion, which was:

“That the Federation:

“1. continuously lobby the Ministry of Education and Child Care to include, where applicable, the following as part of the Grades 6-12 Socials and History curricula until it gets added to the elaborations:

“a. The Nakba

“b. The 1948 Arab-Israeli War

“c. Military occupation of Gaza and the West Bank.

“2. have the Federation president acknowledge through the next Teacher magazine that these events are essential to understanding the history of Palestine and Israel in the President’s Message.”

In fulfilling his part of the motion, Johnston writes in Teacher about classrooms being “where students develop or question their understandings of world events. Starting these conversations and teaching complicated histories is a difficult task. Teachers need support to approach the historical context of present-day conflicts in their classrooms. It’s important that the Ministry of Education and Child Care, school districts and community partners come together with teachers to create the supports and resources we need to teach challenging world events.”

At press time, none of the President’s Message that deals with the AGM motion could be found on the Teacher website. There, only the first half of the message was posted – in which Johnston talks about the edition’s feature on “societal attitudes toward disability justice and excellence,” and inclusion in schools.

The BCTF did not respond to multiple emails and phone calls from the Jewish Independent for comment on the motion, which was passed at the BCTF’s AGM March 16-19 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. While the organization’s communications person briefly added the JI to the BCTF’s media list, the paper apparently was removed from that list after inquiring if the receipt of a press release on an unrelated topic meant that answers to the JI’s questions about the AGM would be answered. There was no response, nor has the JI received any further BCTF press releases.

The Jewish Independent found out about the BCTF motion in early April not from the BCTF, but from two other sources: a group called Parents for Palestine, claiming the vote a victory for their own campaign to have the Nakba (Catastrophe) – the term used by many Palestinians and others to describe the creation of the state of Israel and the 1948 war – added to the BC curriculum, and from a Jewish parent, asking people to “Reject political propaganda in schools’ curriculum.”

Parents for Palestine and the groups Teachers 4 Palestine BC, Independent Jewish Voices (Vancouver, Victoria and University of British Columbia), Canada Palestine Association-Vancouver, BDS Vancouver-Coast Salish Territories, Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network (which in 2021 was designated a terror group by Israel for its ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine), Labour for Palestine Vancouver & Victoria, Palestinian Youth Movement Vancouver, and Freedom from War Coalition have started a petition on the Action Network called “Demand That the Nakba Be Added to the BC Curriculum.” Those groups (minus BDS Vancouver-Coast Salish Territories) also have online an open letter to Minister of Education and Child Care Rachna Singh, where organizations and individuals can add their name.

“As a Jewish parent whose grandparents were Holocaust survivors, I believe my children need an education that equips them with the knowledge and tools to build a future where genocide is no longer possible,” says parent Tamara Herman, a member of Independent Jewish Voices, in the Parents for Palestine press release. “Our kids will be confronted with the future impacts of the genocide that Israel is currently committing in Gaza. Receiving a partial history of the creation of Israel that includes the Holocaust but erases the Nakba robs them of the knowledge and tools they need now and in the future.”

image - A page from the BC Teachers’ Federation Israel-Palestine classroom resource, called The Israel-Palestine Conflict: Searching for a Just Peace — A page from the BC Teachers’ Federation Israel-Palestine classroom resource, called *The Israel-Palestine Conflict: Searching for a Just Peace*.

Vancouver parent Masha Kleiner’s petition on change.org reads, in part, “The role of a teacher in a child’s life is paramount and should not be used to advance any political agenda. By introducing such a change to the curriculum, it has the potential to increase targeted hatred of specific children thus creating an unsafe learning environment.”

In the press release she sent to the Independent, Kleiner, who was born in the Soviet Union, writes, “It is not a coincidence that I chose to raise my children in Canada. I wanted my children to grow, internalize and embrace the fundamental Canadian values of safety, diversity, tolerance and freedom. These values are core to Canadian society and they stem from all orders of life, first and foremost, education.

“This is why, as a parent, I couldn’t remain silent when I encountered the motion to add teaching of ‘Nakba and occupation’ to the school curriculum in BC. This motion goes against everything that Canada stands for. This motion is not only harmful on many different levels, but it also exposes dangerous manifestations in the existing curriculum.”

Kleiner is concerned that the BCTF motion and “the polarizing and isolating political agenda it brings into classrooms will create an unsafe and even hostile environment. This motion is not educating students about specific historical events and perspectives; it introduces a one-sided, politically motivated, biased narrative that is being used to target and marginalize particular students or groups.

“The history and the conflict in the Middle East is one of the most complex and multifaceted topics in the history of modern conflicts,” she continues. “Its roots are grounded in millennia of history as well as religious and cultural bedrocks of numerous societies. It is deeply intertwined with recent and modern political and military powers and other conflicts. What’s more, it is a highly sensitive, controversial and even disruptive topic that affects people’s lives all over the world.”

The original motion presented at the BCTF AGM had only two points:

“That the Federation:

“1. acknowledge that the Nakba and the Israel war of independence are significant historical events that are essential to understanding the Israel-Palestine conflict.

“2. make a recommendation to the Ministry of Education and Child Care to include the Nakba and the Israel war of independence as part of the social studies and history curricula.”

The amendments were added on the day of the vote, which took place March 18. A 56-44 majority passed the amended motion, according to a teacher who was at the AGM.

This teacher, who asked to remain anonymous, questioned the value of the motion, noting that teachers could already include the subject in lessons. They said that, while the Nakba could be added to the list of sample topics in the curriculum, that still wouldn’t make the teaching of it mandatory.

There is a resource available for teachers already, which was developed by the BCTF in 2016. Called The Israel-Palestine Conflict: Searching for a Just Peace, several sections are objectively biased, notably regarding the history of the region. Just two examples: Jews’ right to the land isn’t acknowledged, only that Palestinians lost their homeland; and the fact that hundreds of thousands of Jews were forced to flee Arab countries isn’t mentioned, only that “700,000 Palestinians were driven or fled from their homes and became refugees and many villages were destroyed.”

The teacher thought that the AGM motion was made, in part, as a reaction to the provincial government having made Holocaust education a mandatory part of the curriculum. At this point, the province has no plans to follow suit with the Nakba.

“I’m leaving it to the teachers,” Singh told CBC in a May 2 interview. “I feel that they are fully equipped and they have the professional judgment on how to assess their student population and how to impart these lessons. This is what my expectation is, that every child is feeling safe in their schools.”

Rise and fall of a hacktivist

Nobody Wants to Talk About Jacob Appelbaum opens at VIFF Centre June 14.

Jacob Appelbaum was an influential internet freedom, privacy and free speech activist. He collaborated with Julian Assange and WikiLeaks, which Assange founded in 2006 to publish leaked documents and information. He helped the journalists with whom whistleblower Edward Snowden shared documents make the stories public. And he was prominent in the TOR Project (aka “the dark web”). Then, suddenly, Appelbaum took himself out of the spotlight.

Writer, director and producer Jamie Kastner wanted to know why. He also wanted to know more about this well-known yet little-known “hacktivist” and the subculture in which Appelbaum operated. The result is the documentary Nobody Wants to Talk About Jacob Appelbaum, which screens at VIFF Centre June 14-17 and June 20.

“I first saw Appelbaum in another documentary about WikiLeaks, in which he was playing a supporting role,” Kastner told the Independent. “He jumped off the screen both for his charisma and his clear-eyed and apparently fearless political commitment. I learned about the broad strokes of the scandal in which he was later involved, became intrigued not only by what had happened with him, but by this whole activist community about which I had known little.”

After being accused of sexual abuse in 2016, Appelbaum left the United States for Germany. It is there, reads the documentary’s PR material, that Kastner “finds him, adamant that he is the victim of government black ops, ‘canceled’ without legal process or recourse, punished for who he is, and for what he represents.”

“Though I’m sure even he would not claim that all the work he has done has been flawless,” said Kastner, “to me there remains at least an aspect to the work he’s done, regardless of what may or may not have come later, that represents a fearless standing up to authority, taking significant personal risks to expose abuses of power and to help improve people’s lives by making them better informed about governments and surveillance.”

He continued, “As lawyer Margaret Ratner Kunstler explains in the film, in an era in which journalism has shrunk and become ever more controlled by government and/or large corporations, the significance of so-called leakers and hackers has grown to become one of our last sources of unfiltered news and information.”

Kastner gave the examples of WikiLeaks having “released Chelsea Manning’s leaks, including the ‘Collateral Murder’ video of American drones killing civilians and journalists in Iraq in 2007, and a trove of Hillary Clinton’s emails in 2016, among many other controversial releases.”

In 2013, Snowden, “a former contractor for the National Security Agency, America’s cyber-intelligence gathering service … leaked a vast trove of documents revealing the information gathering practices of the US and its ‘Five Eyes’ allies countries, including how data was gathered covertly on their own citizens,” said Kastner.

With Snowden, the filmmaker added, Appelbaum “helped the journalists to whom Snowden leaked his documents both manage the technology involved, and investigate and disseminate stories arising from Snowden’s leaks, including penning a cover story in German newsmagazine Der Speigel revealing that the US was spying on Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cellphone.”

Nobody Wants to Talk About Jacob Appelbaum was about five years in the making.

“It was a slow and wary process, once contact was made, of gaining access to Appelbaum and establishing trust on both sides,” explained Kastner. “I knew he was a controversial, brilliant and at times troubled figure, but I approached the story with an open mind. It struck me as a fascinating story in which one person’s trajectory tracked the rise and fall of a movement that, for a time, was rocking the world.

“I worked with a team of researchers to gain necessary context and try to build relationships within this very wary community. I worked extensively – features, in my experience, take six months or so in editing – with my collaborator Michael Hannan in the edit suite, to try to craft a film that would make the audience experience the real-life spy quality I experienced in entering into Appelbaum’s world, in which things, at times, seem too fantastical to be true – but sufficient evidence is there to suggest they are not false.”

Kastner’s many credits – through his and wife Laura Baron Kastner’s Cave 7 Productions – include The Skyjacker’s Tale (2016), There Are No Fakes (2019) and Charlotte’s Castle (2023). Cave 7 documentaries have not only garnered award recognition but inspired action. There Are No Fakes, for example, helped launch “a criminal investigation into widespread fraudulent production of and distribution of Indigenous art,” leading to “eight arrests, 40 charges laid and 1,000 paintings seized,” notes the company.

As a documentarian, Kastner is especially aware of the evasiveness of “the truth” and its often-subjective nature. While he said, “I still admire the same qualities about Appelbaum that first drew me to the subject, his political spirit and work,” the making of the documentary took him to all sorts of places he hadn’t expected.

“Learning about the community from which he and Assange sprung made me realize the film was about a larger story, larger issues which the narrative of Appelbaum’s life raises,” said Kastner. “You don’t have to like him, the film is not an apologia or a hagiography. I investigate the accusations as extensively as possible. Ultimately, as the title suggests, the film equally became about the people who don’t want to talk about him, and the many reasons for that. I don’t think I had fixed ideas about the ‘truth’ going into this film. I don’t pretend the film leaves with any one conclusion, but rather hopefully, is the jumping-off point for further discussion.”

For tickets to a screening, visit viff.org/whats-on/nobody-talk-jacob-appelbaum. The documentary will start streaming on CBC Gem on June 26.

Traditional yet contemporary

Boris Sichon, above, and Jesse Waldman return to this year’s Mission Folk Music Festival, which takes place July 26-28 at Fraser River Heritage Park. (photo from missionfolkmusicfestival.ca)

“I know that people are going to find that new-to-them artist that changes their world. I know that new friendships will be forged among volunteers. And I know that people will just enjoy being together in the park in community,” said Michelle Demers Shaevitz, artistic and executive director of the Mission Folk Music Festival, about the upcoming weekend-long event. “That’s what I look forward to the most.”

Joining Demers Shaevitz at this year’s festival, which takes place July 26-28 at Fraser River Heritage Park, will be fellow Jewish community members Boris Sichon and Jesse Waldman. Both musicians are returning artists to the festival, but will be performing new material.

Sichon will be leading the interactive Recychestra, an orchestra that uses musical instruments made from recycled objects. The performance is the last part of an instrument-building program offered through the City of Mission next month.

The idea for Recychestra came from a meeting with Mark Haney, a composer and musician working for the City of Mission, said Sichon. The program comprises seven sessions between July 6 and 26 at the Mission Leisure Centre, culminating in the July 28 performance at the Mission Folk Music Festival – though Sichon would like the program to carry on.

“I hope we’re going to continue this project after the festival,” he told the Independent.

Anyone who is interested in participating can do so via mission.ca/culture or by emailing [email protected].

“We don’t know yet who’s going to sign up,” Sichon said. “Kids love to create musical instruments more than playing instruments, while adults enjoy both activities. It would be great to have some musician friends from the Mission community.”

Even if someone hasn’t attended the program, they will be welcome to join the orchestra at the festival performance, said Sichon. “We will have enough recycled instruments. It will be a very friendly atmosphere, joyful. Play and dance!”

Waldman is also looking forward to performing at the Mission Folk Music Festival.

“We’ve got some great new songs to share and a couple tricks up our sleeves, too!” said Waldman, who will perform in several music sessions, including in concert with Beau Wheeler on the Sunday afternoon of the festival. The collaboration with Wheeler has been a long time in the making.

“I’d seen Beau perform at an art space in East Van nearly 20 years ago and was blown away,” said Waldman. “Many moons passed, until 2018, where I was performing in the Monica Lee Band and we shared a bill with Beau at Pat’s Pub. Beau caught our set with Monica and invited the band to stay on stage and join him and it was a magical moment. We decided we should get together again and that’s how it all started. We have a lot of the same taste in music and are both very emotional players. I try and add memorable and atmospheric parts to fit the feeling of Beau’s amazing songs.”

Waldman has been busy since the Independent spoke with him in advance of last year’s Mission folk festival. Among the highlights, he said, are “[t]he completion of a new full-length album entitled The Shimmering Divide, set for release September 2024 [and an] outstanding full band performance at Or Shalom Synagogue featuring a rendition of ‘Papirosen,’ where the band played along with my grandmother’s voice from a tape from 1957.”

The video of that performance can be viewed at youtube.com/watch?v=5F5GNRMf1fQ. For more about the song, visit jewishindependent.ca/a-great-grandmothers-song.

photo - Jesse Waldman — Jesse Waldman *(photo from jessewaldmanmusic.com)*

Following Waldman’s first album, Mansion Full Of Ghosts, The Shimmering Divide “sees an even more introspective songwriting exploration by Waldman with lyrics that are both confessional and poetic, vulnerable and hopeful, spanning the personal and the universal,” notes the PR material.

“For me, the title The Shimmering Divide represents the age-old battle between good and evil, which path to take to do the right thing in your life – those points in your life are charged with possibilities that can change it forever,” said Waldman.

In all, some 30 artists from around the world will be participating in this year’s Mission Folk Music Festival. In selecting performers, Demers Shaevitz tends to focus on a theme.

“This year,” she said, “I was digging into this idea of tradition and looking for artists that are grounded in their tradition. What that means for me is finding artists who can emphasize a through line in their music. Who can take the best parts of their culture, genre, community or language, for example, and bring it to audiences in new and or exciting ways. This is key to me when I consider folk traditions: I want contemporary takes on this heritage artform. We’ll hear that in Moira & Claire and their Maritime song tradition. We’ll hear that in how PIQSIQ presents Inuit throat singing in a contemporary context. And we’ll hear (and dance) to how Kobo Town takes traditional Trinidadian sounds and modernizes them for today’s audiences.”

For more information about the festival, including the schedule and tickets, visit missionfolkmusicfestival.ca.