Music

Story of Israel’s north

Kiryat Shmona musician Ben Golan will perform at the Yom Ha’atzmaut celebrations in Vancouver April 21. (photo from Ben Golan)

“Music for me is a way to say: we are still here, still alive, still building a future. It gives people a place to feel, and also the strength to keep going,” said Ben Golan, who will headline our local celebration of Israel’s 78th Independence Day, on April 21.

Golan is a musician and producer from Kiryat Shmona, a city in our community’s partnership region, the Upper Galilee, in Israel. He is the founder of the initiative Patifon.

“For 17 years,” he said, “I’ve been producing music and running a recording studio in the city. Over time, I realized that my work isn’t just about producing songs. It’s about building something that can sustain a real musical community in the north, giving a stage to local creators and creating a movement that feels connected to this place.”

Patifon, which means record player or turntable in Hebrew, serves as a hub for local artists.

“It all started simply, with jam sessions in the studio,” explained Golan. “People began coming to play, sing, meet and connect. Slowly, it grew, until the gatherings were too big for the studio to handle. There wasn’t enough space, but there was a hunger for music. Then, thanks to the youth centre and the amazing Elad Kozikaro, who gave us a budget and the perfect space, we got a shelter, which, in times like these, is a valuable commodity in the north. We moved in, completely renovated it and turned it into the most beautiful music lounge; a place where you can come and feel at home, even if it’s your first time there.”

The lounge morphed into Patifon.

“We started filming live sessions of artists and bands there, with proper sound and respect for the music,” Golan said. “All the sessions were uploaded to YouTube under Patifon and, over time, it started to catch on and reach more and more people. Suddenly, what began as a small local gathering became a stage watched by people outside the north.

“As the audience grew and we realized this needed more breathing room, we opened a community pub. Students from Tel-Hai College volunteer there as part of a scholarship program and help keep the place alive and running.”

For Golan, Kiryat Shmona is not just where he was born and grew up. He calls the city and the Upper Galilee his “inner language.”

“In this city, I learned what the rhythm of a community really is: people who know each other, who will always help you when you need something. There’s a different kind of air here,” he said.

“I have a stream right by my house. It seeped into my music without me even intending it to – a mix of rough and tender, of truth and esthetics, of wanting to shout and needing a moment of quiet to breathe,” he explained. “The nature here, the open space and the distance from the centre taught me how to really listen – not to the noise, but to what lies underneath it.

“Continuing to create in the north, especially after Oct. 7, is not a romantic choice for me – it’s a stance,” he said. “The region went through a real upheaval: fear, evacuation, uncertainty and, also, a kind of pain that people who don’t live here sometimes don’t fully understand. Out of all of that, creativity becomes a tool for connection and healing.”

Golan chose to stay in Kiryat Shmona out of a sense of mission.

“I believe the periphery holds immense talent, real hunger and stories you can’t fake – it just needs infrastructure, a home and support,” he said. “I want the young people and artists here to feel that they don’t have to leave in order to become something. On the contrary – that this place itself can become a source of inspiration, an opportunity and a creative centre that generates culture rather than just consumes it.”

Coming to Vancouver for Yom Ha’atzmaut, Golan said he brings messages of resilience and hope – and he takes those words seriously.

“Independence, for me, is also the ability to choose to create despite the difficulty, to choose community, to choose light,” he said. “I want to bring the story of the north: people who continue to build, to organize events, to create music and to hold each other up even when reality is complicated. In my music, there is room for both joy and pain, because both are part of our lives – especially in this time.”

On April 21, Vancouver band HaOptziot will also take the stage at the community celebrations, playing covers of various Israeli hits.

For tickets ($36/adult, $12/youth, $75/family pack) to the Yom Ha’atzmaut celebrations, go to jewishvancouver.com/yh2026.

What is Jewish music?

On March 8, Joshua Jacobson, professor emeritus of music at Northeastern University in Boston, Mass., spoke on the topic Jewish Music: What’s That?

photo - Prof. Joshua Jacobson was the latest speaker in Kolot Mayim’s Voices of Jewish Music series — Prof. Joshua Jacobson was the latest speaker in Kolot Mayim’s Voices of Jewish Music series. *(internet photo)*

The Zoom lecture was the fifth of six talks in Kolot Mayim Reform Temple’s 2025/26 Voices of Jewish Music series.

How can music even be Jewish? Jacobson asked. Does music keep kosher? Is music circumcised? Did music have a bat mitzvah? He played an excerpt of African-American clarinetist Don Byron performing the klezmer number “Der Nayer Doyne.”

“You don’t have to be Jewish to compose or perform Jewish music,” he said. “And that’s why I prefer the terminology, the music of the Jewish people. Although I will admit that, for the sake of convenience, I often do use the term Jewish music.”

But the question of what constitutes Jewishness remains. The word represents an ever-widening expanse, including an abundance of liturgical music, a vast array of music influenced by the cultures in which Jews have lived and the languages they have spoken, and the contributions of Jews who have entered the community by choice.

“There is no single Judaism, not anymore. It’s a big tent,” Jacobson said.

One school of thought Jacobson pointed to came from Swiss-American composer Ernest Bloch, who said, “Racial consciousness is something that every great artist must have. A composer who says something is not only himself, he is his forefathers. He is his people.”

Leonard Bernstein wrote in his senior thesis at Harvard University in 1939: “It is easily understandable that a composer whose parents were immigrants still maintains a close contact with the old racial traditions. If their traditions are part of his childhood, they are inevitably part of his life.”

Jacobson played Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” to illustrate that any music composed by a Jew could be considered Jewish music.

The Nazis, however, defined Jewish in purely racial terms, Jacobson said. They would not allow any music written by a Jew to be heard or even studied in Germany and German-controlled countries. Nor would the Nazis allow Jewish-German conductor Bruno Walter to lead a concert of Ludwig van Beethoven’s works. Jews, the Nazis believed, would spoil the music with their “Jewish accent.”

Jacobson played excerpts of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, asking if members of the audience could distinguish between a performance led by Walter and one by conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler.

“How many of you think that the first one was conducted by a Jew? How many of you think the second one was conducted by a Jew? How many of you think that it’s a ridiculous question? – which, of course, it is. Did one of these have a discernible ‘Jewish accent’? No,” Jacobson said.

image - In his March 8 talk, Prof. Joshua Jacobson gave Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” as an example of how any music composed by a Jew could be considered Jewish music — In his March 8 talk, Prof. Joshua Jacobson gave Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” as an example of how any music composed by a Jew could be considered Jewish music. *(internet image)*

Defining what constitutes Jewish music by what exists within borders or, as in much of Jewish history, in exile, can be an equally insurmountable task. As an example, Jacobson played part of a track from Arab-Israeli hip-hop group DAM, which is in Hebrew.

Many Israelis write music that doesn’t sound geographically constrained, he said.

Nonetheless, the professor did offer a definition of traditional Jewish music in his talk, saying it is music that has been used – whether sung, played or listened to – by Jews more than by other people, and, therefore, it has become associated with Jewish people.

Cantillation, the way the Torah and other biblical books are chanted, is the oldest form of Jewish music, Jacobson said. Demonstrating the cantillation styles of Babylonian, German and Yemenite Jews, he showed that the practice is similar, although not entirely the same, in Jewish communities throughout the world.

“Some scholars think that these are variations on an ancient theme, he said. “The variations are due to acculturation. German cantillation betrays the influence of German music. Yemenite cantillation betrays the influence of the culture in which they lived, the Yemenite culture.”

Jacobson said we find Jewish music in many styles and periods, and perhaps the problem in seeking a definition is that there are so many Jewish “musics.” He returned to Bloch, who once said that he could not say what Jewish music is, but one knows it when it is heard. According to Bloch, “It is something that both you and I can recognize and feel, even if we cannot analyze it.”

To Jacobson, the term Jewish music “is itself a wide tent in which all may not agree on a definition, but it’s something that we cherish, and something that fulfils us.”

An authority on Jewish music, Jacobson is also the founder and director of the Zamir Chorale of Boston. He has guest-conducted many ensembles, including the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Bulgarian National Symphony and Chorus, the New England Conservatory Orchestra and the Boston Lyric Opera Company. He has written articles on various aspects of choral music and has published more than 100 compositions and arrangements.

The final speaker in this year’s Voices of Jewish Music series is author Michael Posner on April 12 at 11 a.m. Posner will explore Leonard Cohen’s Jewish heritage, philosophy and musical legacy – and how Judaism influenced Cohen’s lyrics, philosophy and life. For more information, visit kolotmayimreformtemple.com.

Sam Margolis has written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.

Drawing on his roots

Multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Ezra Ben-Shalom’s debut solo album, Known and Unknown, was released in 2025. (photo by Michelle Behr)

With his debut solo album, released last year, Kelowna musician Ezra Ben-Shalom shows off his personal side, with a uniquely Jewish touch.

For Ben-Shalom, who reconnected to Jewish ritual practice around five years ago, Known and Unknown – his first solo project – is a deeply personal one. The focus of his music and daily life has become all about asking questions, he said. It’s about finding ways to be of service in the world and creating a connection with something larger than himself.

“I’m doing my best to be of value to the world and to the culture. And, you know, you step in front of a room of people and take a deep breath and open your mouth and sing – I want to offer something that’s real, that’s authentic and that’s meaningful,” the 43-year-old said in a phone interview.

The album is highly Jewish-inspired, owing to his own reconnections – and, he said, he hopes it will encourage empathy among listeners.

“I think the album title was maybe a hint to myself to come from that place of humility, that we don’t have the answers, as much as we think we know or that we learn,” said Ben-Shalom.

The songs on Known and Unknown include some Hebrew words, and the sounds of a shofar on two tracks, though the lyrics are largely in English.

Jewish themes shape much of Ben-Shalom’s interpretation and highly personal expressions; however, he emphasizes that, while his path is Jewish, he sees the disc’s new compositions as something more broadly accessible. The songs, he said, are “about inner experiences and feelings and reflections, and they’re about living in the world as a human being, not as a Jewish human being.”

Themes of transformation, vulnerability and boldness underline the album’s adult alternative and folk-adjacent sounds, and Jewish references abound, with songs titled “Shechina,” “Shake the Dust,” and “El and Gil.”

New name, old passion

Ben-Shalom is the new-ish musical handle of producer and multi-instrumentalist Ezra Cipes, who grew up in Kelowna and has played in bands since he was 14 years old, he told the CJN.

By the time he was 19, Cipes and one of his three brothers co-wrote a song with Indian-born Canadian punk/alternative music icon Bif Naked, who grew up in Winnipeg. He’s also performed regularly and recorded with the Calgary-born indie-pop-folk artists Tegan and Sara. (Bif Naked’s bassist, Chris Carlson, produced, co-wrote and played most of the other instruments on Ben-Shalom’s 2025 album.)

Prior to the new project, another band featuring the musical Cipes family had been nominated in 2022 for a Juno Award in the children’s music category for the second disc by the troupe, called the Oot n’ Oots. The five-piece band comprised Ezra; his three brothers, Matthew, Gabe and Ari; and his daughter, Ruthie, who was the singer.

When that project wound down following the end of 2023 summer festivals, the guitarist and keyboard player turned to exploring a different expressive musical language. He had set out on that musical exploration when the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas in Israel, which triggered the Gaza war, refocused his artistic lens.

“Oct. 7 put a lot of things into focus and showed the ways that, really, we’re all lost in one way or another,” he said.

The way the world responded after Oct. 7 was a “frustrating and painful” experience, he said.

“You think, ‘What can any of us do?’ And none of us can fix it – you can’t completely change all these cultural narratives and people’s ideas and correct the record or bring a higher perspective on our own, but we can do our part. We can stand strong in our own truth and share it, proudly and with strength and humility.”

Explaining that he’s always needed “a little spiritual medicine in my life,” Ben-Shalom described reading at night, from literature and philosophy to spiritual and self-help books, and had long realized he needed to do that, even before he connected with Judaism.

Pivotal turn to Judaism

Growing up, while his family – who own a successful organic vineyard – belonged to a local synagogue, they weren’t traditionally observant, though he became bar mitzvah and attended Jewish summer camp.

But, as an adult, he reflected, he was “totally disconnected” when it came to traditional Jewish practice and observance.

It was a moment in 2020, early during the pandemic, following a sweat lodge ceremony led by Ron Hall, a longtime family friend who’s an Indigenous artist and biologist, that brought Ben-Shalom an epiphany.

“It [the sweat lodge] was one of those moments that really flipped a switch in my whole life, and it was just a hinge moment. I thanked him [Hall] for the ceremony, and I shared with him how powerful it was and how meaningful it was, how deep it was,” said Ben-Shalom.

“And I said to him that he’s lucky to have the traditions to draw on to connect with his own soul and with the creator and I said to him: ‘All I have is this shallow materialistic Western culture.’

“And he said, ‘What are you talking about, Ezra? You’re Jewish. You come from an Indigenous people.’”

Nobody had ever said that to him before, Ben-Shalom recalled, and it became a turning point.

“I had grown up thinking it was cool to be Jewish and, like, neat, but also vaguely embarrassing to be Jewish, and it was something I didn’t really like to talk about or get into very much because … I always felt othered,” he said.

The COVID-era wave of social justice movements brought a resurgence of ideas “about decolonization and equality,” he said. “It’s good to support the Indigenous people keeping their culture, keeping their language, keeping their tradition, keeping the oral culture alive.”

He felt a tinge of hypocrisy. “And then I realized I was not honouring my own ancestors and I didn’t know my own language. I didn’t know my own story,” he said.

Ben-Shalom now attends the local Chabad, lays tefillin and wears tzitzit and a kippah.

He described one of the first times he performed the new music at a live show at the Kelowna venue Revelry in 2024.

“I got off stage and my whole body was sore, from holding myself and breathing and keeping myself grounded and keeping myself in a state of service,” he said. (Since then, he’s felt “a little bit more relaxed” performing the new material.)

“The songs are almost like prayers, and you have to kind of get into that place to sing them, where there’s a genuine connection and not just notes and not just words.”

Ben-Shalom hopes to bring the album in a live performance to audiences across Canada, and to ensure that includes Jewish audiences, he told the CJN.

“I’d like to play for all audiences that will have me, but, in particular, I want to go and play for Jewish people,” he said. “I want to share these songs with Jewish people. I want to bring inspiration, pride and honour to our tradition, to Jewish people.”

Jonathan Rothman is a reporter for the CJN based in Toronto. This article was originally published on thecjn.ca and is reprinted with permission.

Songs in war of peace

Naomi Cohn Zentner shared how music in the time of war can offer resilience and hope. (photo from Naomi Cohn Zentner)

Earlier this month, ethnomusicologist Naomi Cohn Zentner gave the lecture Music and War: An Optimistic View. Her talk was the fourth in Kolot Mayim Reform Temple’s 2025/26 Many Voices of Jewish Music Zoom series.

Speaking from Israel, Cohn Zentner, a lecturer at Bar-Ilan University, examined how music in the time of war can offer resilience and hope, and is not solely about tragedy and mourning. She started with a photograph of Leonard Cohen and Israeli musician Matti Caspi, who passed away on Feb. 8, the day of her talk. The pair were performing for soldiers during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Ariel Sharon at their side.

Cohn Zentner then played two songs, composed more than a century apart: “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” written during the American Civil War, and a 1967 performance by the Nachal Entertainment Troupe called “Hallelujah.”

Contrasting the two, Cohn Zentner argued that the former is a sacralizing, providential song in the war hymn tradition, seeing war very much within a religious way of life and values, while the Israeli song – with lines such as, “If there were no need for rifles anymore, then we would sing ‘Hallelujah’” and “If children could play by the border, then you’d hear their mothers sigh in relief, ‘Hallelujah’” – offers a hope for peace, or a prayer for peace.

“It’s an Israeli war song tradition, which shows just how important peace was in these fighting units,” Cohn Zentner said. “We can see this as two opposing examples of what war songs are about.

“The religious hymn of the Civil War is ‘Glory, Hallelujah.’ The conflict itself is very religious and violence, while terrifying, is also cleansing and purifying, and death and martyrdom make men free,” she said. In the Israeli song, war is de-romanticized, death is not glorified but used as a reason to end wars, life itself is considered holy, peace is the desired goal, and the music is more national and secular in outlook.

Last year, on the Israeli reality show, Hakokhav Haba (Rising Star), during which a contestant is chosen to represent the country at Eurovision, Daniel Weiss, from Kibbutz Be’eri, selected Cohen’s “Hallelujah” as one of his songs. Weiss, who lost both of his parents during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, performed a duet with Arab singer Valerie Hamaty in both Hebrew and Arabic.

“Of course, this image was so powerful and iconic – of them singing this song together in Hebrew and Arabic after everything that had happened. It was a very emotional moment,” Cohn Zentner said.

Another song Weiss performed, in honour of his parents, was “Ani Guitar” (“I Am a Guitar”) by Naomi Shemer, which contains the lyric “I remember all those who played on me before, and I say thank you.”

“This symbolic issue of a guitar, which used to be a tree, but still has in it the ability to thank all those who [have] played on him … is very, very emotional,” she said.

Weiss lost out to Yuval Raphael in the contest to represent Israel. Raphael, a survivor of the Nova music festival, performed ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” as her final song in the show. She dedicated it to those who died at Nova.

“I sing about the angels who weren’t fortunate enough to be here now. It hurts because I had this chance not only to come back [from the festival] and to live, but to fulfil my dream. There are those who stayed there, and the shadow behind me is the only thing left of them,” said Raphael, who went on to place second in the 2025 Eurovision with the song “New Day Will Rise.”

At the end of her talk, Cohn Zentner played “Not Alone,” a song penned by Doror Talmon of the band Jane Bordeaux in the weeks following Oct. 7. The song speaks to the feelings of being in the close-knit community of a kibbutz in which everyone has a role and nobody is dispensable; if one person is lost, it affects the entire community.

“The song starts by telling us about all the sad and tragic things that happened, and asks who is going to bring the kibbutz back to what it was,” Cohn Zentner said.

Then, she pointed out, there is a shift in the song to where it answers, “We’ll all extend a hand, we are not alone, and we are partners in fate, in pain and in love, as one people. We will cry and we will overcome, we’re not going to break, we’re going to come together, we have each other, the roots of the trees will go into the earth, and we’re going to be rebuilding.”

The next speaker in Kolot Mayim’s series is Joshua Jacobson, an author, composer and choral director. Jacobson, professor emeritus of music at Northeastern University in Boston, will delve into the history and ongoing evolution of Jewish music in his April 5 talk, Jewish Music: What’s That? For more information, go to kolotmayimreformtemple.com.

Sam Margolis has written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.

A concert of premieres

Violist Rivka Golani joins Turning Point Ensemble on Feb. 21 and 22 for Concerti Premiere, which features two works written especially for her. (photo by Peter Beal)

World-renowned violist Rivka Golani joins Turning Point Ensemble on Feb. 21 and 22 for Concerti Premiere, which features two works written especially for the Israeli musician, who currently calls London, England, home.

The four main works comprising the ensemble’s program are the world premiere of Concerto for Viola – Rivka by TPE artistic director Owen Underhill, featuring Golani as soloist; the North American premiere of Musical Offering No. 2 “Golani” by Canadian composer Michael Pepa, also with Golani as soloist; the world premiere of Morning Twilight by Taiwanese-American composer Chichun Chi-Sun Lee, showcasing TPE bassoonist Ingrid Chiang; and the world premiere of Sauntersludge by Vancouver composer Eldritch Priest.

“TPE had a fantastic opportunity to perform with Rivka Golani on our May 2023 European tour,” explained Underhill as to how he and Golani first connected.

Pepa had proposed composing a new work for Golani and TPE for the ensemble’s concerts in Zagreb and Belgrade. “We were not able to rehearse with Rivka … prior to arriving on tour, so it was very exciting to put Michael’s piece together in the couple days prior to our first concert,” said Underhill. “Rivka was very interactive with and impressed by the ensemble, so you could say we hit it off together. She heard at that time in our concert a work of mine and asked whether I might be interested in composing a new work for her and TPE in the future. So, this is how the idea of working together again came about and my new concerto for her in particular.”

photo - Turning Point Ensemble artistic director Owen Underhill wrote Concerto for Viola - Rivka for violist Rivka Golani, who plays with the ensemble in concerts at the Annex Feb. 21 and 22 — Turning Point Ensemble artistic director Owen Underhill wrote Concerto for Viola – Rivka for violist Rivka Golani, who plays with the ensemble in concerts at the Annex Feb. 21 and 22. *(photo from TPE)*

Golani, who was born in Tel Aviv, studied under violist and composer Oedoen Partos and became a member of the Israel Philharmonic, while also appearing as a soloist with other orchestras. She lived in Canada for more than a decade, from 1974 to 1987, growing her solo career and teaching at the University of Toronto (where she also taught in the 1990s) and the Royal Conservatory of Music. She still teaches, in London.

Over the years, Golani has performed widely as a soloist and as a member of various ensembles, and she has recorded extensively. She is also a recognized visual artist, with her paintings having been exhibited in several countries.

It was during Golani’s time in Canada that Pepa met her, so the two have known each other for decades.

“As a result, his piece and the solo viola part are very much in her character – dramatic, powerful and expressive,” said Underhill. “Also, there are two other important connections which are interwoven in the piece – references to J.S. Bach’s Art of the Fugue, which appears in a variety of ways through quotes and collages in his music, and also a second movement dedicated to his Ukrainian friends, which is based on the Ukrainian folksong ‘Plyve Kacha Po Tysyni’ (‘The Duck Swims Down the Tissina’) and a Serbian folk melody, ‘Kolika je Nočca.’”

As for his work featuring Golani, Underhill said, “It is always a wonderful thing for a composer to work closely with a performer for whom you are composing. It was also fundamental to Rivka’s process to make it a collaborative project. Therefore, beginning in the fall and over the several months I was composing the piece, I would send her instalments and we would meet over WhatsApp and she would play through the music, suggest detailed changes and improvements, and she also made a few gentle requests, including asking for a cadenza before I wrote the third movement. As a result, I feel that the piece bears her signature and that it is also a unique work of mine that I could not have created without her input.”

According to Golani’s website, more than 350 works have been composed for her, including more than 80 concertos – “a record matched by no other violist in history.” Underhill’s Concerto for Viola – Rivka is the largest-scale work that he has written for TPE and the piece will be recorded by the ensemble after the live performances.

Concerti Premiere is Turning Point Ensemble’s third concert in their 2025/26 season. Written with bassoonist Chiang in mind, the piece Morning Twilight traces the emergence of the sun through five sections and two interludes. “Beyond its astronomical imagery, the concerto reflects Chiang’s personal journey of resilience in overcoming cancer, as well as Taiwan’s collective passage from historical darkness toward renewed international visibility,” notes the press release. Sauntersludge, which was written for the ensemble as a whole, is the only piece in the concert without a soloist.

“While we dedicate ourselves to performing works from the early 20th century to the present day, it is unusual for Turning Point Ensemble to have a concert consisting solely of premieres,” said Underhill in the press release. “It is a joy to be unveiling all this new music here in Vancouver.”

The Feb. 21 concert at the Annex starts at 7:30 p.m.; the Feb. 22 one at 4:30 p.m. For tickets ($45/adult, $33/senior, $19/student), go to turningpointensemble.ca.

Guitar virtuosos play

Itamar Erez performs with three other leading musicians on Feb. 1, 7:30 p.m., at Massey Theatre, as part of International Guitar Night. (photo from itamarerez.com)

International Guitar Night takes place on Feb. 1 at Massey Theatre. Once again, Jewish community member Itamar Erez, whose styles range from Middle Eastern, to jazz improv, to world music, is taking part.

“This unique project started with Brian Gore many years ago, when he had the vision to create these unique guitar tours. It’s been going on for over 20 years, with some of the best guitarists in the world,” Erez told the Independent.

“The idea is to put four guitarists on stage with a totally different style and sound,” he explained. “Each plays a solo set and introduces the next player – and, eventually, all four guitarists are playing together in duets and quartets. The audience loves the variety in the music and personalities and, often, there are interesting and funny stories that go with the music.”

Erez will be joined by Jocelyn Gould, a traditional jazz player and singer, Caroline Plante, who comes from the flamenco tradition, and Jamie Dupuis, who brings his harp guitar and Roma jazz influences.

“I’m playing my own mixture of Middle Eastern/Brazilian sounds,” said Erez, whose recent albums include Mi Alegria (2019), May Song (2022; for a review, go to jewishindependent.ca/erezs-new-cd-shows-mastery) and Migrant Voices (2024, with Hamin Honari).

“Migrant Voices was a unique album for me,” Erez said. “I had worked with Hamin for a few years already and we became really good friends. We worked on developing new material for the duet and, towards the recording date, we realized that this album will be mostly based on free improvisation. It just felt like the best approach and most authentic for us. Apart from the album title (Migrant Voices), that was composed by myself, all the tunes were basically improvised right there at the studio.

“In 2024,” he continued, “I also went to the studio with my piano trio (Jeff Gammon on bass and Kevin Romain, drums, and myself on piano) and we recorded in one afternoon a bunch of instrumental covers to tunes – this is something I never had done before, as I always was creating new original material. Among these tracks were Marina Maximilian’s beautiful song ‘Amok Batal,’ three Hanukkah tunes (‘Maoz Tzur,’ ‘Banu Hoshech,’ ‘Kad Katan’) and several other tunes, such as ‘Blue Bossa’ … all done with a very personal approach.

“Over the past year, I have released these tunes slowly as singles – and was overwhelmed with the warm response of audiences for these tracks.”

International Guitar Night is a touring festival, which has three iterations: Canadian, American and European.

“I did one full tour many years ago, in 2009/10, with many concerts in the US, Canada and Scotland,” said Erez. “I did the European version of the tour (Gitarren Nacht) a few years ago, with shows in Germany, Austria and France, and one more time in BC quite recently (2023), where I played for the first time with Jocelyn Gould…. My favourite part of these tours is making friendships with these musicians, some of them are friends for life. And making music with players that come from a totally different background is always fun and exciting.”

This year’s Canadian tour centred on British Columbia, with stops in Oliver, Campbell River, Duncan, Nanaimo and Victoria. The Feb. 1 performance at the 1,260-seat Massey Theatre in New Westminster caps it off. For tickets, go to masseytheatre.com/event/ign-2026.

Guitar Night at Massey

Itamar Erez takes part in International Guitar Night Feb. 1. (photo by Diane Smithers)

International Guitar Night returns to Massey Theatre on Feb. 1. This year’s all-Canadian tour features classical and flamenco guitarist Itamar Erez, jazz guitarist and vocalist Jocelyn Gould, harp guitar innovator and fingerstyle virtuoso Jamie Dupuis, and flamenco guitarist Caroline Planté.

Erez is an internationally acclaimed guitarist and composer whose music fuses Middle Eastern delicacy, jazz improvisation and other world music influences. A recipient of both the 2014 ACUM Prize for Special Achievement in Jazz and the Landau Prize, he has shared the stage with artists such as Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Tomatito and Avishai Cohen, performing at venues including Carnegie Hall, the Barbican and the Sydney Opera House. His albums Mi Alegria (2019), May Song (2022) and Migrant Voices (2024, with Hamin Honari) explore the interplay of global musical languages. Erez tours widely throughout Europe, North America and the Middle East.

Gould, a JUNO Award-winning guitarist and vocalist, is known for her soulful tone, modern bebop phrasing and charismatic presence. She has shared stages with Freddy Cole, Bria Skonberg and Michael Dease, among others. Her four solo albums include Elegant Traveler (2021 JUNO winner) and Sonic Bouquet (2024 JUNO nominee).

Dupuis is a guitarist and composer celebrated for his fingerstyle technique and his distinctive voice on the harp guitar. His viral 2016 cover of Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” earned more than 19 million views and international acclaim. Winner of the Canadian Guitar Festival Competition (2016), he combines classical training with influences from rock, jazz and folk.

Planté is one of the world’s few prominent female flamenco guitarists and a pioneering voice in contemporary flamenco composition. Born in Montréal and trained in both Canada and Spain, she studied with master musicians and led Cruceta Flamenco in Madrid as musical director and composer from 2005 to 2013. Her 2010 album 8 Reflexiones made history as the first flamenco CD composed and recorded by a woman, receiving international acclaim.

Since returning to Montréal in 2013, Planté has launched various projects and collaborated with flamenco artists from diverse backgrounds. Her latest work, The Roses of Lorca, premiered in 2024 and draws inspiration from Spanish poet Federico García Lorca.

For tickets to International Guitar Night, go to masseytheatre.com/event/ign-2026.

– Courtesy Massey Theatre

Music to build bridges

On Nov. 29, sopranos Jaclyn Grossman, left, and Miriam Khalil will perform Salam-Shalom: Echoes of Home, a program they put together in an effort “to build bridges between our communities.”

“Salam-Shalom: Echoes of Home grew out of countless conversations between Miriam and me over the past few years – conversations that gave me a lot of hope during a difficult time,” Jaclyn Grossman told the Independent about her upcoming concert with fellow soprano Miriam Khalil.

“We shared what we were each experiencing, what our communities were going through, and how we might better understand and support one another,” said Grossman. “We both felt a deep need to do something meaningful and to use our voices and our art to foster empathy, connection and healing. This project is deeply meaningful to me because I hope it can create a space for reflection, healing and understanding for our communities, and for anyone who connects with its themes of home, acceptance and belonging. I truly believe we are stronger when we stand together, and I hope this concert helps build bridges that make that possible.”

Grossman and Khalil will be accompanied on piano by Gordon Gerrard, artistic director of City Opera Vancouver, which is presenting the concert. Idan Cohen (Ne.Sans Opera & Dance) will lend his experience in stage and movement, and Avideh Saadatpajouh has created projections that, among other things, highlight some of the textual elements.

“Jaclyn is a beautiful person and has always been someone that I have connected with,” said Khalil about why she wanted to be involved with the production. “Through many of our conversations, our shared dialogue grew and became something we realized we both needed in order to find healing. Jaclyn had mentioned that she had spoken to Gordon about the possibility of creating something together. What made this project so special was our dialogue from the very beginning. Through numerous meetings, we spoke about finding a way through song, language and poetry to create a space for healing and shared empathy and, most importantly, to build bridges between our communities. We longed for the same thing, peace and human connection – this recital is an extension of that longing and an expression of hope.”

As for his participation, Gerrard said he became interested after a conversation with Grossman more than a year ago. “I was distressed to hear that she had had several concert appearances canceled over recent months,” he said. “It seemed to me that many organizations seemed hesitant to present Jewish and Arab artists out of fear of controversy. The program was suggested by Jaclyn as a direct way to counteract this.”

Pianist Gordon Gerrard, artistic director of City Opera Vancouver. (photo from City Opera Vancouver)

About the risk of City Opera Vancouver being “canceled” for presenting Salam-Shalom, Gerrard said, “Certainly, we have committed to this special event after careful consideration of the charged environment that we are all a part of right now. We wanted to be sure that we acted responsibly, and that we would be able to create a respectful space for everyone involved. Because I trust Jaclyn, Miriam and Idan entirely, we’ve been able to have many helpful conversations about this event and how to go about it. This has given us at City Opera confidence that we are doing something that intends to create better understanding and, for us, this remains the priority.”

“Our goal with this project is to create a space for nuanced dialogue, where all voices can be heard and where empathy and understanding can grow,” said Grossman. “While this kind of work isn’t always easy, I believe it’s essential. In times like these, it’s more important than ever for communities to come together, listen to one another, and foster compassion. To me, standing together in empathy and respect for all people feels like the only path forward.”

“My concern,” said Khalil, “is that we have a responsibility to one another. If we keep being afraid, then no change will ever take place. We must unite and listen to each other. As Jaclyn mentioned, without compassion and empathy, the way forward feels unattainable. There is great growth in seeing and appreciating one another’s perspective.”

Grossman and Khalil chose the repertoire, and the result will be a concert of “beautiful and seldom performed works entirely curated by the two of them,” said Gerrard.

The hour-long program comprises melodies from myriad musical heritages, including Arabic, Hebrew, Ladino, Spanish and Yiddish. The concert’s press release highlights “Eli, Eli,” an arrangement of a poem by Jewish-Hungarian resistance fighter Hannah Szenes during the Second World War; “Mermaid Songs” by Palestinian-American composer Felix Jarrar; “Ukolebavka,” a lullaby by Jewish composer Ilse Weber, who wrote and performed songs to comfort children when she was interned in Terezín; “Ayre,” by Argentine Jew Osvaldo Golijov, which explores the themes of exile and belonging using the words of a Hebrew prayer and those of Palestinian writer Mahmoud Darwish; and “The New Colossus,” a setting of Emma Lazarus’s poem (inscribed on the Statue of Liberty) by pianist and composer Nate Ben-Horin, who is part of Grossman’s duo, the Likht Ensemble. Another of the songs on the program is “Mi Lo Yeshalach,” by contemporary Israeli composer Hana Ajiashvili. The complete repertoire, with all the lyrics, has been posted on cityoperavancouver.com.

“To me, Salam-Shalom: Echoes of Home is an urgent expression of a voice that feels increasingly silenced,” said Cohen. “I believe the growing calls to silence or divide rather than engage in dialogue are deeply troubling. When Jaclyn, Miriam and Gordon reached out, I immediately said yes.

“This project also speaks to my responsibility to uphold these values and address the horrors we are living through, through art,” Cohen added. “It’s easy to see conflict in simple opposites – right and wrong, us and them – but true understanding asks us to face complexities.

“Art,” he said, “should remain a space for reflection and critical thought, not moral posturing. I believe in its power to unite, to reveal our shared humanity, and to keep hope for peace alive.”

For tickets to Salam-Shalom, go to cityoperavancouver.com.

Milestone performance

photo - The Jerusalem Quartet, left to right: Kyril Zlotnikov, Alexander Pavlovsky, Ori Kam and Sergei Bresler — The Jerusalem Quartet, left to right: Kyril Zlotnikov, Alexander Pavlovsky, Ori Kam and Sergei Bresler. (photo © Felix Broede)

The Vancouver Recital Society welcomes the multiple-award-winning Jerusalem Quartet back to the city for a concert at the Vancouver Playhouse Oct. 19. The program features works from Hadyn, Janácek and Beethoven.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Jerusalem Quartet. Since their first appearance for the VRS in 2001, the ensemble has become a regular and beloved presence on the world’s concert stages. They have appeared many times in Vancouver, and a highlight in the annals of the VRS was their five-concert performance of all the Shostakovich string quartets in the Telus Theatre at the Chan Centre in 2006. They are returning to Vancouver to perform the same program they played in their Wigmore Hall debut 25 years ago, an appearance that launched them to international fame. It features Hadyn’s Quartet in B-flat major, Op. 76, No. 4 (“Sunrise”); Janácek’s Quartet No. 1 (“Kreutzer Sonata”); and Beethoven’s Quartet in B-flat major, Op. 130, with the Grosse Fugue finale, Op. 133.

The Jerusalem Quartet is Alexander Pavlovsky (first violin), Sergei Bresler (second violin), Kyril Zlotnikov (cello) and Ori Kam (viola). Both individually and as the quartet, the musicians have performed around the world, garnering numerous accolades.

Born in Ukraine, Pavlovsky immigrated with his family to Israel in 1991, and is a graduate of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.

Bresler was also born in Ukraine. He started to play violin in age of 5 and, at the age of 12, gave his first recital. He immigrated to Israel in 1991, where he studied at the Rubin Academy of Music and Dance in Jerusalem.

Zlotnikov also studied at the Rubin Academy, having begun his studies at the Belarusian State Music Academy, and Kam, who was born to Israeli parents in La Jolla, Calif., grew up in Israel and studied there, as well as in the United States and Germany. Kam started his musical education at the age of 6, began playing the viola at 15 and had his debut at age 16.

The Jerusalem Quartet has found its core in a warm, full, human sound and an egalitarian balance between high and low voices. This approach allows them to maintain a healthy relationship between individual expression and a transparent and respectful presentation of the composer’s work. It is also the drive and motivation for the continuing refinement of their interpretations of the classical repertoire, as well as exploration of new epochs.

In 2019, the quartet released an album exploring Jewish music in Central Europe between the wars and its far-reaching influence, featuring a collection of Yiddish cabaret songs from 1920s Warsaw, as well as works by Schulhoff and Korngold. The second instalment of their Bartok quartet recording was released in 2020. Starting this year, the quartet began recording exclusively for BIS records, with their first release featuring three quartets by Shostakovich: Nos. 2, 7 and 10.

Although the Quartet No. 2 was composed in 1944, it makes no direct reference to the war; yet, this is a substantive work, dark, powerful and, at times, dissonant. Quartet No. 7, consisting of three short movements played without interruption, is an enigmatic and deeply personal work dedicated to the memory of the composer’s wife. For all its questioning and complex inner references, Quartet No. 10 is among the most immediately appealing of Shostakovich’s later works. By this stage in his life, his music tended to speak in a quieter voice and to a more intimate audience.

The Jerusalem Quartet’s performance at the Playhouse on Oct. 19 starts at 3 p.m., but there is also a pre-concert talk, at 2:15 p.m. For tickets, visit vanrecital.com.

– from vanrecital.com and jerusalem-quartet.com

Broadway for a good cause

(photo from omershaish.com)

Omer Shaish brings My Broadway Shpiel to Vancouver Aug. 21, 7:30 p.m., at Temple Sholom. In addition to offering a night of Broadway tunes, popular Hebrew songs and his own original music, the performance will raise money for Temple Sholom’s campership program. To read more, see jewishindependent.ca/enjoy-the-best-of-broadway.

For tickets, visit tickettailor.com/events/templesholom/1702794. Buy now to make sure you don’t miss out on this fun evening for a good cause. Won’t be in town? Consider buying a ticket or two for someone who can’t afford it.

– Courtesy Temple Sholom