{"id":38791,"date":"2022-05-06T01:50:38","date_gmt":"2022-05-06T08:50:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=38791"},"modified":"2022-05-04T14:34:22","modified_gmt":"2022-05-04T21:34:22","slug":"with-a-song-returns-to-forum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2022\/05\/06\/with-a-song-returns-to-forum\/","title":{"rendered":"With a Song returns to forum"},"content":{"rendered":"

Left to right are Joan Beckow, Claire Klein Osipov, Wendy Bross Stuart and Jessica Stuart, in 2010. (photo by Ron Stuart)<\/em><\/p>\n

Canceled more than two years ago because of COVID, With a Song in My Heart<\/em>, a special concert for Jewish Senior Alliance\u2019s spring forum, is back. And it\u2019s even more special.<\/p>\n

The May 15, 2 p.m., performance at the Peretz Centre, led by Wendy Bross Stuart, is dedicated to Claire Klein Osipov and Joan Beckow.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were originally scheduled to present this program in March 2020. We were well-prepared. Even Claire came over to rehearsal on March 16, 2020 \u2013 so she could shep naches from her daughter Lisa\u2019s singing, and she gave us some \u2018notes\u2019 to include. Lisa [Osipov Milton] and I were using the very musical arrangements I had created for Claire. Then, COVID happened and the program was \u2018postponed.\u2019 In August 2020, Claire passed away.<\/p>\n

\u201cFast-forward to 2022. Two of the singers [David Urist and Osipov Milton] were unavailable. Erin Aberle-Palm was available, and I was thrilled to have her on board. Kat Palmer and Chris Adams had been involved in the recording sessions for the Joan Beckow Legacy Project, completed in February. Chris agreed to join us for a Beckow duet \u2013 with Kat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beckow passed away in January 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout 18 months before,\u201d said Bross Stuart, \u201cmy daughter Jessica had come with me to the Louis Brier Home to visit Joan. She asked Joan for her blessing for us (mother and daughter) to record and orchestrate many of Joan\u2019s songs. Joan was visibly touched. She gave us her blessing to proceed. And proceed we did. The Joan Beckow Legacy Project, funded generously by the Canada Council and the Ontario Arts Council, has included the recording and orchestration of 22 of Joan\u2019s pieces, by 30 musicians, in Toronto and Vancouver. Plus a documentary on Joan\u2019s life (directed by my husband, Ron Stuart) and much more. Assistance and support also came from Joan\u2019s son, David.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most of the project has taken place during COVID. About the pandemic\u2019s effects, Bross Stuart said, \u201cTo make an effort to be positive, I would say, having more time has allowed Jessica and I to create the Joan Beckow Legacy Project and collaborate in every way. The music and the mutual respect have been well beyond my expectations and \u2013 as [fellow community member] Sharon Kates added \u2013 a mitzvah for everyone. Especially for people who do not yet know the breadth of Joan\u2019s musical output, it will be a stunning discovery.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the developments of the past two years, the musical program for the JSA forum has changed from what it was in 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt includes Yiddish songs \u2013 for example, \u2018Tum Balalaika,\u2019 \u2018Rozhinkes Mit Mandlen\u2019 \u2013 in Claire\u2019s memory, and many Joan Beckow songs, recently recorded in studio, including \u2018On the Other Side of Nowhere\u2019 and \u2018Tov L\u2019Hodot,\u2019\u201d said Bross Stuart, noting that every composer of every song in the program is Jewish.<\/p>\n

The Yiddish songs are from the repertoire that Klein Osipov and Bross Stuart presented over the many years they worked together.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a piece of music which says, \u2018Because I knew you, I have been changed … for good,\u2019\u201d said Bross Stuart, referring to the song \u201cFor Good,\u201d written by Stephen Schwartz. She added, \u201cDavid Beckow chose his mother\u2019s own lyrics to inscribe on her gravestone: \u2018When this life is over, we will meet somehow, on the other side of nowhere, on the far side of now.\u2019 Kat will sing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Stuarts and Beckows are longtime friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe met Joan about 50 years ago, when her husband, Jack, was Ron\u2019s anthropology student at UBC. Joan\u2019s music was absolutely magic. When she asked me to assist her with the music direction of a show she was working on, I said yes as soon as I saw\/heard one of the lead singers \u2013 Claire Klein Osipov!<\/p>\n

\u201cJoan and I worked together on choral pieces, on musical theatre pieces, on Jewish liturgical pieces and on classical pieces. I organized the publication of a number of her works, and public performances as well. Her music and her friendship enhanced our lives \u2013 and inspired my daughter, Jessica, to become a composer and musician. Joan was a mentor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bross Stuart explained her interest in Yiddish music.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up in a New York City suburb (Yonkers),\u201d she said, \u201cmy grandmother lived with us while I was growing up. Although her most comfortable language was Yiddish (Galitzianer variety), she spoke accented English to me. Yiddish was not what my parents wanted me to speak. This, of course, made Yiddish so much more interesting to me. Years later, in Vancouver, working with Claire and creating musical arrangements for all those songs \u2013 four CDs\u2019 worth \u2013 required a detailed understanding of the Yiddish. The German I had studied in high school and at McGill was helpful, but working with Claire was even more helpful. We did a lot of concert work together, and I would say that our daughter Fiona grew to love Yiddish as a result. Another mentor for us!\u201d<\/p>\n

With a Song in My Heart<\/em> is JSA\u2019s first hybrid event, taking place live at the Peretz Centre, with streaming links available for YouTube, Vimeo or Zoom. Registration is required in both instances. If attending in-person, proof of vaccination is also required. Visit jsalliance.org<\/a>, email office@jsalliance.org or call 604-732-1555.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Left to right are Joan Beckow, Claire Klein Osipov, Wendy Bross Stuart and Jessica Stuart, in 2010. (photo by Ron Stuart) Canceled more than two years ago because of COVID, With a Song in My Heart, a special concert for Jewish Senior Alliance\u2019s spring forum, is back. And it\u2019s even more special. The May 15, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38792,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[788],"tags":[21499,21500,2406,21382,614,1719,21498,6541],"class_list":["post-38791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","tag-claire-klein-osipov","tag-concert","tag-jewish-seniors-alliance","tag-joan-beckow","tag-jsa","tag-wendy-bross-stuart","tag-with-a-song-in-my-heart","tag-yiddish-music"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}