KlezKanada
קלעז־קאַנאַדע
Established1996 (1996)
FoundersHy and Sandy Goldman
Legal statusActive
Location
Official language
English, Yiddish
Websiteklezkanada.org

KlezKanada (Yiddish: קלעז־קאַנאַדע) is a Canadian organization for the promotion of klezmer music and Yiddish culture. Its principal program is a week-long Jewish music festival founded in 1996 that takes place annually in August at Camp B'nai B'rith in Lantier, Quebec (north of Montreal). The organization also hosts workshops, concerts, and other educational programs in Montreal throughout the year.

History

KlezKanada was founded by a group of local cultural activists led by Hy and Sandy Goldman in 1996.[1] In its first year its festival had roughly 300 participants.[2] It was inspired by KlezKamp, a similar festival in New York State which had been founded a few years earlier.[3] By the late 1990s KlezKanada had grown in size and began attracting many of the top musicians in the field, as well as offering a scholarship program for young musicians.[4][5]

In an article on klezmer, Mike Anklewicz noted the development of the festival:

I have noted a shift from instruction in strictly historical klezmer in KlezKanada's first few years, to the inclusion of a much more diverse curriculum since about 2001… By 2008, workshops addressed both historical styles and the creation of contemporary works in all genres of music, including Yiddish songs, writing for Yiddish theatre, contemporary Yiddish dance, instrumental improvisation, and instrumental composition.[6]

The camp is based around courses and lectures during the day (relating to klezmer music, Yiddish, and other topics) and concerts at night.[2][7]

In 2001, "of the [festival's] 37 teaching and performance staff, 22 were New York-based."[7] Since then, the festival faculty has become more diverse: in 2018, fewer than half of the teaching faculty were American, while over a third came from Canada, and the rest from other countries, including Germany, Poland, and Russia.[8]

Past participants

References

  1. ↑ Wolofsky, Jack; Whitney, Christa (22 August 2013). The Birth of KlezKanada (interview). Beyond the Books: Yiddish Writers and Their Descendants / Yiddish and the Arts: Musicians, Actors, and Artists. Yiddish Book Center. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  2. 1 2 Scherbenske, Amanda L. (2012). "From Folksmentshn to Creative Individuals: Klezmer Transmission in the Twenty-First Century". MUSICultures. 39 (2): 103–XI.
  3. ↑ Rogovoy, Seth (2000). The Essential Klezmer: A Music Lover's Guide to Jewish Roots and Soul Music, from the Old World to the Jazz Age to the Downtown Avant-Garde. Algonquin Books. p. 10.
  4. ↑ Stein, Eric (23 September 1999). "KlezKanada Yiddish festival proves a success". Canadian Jewish News. Don Mills, Ont. p. 25.
  5. ↑ Kutzik, Jordan (13 March 2018). "With a New Director, Klezkanada Looks to the Future". The Forward.
  6. ↑ Anklewicz, Mike (2012). "Extending the Tradition: KlezKanada, Klezmer Tradition and Hybridity". MUSICultures. 39 (2).
  7. 1 2 Wood, Abigail (2016). And We're All Brothers: Singing in Yiddish in Contemporary North America. New York: Routledge. pp. 41–42. ISBN 978-1-315-56702-0. OCLC 950005908.
  8. ↑ "2018 Brochure Now Available!". KlezKanada. Archived from the original on 8 August 2018.
  9. 1 2 3 4 KlezKanada 2015 (PDF) (brochure). August 2015. p. 2. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Brauer, Celia (1 November 2013). "Toast 18 years of KlezKanada". The Jewish Independent. Vancouver. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  11. 1 2 Arnold, Janice (1 June 2012). "KlezKanada goes Latin:The 17th annual Laurentian retreat looks south". The Canadian Jewish News.
  12. ↑ "Notable Venues & Festivals". Beyond the Pale. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  13. ↑ Schweitzer, Ruth (24 May 2019). "Painted Bird brings its klezmer punk sound to Toronto". The Canadian Jewish News. Retrieved 6 January 2021. In 2004, Kahn felt the pull of Yiddish culture at KlezKanada, whose summer program includes classes in Yiddish language and literature.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 KlezKanada 2007: A Festival of Yiddish / Jewish Culture and the Arts (PDF) (brochure). August 2007. pp. 5–16. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  15. 1 2 KlezKanada 2017 (PDF) (brochure). August 2017. pp. 2–3. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
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