At Beth Tikvah Synagogue on April 2, Israeli music expert and radio personality Josh Shron will present A Musical Hug from Israel. (photo from Josh Shron)
Beth Tikvah Synagogue in Richmond welcomes Israeli music expert and radio personality Josh Shron on April 2. Shron, longtime host of the radio show and podcast Israel Hour Radio, will be in Calgary and Vancouver as part of a North American tour. He will present A Musical Hug from Israel, which explores songs that have been released in Israel since Oct. 7.
For Shron, Israeli music has always meant more than just nice tunes in Hebrew. It’s been a window into Israeli society, providing a meaningful glimpse into the heart and soul of the Jewish state. “I’ve long believed that Israeli music has the power to connect us to our homeland unlike anything else,” Shron said. “The songs are great, but the stories behind them often teach us a great deal about the amazing spirit of Israel.”
It’s that amazing spirit that has enabled Israelis to cope with the horrific events of Oct.7.Music has been a large part of the healing process.
“The music that’s emerged from this tragedy has been nothing short of inspirational,” said Shron. “It makes us cry, makes us sigh and makes us proud to be supporters of Israel – sometimes all in the same song.”
The presentation will feature a selection of Israeli songs, seen on video with English subtitles. The music will highlight the unity, optimism and determination that have characterized the Israeli people throughout this challenging period, showcasing the resilience and strength that unite them in the face of adversity. The repertoire will include songs that touch on themes of sadness and death. Other songs will shed light on the plight of Israeli hostages in Gaza, serving as a reminder of the desperation felt around the world to bring them all home.
Several Vancouverites have previewed Shron’s presentation and agree that it is a powerful and unique way for the local community to understand the rollercoaster of emotions that Israelis and other Jews around the world have been experiencing.
A former resident of New Jersey, Shron recently fulfilled a lifelong dream by making aliyah with his wife and four of his five children, moving to Modi’in in August 2023.
“I’ve immersed myself in Israeli music for more than 25 years,” he said, “and the more I listened, the more I felt like I belonged there. We put it off for years, but, with our kids getting older, we realized it’s now or never – and we weren’t prepared to say never. Obviously, we wish the circumstances were different, but, during this challenging time, it just feels right to be there. It’s only been a few months, but we can’t imagine living anywhere else.”
Thanks to sponsor support from the Kehila Society, Richmond Jewish Day School and the Vancouver Israeli Folkdance Society, tickets to A Musical Hug at Beth Tikvah April 2, 7 p.m., are only $10 each. As part of the event, Hadas Klinger will lead an Israeli dance session immediately following Shron’s presentation.
The event is for adults 19+ and registration is recommended, as space is limited. Visit tinyurl.com/28anpjab.
Yoav Brill’s documentary Apples and Oranges, about a moment in the history of the kibbutz movement, is mesmerizing. (photo by Avraham Eilat)
The 2024 Vancouver Jewish Film Festival takes place in person April 4-14 and online April 15-19. As usual, a diversity of offerings is included in this year’s festival and the Independent will review several films in this and upcoming issues. The Vancouver Jewish Film Centre also sponsors events throughout the year and some screenings take place before the annual festival begins. Full festival details will be online at vjff.org as April approaches.
Idealism remembered
Amid the euphoric aftermath of the 1967 war and the enduring popularity of the 1958 Leon Uris book Exodus (and its 1960 film incarnation), thousands of Jews and non-Jews descended on Israel to volunteer on kibbutzim.
They came to experience and emulate “the embodiment of man’s highest ideals – the kibbutznik,” as an apparently promotional film clip declares in Yoav Brill’s mesmerizing documentary Apples and Oranges. In just one particular spurt, 7,000 volunteers arrived in Israel en masse from around the world.
Through the recollections of aging Scandinavians, Brits, South Africans and others, and with nostalgia-inducing archival footage, the documentary shines a light on the socialist idealism and hippie adventurism that motivated these people to travel to the farming communities of rural Israel. Many returned, to Sweden, Denmark, wherever, and formed associations to support the kibbutzim and drum up more volunteers. So successful were they that the supply exceeded the demand. One group chartered a jumbo jet to go from Stockholm to Tel Aviv but the Israelis had to admit they had no use for 340 volunteers.
Generally, the spirit of the overseas visitors was welcomed, though the social impacts were not negligible. The temporary nature of their visits was disrupting. A middle-aged man reflects on his perspective as a kid on a kibbutz, welcoming all the strangers who became like big brothers and sisters, only to have his heart broken every time the groups departed from what he calls “the kibbutz fantasy.”
Strangers from another world – blond, exotic, sophisticated and drinking milk with their meals – descended on a cloistered society where all the teens had been together since kindergarten, introducing predictable social and hormonal disruptions. For their parts, many of the volunteers soon discovered they had no aptitude for the tasks to which they were set, although at least one Brit made use of his talents performing Shakespeare for an audience of cattle.
Many of the overseas youngsters were unabashedly out for sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll. As one woman interviewed in the documentary says, “If there weren’t female volunteers at [Kibbutz] Mishmar HaSharon, many of our boys would still be virgins.”
In one incident that apparently caused national outrage, a group distributed hashish-laden brownies to an entire community, including at least one 8-year-old child, a crime that is not the least bit funny – but, of course, is hilarious when recounted by octogenarians who experienced it.
With their Cat Stevens and Bob Dylan LPs, the foreigners brought a little bit of Woodstock with them, and took away some Israeli dance routines. But the adventure, as the viewer knows more than do the figures in the old footage, would not end well. Terrorism, including a highly publicized attack in which a volunteer was murdered, would strangle the flow of future volunteers.
The documentary is a masterpiece of the genre, capturing the joy and exuberance of the experience for both Israelis and the visitors, but addressing the serious problems the interactions raised. The clash of cultures introduced existential issues, including around conversion, mixed marriages, secularization and, of course, the collapse of the traditional kibbutz.
The apples and oranges of the title, we are to understand, are the people who came together on the kibbutzim, as much as the produce they harvested.
Critics of the volunteer phenomenon seem to place some of the blame for the collapse of the kibbutz system on the labour underclass they represented, which undermined the egalitarian foundations of the movement.
The kibbutz network has largely petered out, almost entirely in spirit if not completely in form, and some of the Jews and non-Jews who came during the heyday have remained and integrated to varying degrees in the society that Israel has become. In one instance, an aging, bearded former volunteer actualizes his idealism by leading a ukulele orchestra.
The collapse of the idealistic experiment that the end of the film documents is expected but no less depressing for that. The slice of history and the magnificence of the story, so vividly told in the film, will stay with the viewer.
Transcendence of song
In Less than Kosher, the real star is the voice of Shaina Silver-Baird as Viv, an atheist turned cantor. (photo from Menemsha Films)
In Less than Kosher, a number of fairly two-dimensional character sketches come together – but with a redeeming twist.
A feature film that began its life as serialized online videos has the feel of excellent amateurism. Wayward Jewish girl meets rabbi’s bad boy son. Overbearing Jewish mother, well-intentioned buffoonish rabbi, go-along-to-get-along intermarried stepdad and hyper-chatty high school friend flesh out the cast.
Sitcom-like circumstances turn the atheist young woman into unlikely cantor. But the outstanding component of the film, the real star, is the voice of Shaina Silver-Baird, the lead actor and co-producer (with Michael Goldlist) of this cute confection.
The unlikely cantor Viv, whose once-promising pop music career is on the skids, has the voice of an angel and the story is less about her family or her romance with the (married) rabbi’s son than about the transcendent power of song. When she opens her lungs, Viv ushers in a changed world – and Silver-Baird’s voice invites the viewer into it. Music video-style segments, which Viv is dismayed to have dubbed “Judeopop,” raise the film to a different level. Liturgical music goes Broadway. Amy Winehouse does “Shalom Aleichem.”
A tiki-themed shiva is truly the icing on the sheet cake.
Mysterious case
The Goldman Case is a dramatic reenactment of the case of Pierre Goldman. (photo from Menemsha Films)
He was guilty of much, but was he guilty of murder? Pierre Goldman maintained he was innocent of the latter charges and a based-on-a-true-story film explores not only a man’s possible guilt but the intergenerational impacts of Polish-French Jewish life in the mid-20th century and their potential explanations for some unusual behaviours.
The Goldman Case is a dramatic reenactment of a famous (in France, at least) case of the Jewish son of Polish resistance heroes, whose own life was impacted by an apparent need to fill the giant shoes of his parents. The son wanted to be “a Jewish warrior” and so became a communist revolutionary, traveling to Latin America, Prague and elsewhere in search of opportunities for valour.
Charged with a series of crimes, including the murder during a holdup of two pharmacists, Goldman was convicted in 1974 and sentenced to life imprisonment, though he maintained he was innocent in the two deaths. Following the 1975 publication of his memoirs, the judicial system reconsidered his case and major French voices, including Jean-Paul Sartre, took up his cause. This film is a (massively condensed) court procedural of that retrial.
Goldman’s Jewishness was not on trial but, interestingly, his defence team built their case partly around his family’s experiences.
The case – and the film – end with a new verdict. But the dramatic story would continue. Audiences will no doubt race to Google more about Goldman and his crimes and punishments. Enduring mysteries, though, will make the search necessarily unsatisfying. This cannot be said of the film, though, which is a gripping enactment, enlivened by the extremely animated courtroom drama, which suggests the French judicial system tolerates a great deal more outbursts than we expect in Hollywood depictions of North American judicial proceedings.
Citizen West performs at the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver annual campaign launch Sept. 10, 7 p.m., at Congregation Schara Tzedeck. (photo from Citizen West)
The word “fun” came up more than once in the Jewish Independent’s interview with the three tenors who comprise Citizen West. The group will help launch this year’s Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver annual campaign on Sept. 10, and the audience should expect a wide range of music, an abundance of positivity and a high-energy – and fun – performance.
Marc Devigne, Cody Karey and Omer Shaish are all accomplished musicians in their own right. Internationally renowned individually, together they have entertained audiences in more than 150 countries. With their multilingual repertoire, their message is that “we are all global citizens and, through music, we can connect with individuals of all cultures and backgrounds.”
“Music unites and connects us through harmony and a common rhythm and is spiritual in its nature,” Karey told the Independent. “I feel my most spiritually connected when experiencing a profound shared moment, and singing or performing from a stage, especially with such amazing company, really does that for me.”
Karey, who is based in Vancouver, explained how he, Toronto-based Devigne and Miami-based Shaish, came together.
“Citizen West is the product of all of us colliding at slightly different times over the last several years,” he said. “We all set out as solo artists and ended up having parallel careers. Initially, we were competitive rivals, but, as we all became connected and got to know each other, it was clear to us that we could really do something special if we combined our efforts and worked together. The three of us have been officially performing as Citizen West since 2020, but our individual connections and the idea of Citizen West go back years earlier. Our pianist, Trevor [Hoffmann], was instrumental (pun intended) in the earliest days of Citizen West as we developed our repertoire and arrangements, so this reunion performance alongside him will be a little extra special.” (Hoffmann is from Maple Ridge.)
While living in different places and following their own professional paths, Shaish said the trio see each other relatively often.
“We perform a lot as headliners on cruise ships,” he said, “so we get to sing together and travel the world together. It’s a lot of fun! The ships have brought us to some really interesting places, such as Alaska, Easter Island and even Antarctica. Those were great experiences to share with these two. We also perform on land, of course, and we come up with new repertoire all the time. We have four produced sets and, on top of that, we try to cater to our clients’ vision and needs.”
Regarding that, campaign director Gayle Morris shared with the Independent Federation’s vision of the Sept. 10 event. “This year, we wanted to try something fresh, drawing upon the incredible success and positivity of last year’s ‘Amazing Happens’ campaign,” she said. “We want our community to leave the evening inspired and excited by a creative approach to campaign opening. Citizen West are an incredible trio of tenors and a
pianist, whose extensive repertoire of music means there’s something for everyone to enjoy!”
When asked for a hint about the repertoire they will perform at the launch, Shaish said, “I don’t want to give away too many spoilers, but I can say that there’s going to be a wide variety of genres, from classical music and Broadway to pop music, rock and even a splash of Hebrew!”
For Shaish, who is from Tel Aviv originally and grew up in Israel, this show will be special.
“Living in the U.S., I often find myself shifting between my roots (Jewish/Israeli music) and my other passion toward pop music and musical theatre,” he said. “I’m truly excited about this performance, because this is the first time that these two worlds collide.”
“There’s always so much more to learn, live and experience, and I feel that it’s with this outlook that Citizen West can explore and take stylistic chances with many genres,” added Devigne, who grew up in a small French community in Manitoba. Karey grew up in Fort St. James, B.C.
“There is a fraternal sense of camaraderie and connection when we work together,” said Karey. “Our slightly different quirks and styles complement each other well and create a compelling blend. The experience of being on the road is very different when you have good people to share that with. It’s also quite fun!”
Devigne echoed this sentiment. “There’s a sense of brotherhood that comes with being in a group,” he said. “It opens up more creative opportunities as an artist and brings more colour, layers and texture to songs. It’s a nice feeling to be on stage and know you have people you can rely on to support and elevate a performance. We feed on each other’s energy on stage and it makes for a great time. We draw inspiration from each other and I truly believe it lifts us all to be better artists and performers when we perform together.”
“I think it goes with the theme of this event,” said Shaish, referring to the Federation campaign launch. “We all discovered the ‘power of community’ or the ‘power of together.’ There’s something very special and powerful in sharing the stage. When the three of us blend with harmonies and our unique chemistry, it feels like true magic.”
The campaign’s opening event – “Celebrate the Power of Community” – takes place Sept. 10, 7 p.m., at Schara Tzedeck Synagogue. It also features Eric Fingerhut, president and chief executive officer of the Jewish Federations of North America, as keynote speaker; Barak Loozon, strategic advisor to the office of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, speaking about Herzog’s dialogue initiatives; and campaign chair Shay Keil, a senior wealth advisor at ScotiaMcLeod and supporter of many Jewish community organizations and initiatives, sharing his story about how Federation campaign donors helped inspire his Jewish journey. For tickets ($18), visit jewishvancouver.com.
Fourteen people who have made an outstanding provincial, national or international impact will be appointed to the Order of British Columbia, the province’s highest form of recognition and an official part of the Canadian Honours System. Among the recipients is Jewish community member Samuel Leon Feldman.
The Order of B.C. investiture ceremony will be at Government House in Victoria in the late fall. This year’s honourees bring the total membership of the Order of British Columbia to 503. Members have been appointed from all parts of the province and biographies of all the 2023 recipients can be found at news.gov.bc.ca/files/biographiesobc2023.pdf.
Feldman’s biography notes that he might have lived anywhere. Born in Shanghai, China, of Jewish parents whose ancestors had been persecuted in Russia, he and his family moved to the first place a visa was acceptable – Vancouver – in the 1950s.
The Feldmans loved the peace they found in this sleepy Commonwealth outpost. Although young Sam Feldman experienced some degree of antisemitism growing up, this paled in comparison to the positive experience of growing up in Vancouver and the many lifelong friends he has made.
In the early 1970s, Vancouver’s entertainment scene was booming. It was very early in Feldman’s business career that he identified an opportunity and a desire to be part of that musical environment. He established himself by representing and booking musical artists for what became a launch pad for many iconic artists.
Feldman continues to turn that humble start into an international juggernaut, primarily through artist representation by building an internationally known talent agency and management firm that has been responsible for more than 250 million records and countless tickets sold from past and present clients, such as Joni Mitchell, Sarah McLachlan, Diana Krall, Elvis Costello, James Taylor, Tracy Chapman, Bette Midler and Norah Jones. While the numbers are impressive, Feldman measures success through long-standing relationships and the positive musical influence his clients have brought to the community and beyond.
After 50-plus years, Feldman’s involvement in various aspects of the entertainment business is still growing and his legacy is intact. Uniquely, at a time when Los Angeles, New York and London were the epicentres of the music industry, he chose to stay in Vancouver. He has been quoted as saying: “I wouldn’t move elsewhere, as there is no better place than British Columbia to bring up your family.”
Contributing to the culture of this community and beyond is another part of Feldman’s legacy. From Expo ’86 and the 2010 Olympics to countless sold-out stadiums, he’s brought some of the biggest musical acts in the world here to record and perform, and he’s sent some of British Columbia’s biggest stars into the world. He’s proud to have contributed to the excellence of culture here, sharing values he learned from his mother, a high-level concert pianist, and his father, an amateur actor and salesman. His parents were a huge influence on him, and their mid-life immigrant status framed tough times. They urged him to work harder and shine brighter. Having watched their struggles, the lesson was not lost.
In an era when it was difficult for female artists to succeed, Feldman helped female clients through the headwinds of what can only be characterized as a sexist industry, to access what their male counterparts were already achieving.
Having been born in Shanghai in 1949, immigrating to Canada, having a Russian Jewish heritage and building an entertainment empire in a province most people had never visited, Feldman knows firsthand what it feels like to have to work twice as hard to succeed.
To be a successful music business entrepreneur, one must straddle the divide between art and commerce, and treat both with equal respect. Feldman is an interpreter – he has bridged those worlds. This is a skill set he has been able to bring to many good causes, using his connections and resources to support the revitalization of Chinatown, plus many health initiatives particularly targeted at youth.
Feldman has been recognized repeatedly, garnering awards such as the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award for extraordinary contributions to the Canadian music industry, and the SOCAN Special Achievement Award for contributions to Canada’s music industry and heritage. He has been inducted into the Music Managers Forum Honour Roll, the B.C. Entertainment Hall of Fame and the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame.
Feldman is a huge believer in the positive change music can bring to people’s lives. It’s in the mission statement of his business and it’s key to his support of the Sarah McLachlan School of Music, Odd Squad Production Society, Zajac Ranch for Children, music therapy for children on the autism spectrum, and many others.
It’s all part of giving back to the province he committed to so many years ago. Celebrity can be exciting, but it can also disappear overnight, unless you build a solid platform through exceptional relationships and hard work. Feldman has demonstrated that by building something honest and sustainable, you can literally change the world.
The Washington Capitals have signed forward Andrew Cristall to a three-year entry-level contract.
The Capitals selected Cristall, 18, in the second round (40th overall) of the 2023 NHL Draft. Cristall was ranked fifth among North American left wings and 15th among all North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.
The 5’10”, 175-pound forward spent the 2022-23 season with the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League (WHL), leading the team in goals (39), assists (56) and points (95). Cristall’s 1.76 points-per-game rate ranked fourth in the WHL, while his 95 points ranked tied for sixth. Cristall was named Kelowna’s team MVP and was selected to the WHL B.C. Division First All-Star Team.
During the 2021-22 season, Cristall set a Kelowna Rockets franchise record for goals by a 16-year-old (28) and tied the franchise record for points by a 16-year-old (69). In 129 career WHL games with Kelowna, Cristall has recorded 169 points (69 goals, 100 assists).
The Vancouver, B.C., native won a gold medal with Canada at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, finishing the tournament with six points (1 goal, 5 assists) in five games. In addition, Cristall served as an alternate captain at the 2023 Under-18 World Championship, where he registered six points (2 goals, 4 assists) in seven games and helped Canada to the bronze medal.
Or Shalom Synagogue’s new children’s programs teacher is Sammy Fogel, a creative, curious and community-driven educator and facilitator passionate about Jewish education, social justice and mental health. Having grown up at Camp Miriam, and having been a Saturday childminder at Or Shalom as a teenager – and 10 years later as an adult! – Fogel’s connection to the Vancouver Jewish community is longstanding.
Fogel was raised in North Vancouver, had her bat mitzvah at the Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture, and has held several roles working with youth at synagogues including Congregation Har-El in West Vancouver and Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom in Montreal. She has a bachelor’s in liberal arts and women’s studies from Concordia University and a master’s in social justice and community engagement from Wilfrid Laurier University. She currently works full-time as the administration and facilities coordinator at the Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention Centre of British Columbia and, in her spare time, you can find her swimming in the ocean, reading her book in the sunshine or enjoying a London fog at her local café.
– from Or Shalom
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From left, FINN Partners colleagues Gil Bashe, chair, health and purpose; Vancouver-native Nicole Grubner, partner and environmental innovation group lead; and Goel Jasper, managing partner. (photo from FINN Partners)
The Israel office of FINN Partners, a global integrated marketing and communications agency, has launched an environmental innovation group. FINN Israel will play a communications role on behalf of Israeli companies in the environmental innovation sector.
Vancouverite Nicole Grubner, partner at FINN Partners, will lead the innovation group. Named “PR Guru” in the 2019 PM360 ELITE Awards as a rising communications leader, Grubner has a decade of experience working with Israeli clients. She will spearhead strategic communications programs for Israeli companies making an impact within the environmental innovation sphere.
“Our goal is to effectively communicate Israel’s groundbreaking, market-ready offerings in the environmental innovation sector, accelerate their growth, and foster meaningful connections with key stakeholders worldwide,” she said. “With more than 100 Israeli companies attending this year’s COP28 in Dubai, we are witnessing Israel’s expanding role in implementing solutions for both climate change mitigation and planetary adaptation to the impacts of our changing climate. Implementation begins with creating awareness that these solutions exist today.”
According to Start-Up Nation Central, there are more than 850 companies in the environmental innovation ecosystem, developing solutions for clean energy, food and agricultural systems, industry, mobility, nature and carbon, water and construction. According to Israel’s climate tech industry group, PLANETech, investments in Israeli climate tech companies between 2018 and the first half of 2022 totaled $6.67 billion.
Esther Rausenberg, artistic and executive director of the Eastside Arts Society. (photo by Wendy D)
Eastside Arts Society (EAS) presents the return of its two-day summer art-making event, CREATE! Arts Festival, taking place at Strathcona Park on July 22 and at various Eastside Arts District studios on July 23.
A community initiative designed to welcome guests to explore, learn and create art together with local artists, CREATE! features a variety of accessible visual and performing arts workshops for adults and youth, including watercolour painting, needle felting, indigo dying, pottery, glass fusing, photography, ukulele, Salish singing and storytelling.
“In addition to a variety of art workshops, demonstrations and public participation art installations, we are also incredibly proud to introduce our brand new festival art shop, featuring a curated selection of arts and crafts all handmade by local artists,” said EAS artistic and executive director Esther Rausenberg, who is a member of the Jewish community.
On July 22, there will be a series of outdoor art-making workshops taught by more than 15 artists who live and/or work in the Eastside Arts District, many of whom will be participating in CREATE! Arts Festival for the first time. Adult and youth workshops will be hosted by Taaye Wong, Tanna Po, Suzan Marczak, Nima Nasiri, Naomi Yamamoto, Niki Holmes, Ross den Otter, Daphne Roubini, Russell Wallace, Jewish community member Naomi Steinberg, Nicole Caspillo, Nathaniel Marchand, Eri Ishii and Chantal Cardinal (FELT à la main with LOVE). A children and youth workshop will be hosted by Amberlie Perkin and an all-abilities workshop by Alternative Creations Studio.
Saturday festivities will also include a general admission CREATE! Art Zone. Art demonstrations include painting, pottery and glass beading from Francis Tiffany, Julia Chirka (summer skool) and members of Terminal City Glass Co-op. Public participation art projects include a life-size colouring mural with Serena Chu of Chu Chu, squeegee art with Joanne Probyn, and the building and performing of two giant crow puppets – in honour of EAS’s unofficial mascot – with Jacquie Rolston. Opus Art Supplies will have a hands-on block carving and printing activation: carve and pull a mini-block print, and contribute to a collaborative printmaking collage.
A selection of local handmade artworks and goods, curated by OH Studio Project, will be available at the festival shop. There will be a fully licensed beer garden, serving beer, cider and wine from Strange Fellows Brewing, as well as an assortment of food from a collection of food trucks, including Earnest Ice Cream, Wak Wak Burger, Mahshiko and Camion Café.
On July 22, the 8th Annual Art! Bike! Beer! Crawl Brewery Tour & Fundraiser will, for the first time, end at the festival grounds.
Activities will move indoors on July 23, connecting participants with art production spaces in neighbouring Eastside studios, with additional art workshops hosted by members of the Terminal City Glass Co-op, Richard Tetrault, Sonya Iwasiuk, Grace Lee (eikcam ceramics) and Naomi Yamamoto.
Workshops are $35 (plus GST) for youth/adults, with the exception of Perkin’s workshop for children/youth at $20 (plus GST); children under the age of 12 must be supervised by an adult. The general public can access festival activities at Strathcona Park for a $5 general admission fee (children under age 12 are free). For full festival details and workshop registration, visit createartsfestival.ca.
The Vancouver Men’s Chorus “brings such an effervescent joy to the shows and the spring season in particular is a big party for the chorus and audience alike.” (photo by Mark Burnham Photography)
The Vancouver Men’s Chorus (VMC) Sizzlin’ Summer concert promises to be a lively and entertaining experience.
“The VMC is more than just your average choral concert – we have the chops to pull off some pretty complex vocal arrangements, but we also like to mix that up with pure upbeat fun,” said Jewish community member Dr. David Rothwell, who is one of the choreographers of the show, which sees several performances June 9-17 at Performance Works on Granville Island. “The group brings such an effervescent joy to the shows, and the spring season in particular is a big party for the chorus and audience alike,” he said. “Whether it’s pulling out some disco moves for a nostalgic trip to ABBA’s heyday, or donning umbrellas after a hairy forecast from the Weather Girls, the choreography put together by myself and my fellow choreographers (Randy Romero and Jason Yau) helps tell the story of our music and elevates that entertainment factor even higher. We even get the entire chorus to join along in their own way.”
Humphrey Tam, VMC’s vice-president of marketing and communications, as well as a singer in the choir, shared a sneak peek at the repertoire.
“In Sizzlin’ Summer,” he said, “we have music ranging from your pop classics like ‘The Raining Men,’ ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,’ ‘Summer Breeze,’ to new hits like ‘Summer Time Sadness’ by Lana Del Rey and ‘New Rules’ by Dua Lipa, to the world première performance of ‘Ocean Songs’ by composer Gerry Ryan (former arranger and first tenor of the VMC) who, sadly, passed away few years ago.”
Conducting Sizzlin’ Summer will be VMC artistic director Willi Zwozdesky, who has been with the chorus since its inception; resident accompanist Dr. Stephen Smith has been with the VMC since the 1990s.
“Both of them are instrumental in the success of the Vancouver Men’s Chorus,” said Tam. “In 2021, we expanded our musical team to include an assistant conductor, David Buchan, who brought in another layer to our sound. On top of that, we have a full orchestra band in our concerts!”
The chorus rehearses every Wednesday, except during July and August, when they take a break; there are also extra rehearsals on Sundays a month or two before a concert.
While VMC is an audition-required group, Tam said the “singers are a mix of people with tons of background in music and theatre to someone who has no previous musical experience. We welcome everyone to audition and, even if you can’t sing, there are plenty of opportunities to join the chorus as a volunteer to help out with productions.” He said he was, before joining the chorus, “one of those who had no musical background except for playing the clarinet for one year back in Grade 8.”
Rothwell, who used to teach dance before moving to Canada from Australia, is an animator by trade, so “movement is my bread and butter, whether on the stage or the screen,” he said.
“After moving to Vancouver in 2018 with my husband, we saw the VMC performing their hearts out in the annual Pride Parade. We were quick to reach out to see if they were taking new members and, five years later, we’re basically part of the furniture!” said Rothwell. “We both grew up immersed in music, and it’s been a perfect way to pursue our interests and build a network of vibrant, talented friends in Vancouver’s queer community.”
About Jewish community, Rothwell said, “My mum reconnected with our family’s Jewish roots when I was a teen, so while I wasn’t immersed in that side of my heritage until that point, I’ve grown to recognize and appreciate the tenacity, humour and joie de vivre that I feel is ingrained in the Jewish spirit, including my own. These days, I’ll gladly join a seder and keep everyone’s cups full to the brim!”
For VMC member Dr. Etienne Melese, much of his connection to Judaism also came from his mother. “When I was young,” he shared, “she taught me about all the Jewish traditions, holidays, and growing up in New York helped, too.”
Proud of being Jewish, he said, “I feel the history deeply.” While Melese’s paternal grandfather survived the Holocaust, other members of his family did not. “We still visit their memorial in Paris (Mémorial de la Shoah) every time we visit, and I think about the courage it took survivors to live through that time,” he said.
Melese, who earned his PhD in immunology from the University of British Columbia and is currently working in biotech on designing new therapeutics for diseases such as cancer, said, “I came to the Vancouver Men’s Chorus because I wanted the opportunity to sing again. I had spent six-plus years doing my PhD and, during that time, had not been singing in a choir, which I used to enjoy so much! Also, the community – I wanted to expand my network of friends.”
Melese has been in many choirs over the years. What draws him to singing, he said, is “being able to express yourself. I find, through music, I am able to access so many feelings that are hard to just put into words…. I find there is an energy to choirs that can really change your outlook that day.”
Knowing that such benefits can come from choral singing, the Vancouver Men’s Chorus remained active during the pandemic, albeit in different ways.
“It was a very difficult time for the chorus,” said Tam. “From a choir point of view, not being able to sing as a group and perform was a huge loss to us; but, on top of all things, the VMC is a huge support group for our members, it’s a huge chosen family. Every week when we meet, we share our stories and we socialize. Not having that bonding time with each other definitely was strange and hard for some of us. Luckily, despite not being able to sing together, we still continued to have Zoom activities throughout the entire 2020 and 2021, and we recorded two digital concerts to keep doing what we love. Starting September 2021, we rehearsed together again but with masks and social distancing, and performed our first in-person concert in two years with Making Spirits Bright 2021 (also with masks on). Thinking back, I really don’t know how we did that.”
The VMC is a diverse and inclusive group, with members ranging from 18 to 70+ years old, said Tam. “We have open rehearsals every September and January for anyone to come join us at our rehearsals and sing with us,” he said. “From there, they can see if we are a good fit for them and sign up for an audition.”
Rothwell is keen for more people to experience the choir. “In addition to our spring season in June, the VMC also is well underway in preparing for our December season, Making Spirits Bright,” he said. “As always, our music selection committee makes sure to include songs for all holidays of the season; celebrating Hanukkah continues to be a mainstay of our setlist, along with the winter solstice and more. We’re gearing up for another great show this December, so I’d also encourage readers to keep an eye out for our next show, Cheers!, later this year.”
But, returning to Sizzlin’ Summer, Melese shared his favourite song: “‘The Summer Nights,’ a play on Grease, so fun!”
Mark your calendars for May 14. The Festival of Israeli Culture, a one-day free series of events at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, is a multicultural celebration of music, dance, art, sports, food and drink.
Kids enjoying last year’s Festival of Israeli Culture. (photo by Galit Lewinski)
Get ready for community drumming by the Drum Café, Israeli dance, Mediterranean belly dancing, flamenco and the Israeli Choir, followed by a sing-along with well-known Israeli musician Elad Shtamer. And that’s not all! Join Maccabi-Mania with gym-based activities for all ages, the sassy sesame cooking workshop, intuitive painting, and calligraphy workshops.
Dancers at last year’s festival. (photo by Galit Lewinski)
For adults, there is a range of 19+ programs, including an Israeli wine tasting and cocktail party to sample some arak-based cocktails (arak is an alcoholic drink made primarily with aniseed and grapes) followed by an exhibition of video art from Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Israel.
Music is a part of the celebrations. (photo by Galit Lewinski)
In addition to the performances and activities, the festival will have a market featuring a variety of eats from local vendors and food trucks, along with hand-poured candles, jewelry, clothing, arts and crafts, Judaica, and more.
The Festival of Israeli Culture on May 14 runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the JCC. While all events are free of charge, food donations to the Jewish Food Bank are encouraged. For more information, visit israelifestival.com.
– Courtesy Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver
Residents of Prince George might be forgiven for thinking there is more than one person named Eli Klasner in their midst. Among his many concurrent pursuits, the Toronto native is directing the Community Arts Council of Prince George, leading a fundraising initiative for Ukrainian refugees and serving on the board of the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia.
Living in Prince George is the fulfilment of a lifelong dream for Klasner. Since childhood, he had entertained the notion of living on the Canadian frontier or the Far North. When he was younger, he also made a commitment to himself that, by the time he celebrated his 40th birthday, he would do whatever it was that excited him.
For philanthropist Eli Klasner, living in Prince George is a dream come true. (photo from Eli Klasner)
As events unfolded, he was able to do just that after running businesses in Toronto and Vancouver. In 2017, while Klasner was working for a nonprofit, the possibility of moving to Prince George presented itself.
“I was just charmed by the roughness and climate adversity and, significantly, by the opportunities I saw both as a participant in arts and culture but also to identify that there are Jewish people here and in this area,” Klasner told the Independent.
The friendliness and accessibility of locals reaffirmed his desire to stay. “Soon after I was here, I visited City Hall and asked who is the mayor? ‘Well, that’s his office there. If you want to say hello, just go on in and introduce yourself.’ I like that. Coming from Toronto, you don’t just walk in and put your feet up on the mayor’s table. I thought that was very appealing,” Klasner recalled.
His executive director position with the arts council quickly transformed into a full-time schedule as he came to realize that the city could use support with its arts facilities. Klasner’s role in Prince George’s artistic rejuvenation includes working on a new creative hub, a new performing arts centre and, in March, the gala opening of a retired heritage church that was turned into a concert hall.
“Taking the executive director job here helped solidify that I need to settle down and find a place to live permanently. At that point in my life, I thought a lovely arts council with a lovely little gallery and gift shop would be a lot of fun,” said Klasner, who during his youth studied music in various European capitals.
For two years of his stay in Prince George, Klasner lived in a cabin in the woods, along with two hound dogs and two cats. “I moved a little off the grid,” he said. “That, for me, was the boyhood dream of living in the woods, chopping wood, growing a garden in the summer and being close to wildlife and nature. It was an amazing experience.”
Then came 2020. Klasner contracted the coronavirus at the outset of the pandemic. “COVID is an interesting part of the journey of being up here in this odd, unusual place,” he said. “It was certainly a challenge, but, also, when you live through something like that, you really come to appreciate life when you have good health, and the bounty that comes with good health.”
From a Jewish cultural perspective, one of Klasner’s recent projects has been the performance of Different Trains, a piece written for string quartet, with pre-recorded tape, by American Jewish composer Steve Reich that revolves around the Second World War and the Shoah. After being approached last year by the Prince George Symphony Orchestra, Klasner was able to arrange to have the work performed to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day this past January.
“I found it to be a remarkable process of respect and inclusion and terrifically ambitious for a small-town symphony to want to take on such a challenging and groundbreaking piece of music,” Klasner said.
Afterwards, several members of the local Jewish community were invited on stage to say a few words. The crowd, according to Klasner, was very moved by the event. “People got to sit, ask questions and talk about Holocaust and persecution. I found it a unique thing to happen in a place like Prince George. Where else is something like this done in Canada that does not have a significant Jewish population?”
Prince George, like other parts of northern British Columbia, Klasner noted, used to have a thriving Jewish community, starting with the immigrants who arrived in the 1880s. Many of the first local businesses were started by Jews, and the first Jewish female elected to public office in Canada was in Prince George, when Hanna Director became chair of the city’s school district.
From the Second World War to the 1970s, the community dwindled. The Sefer Torah that was in Prince George was sent down to Vancouver and is in storage.
However, there has been a resurgence in Jewish life, Klasner said. “What we started to do is hold community events around holidays and festivals, wanting to expose the young generation to the culture and history of Jewish celebrations and milestones, holidays and festivals. We are quite open to people who might want to come but who are not Jewish to see a Hannukah celebration and what kind of foods we eat around Rosh Hashanah, etc. There has been a lot interest in the community.”
The Jewish Museum and Archives, Klasner said, helped him understand some of the history and heritage of the Jewish community in the area. This, in turn, helped Klasner get other members of the community involved to share stories about what life in Prince George was like at one time or another. For example, there were photos of a seder in Prince George just after the war, when so many Jews wanted to be involved that a community hall had to be used.
“When there was an opening on the board of the Jewish Museum and Archives, I thought it was an opportunity to help them have province-wide representation, rather than just the Lower Mainland, the Island and the Okanagan,” he said.
Jewish values were integral in Klasner’s recent efforts to assist Ukrainian refugees in his community. When a new endowment fund was created to help the newcomers, he reached out to the organizers to help propel their fundraising.
“I was overwhelmed at the possibilities of life when people open up their hearts to strangers in their land and by the idea of opening up one’s heart and mind and wallet to people in the community – and what a Jewish attribute as well. Our families were once accepted here as refugees,” he said. “Our life on earth depends on the fact that Canada accepted refugees.”
From June 9 to 11, Prince George will host another of Klasner’s ventures, the B.C. Gourmet Arts Festival. Now in its second year, the event features scores of local artisans and presents culinary delights of the region and country.
“I love life and the opportunity to be busy and creative and help people and get involved,” Klasner said. “Life is awesome.”
Sam Margolishas written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.
Sasha Kaye recently launched B’nai Mitz-Van, a tutoring service that prepares b’nai mitzvah students for their Torah and Haftarah readings. She also offers basic voice training, performance anxiety management and d’var Torah writing support.
Kaye completed a double major in voice performance and psychology for her bachelor’s degree from the University of British Columbia, and she has a master’s degree in performance science from the Royal College of Music in London, England. In her master’s thesis, Kaye examined the experiences of musicians with moderate-to-severe performance anxiety in simulated performance environments.
“I came back to Vancouver in January 2023,” Kaye told the Independent. “Most of my time so far has been spent unpacking and readjusting to life in Vancouver!”
Kaye grew up attending Congregation Har El, where she is a member. She has led services as a lay cantor. “I performed at various holiday and milestone community events, and participated in extracurricular, Jewish-led activism with peers from King David High School,” she said about her younger years.
Kaye has performed with the University Singers choral ensemble, UBC Opera, the Vancouver Orchestra Club and Postmodern Camerata, among other groups. She performs as a solo recitalist and has almost 10 years of teaching experience.
“I came up with the idea for B’nai Mitz-Van while I was still in London, and the idea was partially inspired by my master’s thesis,” she said of her latest venture. “In addition to struggling with an anxiety disorder, I had particularly vivid performance anxiety as a musician. The two collided pretty spectacularly for my own bat mitzvah. Despite being well-prepared for it, I was constantly ruminating on potential mishaps and catastrophizing the consequences. What if I got so anxious that I forgot the trope for my Torah reading? What if I forgot the words? What if my voice cracked? What if I dropped the Torah? I would let my family down. These cognitive distortions are evident to my adult self, but the distress was very real to 12-year-old Sasha. When I told people I was anxious, they told me I had nothing to be anxious about. While I’m sure they were trying to reassure me, this ultimately dismissed my feelings and made me feel much worse. I had zero tools to cope with or manage my anxiety.”
Kaye said she has little recollection of the bat mitzvah itself. “I was so anxious, I essentially blacked out,” she said. “Based on second-hand information, I did well enough on the day, but I was unable to enjoy the simchah – and that’s ultimately what the day should have been about. B’nai mitzvot should be joyous occasions for everyone, including the b’nai mitzvah themselves.
“As someone who knows how to chant Torah and Haftarah, and knowing what I know now about performance anxiety, my hope is that B’nai Mitz-Van can both teach young adults what they need to know for their special day, and also give them the tools to manage feelings of nervousness or anxiety that they may have.”
Kaye has experience teaching b’nai mitzvah-age kids from when she used to teach singing lessons, which she did for about three years, and she has five more years of experience teaching older students.
“Performance anxiety is extremely common,” said Kaye. “While it may or may not necessarily impact the quality of your performance, that doesn’t make it any less uncomfortable to deal with.
“The experience can manifest cognitively, meaning through the kinds of thoughts you have, like fixating on the possibility of making mistakes in performances and overestimating the consequences; physiologically, meaning through bodily sensations like racing heart, dry mouth, shaking or feeling restless; emotionally, like feelings of nervousness, dread or irritability; or behaviourally, like avoiding practising.
“How to manage performance anxiety is the million-dollar question!” she said. “There are a number of techniques and methods that have been researched, and different things may work for different people. Some things that can help pretty reliably, if they are practised, are feeling prepared in your material; breathing exercises, like box breathing; grounding exercises that focus your senses on the here and now; and examining your self-talk, that is, how you talk to yourself in your own mind.
“Retraining self-talk can take a long time and it can be very challenging,” she acknowledged, “but it helps to start by noticing how you talk to yourself. Would you speak that way to a friend who was going through the same thing? If not, chances are your self-talk needs some adjusting from the harsh and self-defeating to the encouraging and self-supporting.”
About working with b’nai mitzvah-aged kids, Kaye said they “are at a really fascinating stage in life. They’re starting to come into their own sense of self, and they’re able to start thinking critically about the world around them without the cynicism that can follow us as adults. There’s an enthusiasm and idealism for tikkun olam that’s really refreshing.”
And, given her years of experience as a tutor of academic writing, Kaye can help students organize their enthusiasm and their ideas into a clear and concise d’var Torah. “More importantly,” she said, “I help them find their own way of relating to their parsha, so they can find the lesson they want to share with the congregation.”
Kaye offers both in-person and online lessons. She can be reached at [email protected] or 236-515-9469.
Itamar Erez’s May Song is inventive on many levels.
The most difficult thing for artists to do, and the aim which is most central to their consciousness, is to create something original, something new, something that is their own. We recognize the music of the greats because of their distinctive musical signatures, and all artists work towards this, with varying degrees of success. Itamar Erez, as evinced on his five previous recordings, and no less on his latest musical offering, May Song, is just such a distinctive artist – one with a voice and musical signature all his own.
An Israeli-Canadian guitarist, pianist and composer based in Vancouver, Erez is already quite celebrated, and deservedly so, and has been recognized by his musical peers and reviewers the world over (including the Jewish Independent). He is a globetrotter, musically and literally. His music is tinged with timbres, melodies and rhythms that evoke the confluences of the many cultures of the world.
Created and recorded in 2021, and released in October 2022, May Song is the most recent step on his musical journey, and it breaks new ground in a number of ways. Significantly, Erez’s guitar is not present here – the emphasis is on composing and improvising from the keyboard.
“Over the last three to four years, piano is definitely more my focus,” he said. “Music was written with the piano in mind, and involved some polyrhythms and layers that are not possible to be performed on the guitar without some overdubs, which was not the direction I wanted to take.”
Erez began his career as a writer of through-composed music for others to play. Though he still creates such compositions, he has evolved as a composer, and is in a creative phase where he celebrates the improvisational qualities of music.
“I think that there is a shift in my music over the years,” he said, “going from through-composed music and being a composer who writes for others in the early days to a composer/performer/improviser, where the improvising part is growing to be just as important as the rest.” About May Song, he said, “I felt that the best part of the music is in what happens in the moment. The tunes will sound different each time. So this is a time of letting go of controlling the music and letting it unfold.”
His collaborating musicians on this recording have been working with him regularly for some years now. Jeff Gammon on bass and Kevin Romain on drums are tremendously in sync with Erez, bringing out the nuances of his musical gestures and style. No less, his longtime collaborator on clarinet, the world-class and gifted François Houle, carries the melodies on several tracks.
Conceived, prepared and recorded during the pandemic, Erez describes the project on his Bandcamp page as being “all about, for me, emerging from darkness and doubt into lightness and joy….”
Picking up on this thought, permit me to put forward my own take on this progression in the recording – as the moods and content move, generally speaking, from darkness to light, from doubt and concern to resolution.
The album begins with “Chant,” an invocation, as it were. Beginning with sparse piano string harmonics, it moves into Middle Eastern-sounding modal patterns, finding in-between notes as harmonies, evoking maqam-like (maqam = Arabic mode) gestures. The music gives way to sweet chords, a simpler melodic setting, a chant with out-there harmonic invention, always questioning.
“Hourglass,” with its quick five-beat underpinning, evokes a state of restless anticipation. Here the polyrhythmic utterance is quite pronounced, as the clarinet states the melody in a different metrical frame. The ensemble is tight and the rhythmic threads are followed excellently. There is an interweaving of improvisations followed by an extended solo for drums.
About polyrhythms, and in the hope of clearing away any mental barriers to the enjoyment of the music, let me briefly explain the concept. Polyrhythmic work is the putting together of two different beat patterns simultaneously. In “Hourglass,” the repeated five-beat pulse is overlaid by a melody in a different beat pattern. This gives the music a sense of suspension, and may even sound improvisatory while being a compositional device. So it is freer and more indeterminate than a strict groove.
Track 3, “Catch Me If You Can,” continues this five-pulse underpinning, but is brighter and livelier, a playfulness, a glimmer of hope. It segues into a quick three-beat, and there is a conversation between this three and the five, free and harmonically uncluttered.
“You And Me” features a steady three-beat underpinning, with a sadder more contemplative mood. A call-and-answer dialogue gives way to a piano improvisation over the groove. A bass solo intervenes, and the dialogue continues until its plaintive ending.
“March” reintroduces the clarinet, and very much sounds like a movement out of darkness into light. The darker chords never take over the mood, though some darkness lingers. By turns, explosions of melody give way to broader strokes. The clarinet solo begins to soar, inviting all to break free.
“May Song,” the title track, opens by stating the melodic theme contemplatively, then gives way to a five-beat pattern overlaid with the theme in cross-rhythm. This is varied with a second theme, which is somewhat anthemic and declarative, yearning and even victorious. By the end, there is a sense of quietude, gratitude and resolution.
Finally, “Long Way Home” begins in a quiescent manner, with a bit of a crying voice, but it continues the declarative, resolved and personal statement previously arrived at. The piano is answered in bass and drums, and a dialogue ensues, giving way to a slow, patterned statement of increasing force. Yes, there may still be some darkness to be overcome, but we have arrived at a hopeful state nonetheless.
May Song is inventive on many levels – melodic, harmonic and rhythmic. Never idle, the music is varied, always searching, with an intensity even in its quieter moments. There is a mastery here, especially in the use of polyrhythmic elements, but complexity is always balanced with an enjoyable harmonic and melodic richness. Erez’s musicians all evince a depth of feeling and understanding that give the music great integrity.
About his future direction, Erez shared, “My upcoming album will be a duet album with Hamin Honari (an amazing Persian percussionist). We went to the studio for two days recording improvisations … this is the first time I did something like that, it felt very exciting.”
Speaking for myself, I truly look forward to following Erez on his continuing musical journeys. He is a singular artist of prodigious talent, to whose music it is always rewarding to listen.
May Song is available for digital download at itamarerez.bandcamp.com. For information about upcoming shows and all things Itamar Erez, visit itamarerez.com.
Moshe Denburgis a Vancouver-based composer, bandleader of the Jewish music ensemble Tzimmes, and the founder of the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra (VICO).
