Category Music
Call 647-779-1986 for reservations. This debut performance of a high-powered instrumental trio specially assembled for this show will incorporate jazz, reggae & indigenous Ethiopian styles as it explores the music of the Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jewry) and the intersectionality between Ethiopian & Jewish Cultures.

Support Ashkenaz

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The Ashkenaz Foundation celebrates global Jewish music, arts and culture that embraces the past, present and future.

Through its biennial festival and year-round programming, Ashkenaz showcases the work of leading contemporary artists from Canada and around the world working in music, film, theatre, dance, literature, craft and visual arts.

The Ashkenaz Festival is one of the largest and most prestigious showcases of Jewish music and culture anywhere in the world. Since 1995, the festival has taken place biennially at Harbourfront Centre, Toronto’s premier venue for the presentation of world and folk culture and for the meeting of diverse communities through the arts. Originally founded as a showcase for Klezmer and Yiddish music and culture, the Ashkenaz Festival has evolved over the years into an eclectic showcase of global Jewish art and culture, encompassing not merely the traditions of eastern Europe, but also Sephardic, Mizrachi and Israeli culture, and all manner of cross-cultural fusion. The Festival is offered 90% free to the public and attracts a multicultural audience of over 60,000 people. Nowhere else in the world does so large and diverse an audience come together to experience Jewish cultural arts. Though strongly focused on music, Ashkenaz is a multidisciplinary festival, including dance, theatre, film, literature and talk, visual arts, and kids/family programs. Ashkenaz usually features over 80 performances and 200+ individual artists, hailing from across Canada and around the world. Over the years, Ashkenaz has presented artists from over 25 countries and 6 continents.

Ashkenaz Year Round

Upcoming events and a collection of past favourites.

Past Event

Ethiopia/Israel

Category Music
Joined in his latest project by pianist Roy Mor, bassist David Michaeli and drummer Nitzan Birnbaum, Abate Berihun presents original compositions, Ethiopian-Jewish soul music and songs inspired by Jewish prayers.

Past Event

Category Music
Category Family
Category Celebrations
Ignite a new tradition for Chanukah. IGNITE! opens with a community-wide Havdalah for all ages, then breaks into a choose-your-own-adventure of arts-based workshops, performances, and Jewish study sessions. The centrepiece of the program will include a hybrid live/virtual variety concert curated by the Ashkenaz Festival, in which artists from around the corner and around the world will bring us fresh musical performances inspired by the themes of the season. Kosher food for purchase. All are welcome!

Past Event

USA/UK/Germany/Canada

Category Music
The 2022 Ashkenaz Festival will open with the North American Premiere of a new program of Women’s Cantorial Music featuring Cantors Sveta Kundish, Rachel Weston, and Judith Berkson, together with music director Patrick Farrell and an all-star ensemble.