World Music Wednesday: Payadora Tango Ensemble

Rebekah Wolkstein – violin, vocals
Elbio Fernandez – vocals
Drew Jurecka – violin, bandoneon
Robert Horvath – piano
Joseph Phillips – bass, guitar

http://payadora.com/

Payadora is an award-winning chamber music ensemble that performs its own arrangements of a core repertoire drawing from Argentinian/Uruguayan Tango and Folk music, as well as their own original compositions. Made up of a group of players who are each musical powerhouses in their own right, this “superstar group” has combined their deep knowledge of tango with their classical, jazz, and world music backgrounds to create something entirely new. Their performances convey joy, virtuosity, humor, and intense passion for the music that they play.

They are currently touring three different projects: Their tango quintet program, Tango in the Dark-performances with PointeTango Dance Company (fusion ballet/tango duo), and their latest CD, released by Six Degrees Records, the critically acclaimed “Silent Tears: The Last Yiddish Tango” for which they composed and arranged music based on testimonies of women who survived the Holocaust. It has received rave reviews and press coverage around the globe, including reports on the BBC, CTV, CBC television and radio, the Bangkok Post, NPR, and RTE Irish Public Radio which called it “one of the best Jewish recordings ever.”

Payadora’s lineup features some of the most respected chamber musicians, in Canada: Rebekah Wolkstein (violin, vocals), Drew Jurecka (bandoneon, violin, mandolin), Joseph Phillips (double bass, guitar) Robert Horvath (piano) and Elbio Fernandez (vocals).

Founded in 2013, Payadora’s broad scope in tango draws from the height of Buenos Aires’ Tango tradition, including compositions by De Caro, Pugliese, Troilo, and Salgan, to the masterful, contemporary sounds of Astor Piazzolla and beyond. They compose and arrange their own repertoire. They created and recorded the score for a one-hour film with PointeTango Dance Company with whom they are performing upcoming shows at Toronto Summer Music Festival and various festivals. They have received creation and recording grants from Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts Council. They received a generous grant from the Canada Council for the Arts to create a multi-arts digital presentation telling an Argentine folk tale through music, dance, illustration, and words This project will be free to the public and online in June 2023. Their newest album is currently #19 on the Transglobal World Music Chart.