Schmaltz & Pepper will be bringing Klezmer to Kingston Road
Klezmer is coming to Kingston Road!
On Sunday, Feb. 9, at 2 p.m., Eric Abramovitz and his All-Star band, Schmaltz & Pepper, will be blowing the roof off at the Kingston Road Village Concert Series.
The concert takes place at Kingston Road United Church, 975 Kingston Rd. Tickets are $35 in advance or $40 at the door. To order online, go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/schmaltz-and-pepper-tickets-1039078621127?aff=ebdsoporgprofile
Abramovitz is the principal clarinetist of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) and just recently he appeared with the orchestra as the soloist in the Mozart Clarinet Concerto. The audience was enthralled and responded with cheers and standing ovations. Then, for an encore, Abramovitz treated the audience to his own composition, Mozart in the Shtetl, a cheeky Klezmer piece that showed the other side of his musical personality.
“I was introduced to the clarinet at a very young age, about four or five. My mother, who is a pianist, played keyboard in a Montreal-based Klezmer band called the Bagg Street Klezmer Band. From the very first show I attended, I was immediately drawn to the clarinet and became obsessed,” said Abramovitz of his musical journey.
“I had to have one, and I promptly started begging my parents. They didn’t take my request seriously for quite some time until just before my seventh birthday, when they finally gave in, probably just to shut me up. From that day on, the clarinet and I have been inseparable. Although I went on to follow a classical education and career path, Klezmer always remained a part of my life, as my mother and sister who played the violin, formed a trio called Klezmerized, and we would perform at Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, weddings, parties, etc…”
Abramovitz said it was always his dream to play in a great symphony orchestra, and after completing undergraduate studies at McGill’s Schulich School of Music, and further graduate studies at the University of Southern California, he began his first professional job in the Nashville Symphony Orchestra.
“Very soon after, I was lucky enough to win a job in the TSO, where I joined as associate principal clarinet and Eb clarinet in the 2018/2019season. In 2021, I was appointed the position of Principal Clarinet, and not a day goes by that I am not grateful to be living my dream.”
Schmaltz & Pepper was formed in November of 2023, after Abramovitz was asked to play a chamber music gig with some musicians he didn’t know. “Among them were Drew Jurecka and Rebekah Wolkstein who are both members of Schmaltz & Pepper. In the green room, after the concert, Rebekah and I got to talking and I casually mentioned that I loved Klezmer music and wished to one day play a Klezmer band. That very instant, she calmly but very seriously said ‘Let’s do it,’” said Abramovitz. “It has been an amazing ride ever since.”
He said playing, composing and arranging for Schmaltz & Pepper has been incredibly rewarding as experience.
The band can’t wait to perform as part of the Kington Road Village Concert Series, said Abramovitz.
The Kingston Road Village Concert Series thanks the following local sponsors who make the performances possible: Karin Schemeit and Larry Williamson, Bob and Mary Gore (Robert Gore and Associates CPAs, CAs) and JOM (Joy of Music).
