Now that the new KlezFactor website is up, we hope you’re enjoying taking a look around. I’ll be making tweaks to it as we go along but you can look forward to the site integrating a lot more new content to get everyone ready for the band’s return!
This summer, you’ll be inundated with information about KlezFactor because we’ll be launching our IndieGoGo campaign to help fund our next CD, Europa. As you may or may not know, this summer is going to be jam packed with klezmer (and other musical) action all across Europe and into Turkey and Kazakhstan!
Wait, what? Kazakhstan?
Yup. This year, Astana, Kazakhstan is the site of the International Council for Traditional Music World Conference, held every two years. I last attended the conference in 2011 when it was held a little closer to home in St. John’s, Newfoundland (Canada). This time, I’ll be presenting a paper entitled ‘Ritual and Liminality in the Contemporary Klezmer Scene’ on a panel called ‘Ritual, Identity, and Minorities in Music and Dance.’ My partner, Paromita Kar, will be presenting a paper called ‘Recontextualization of Rituals in Odissi Dance’ while our friend and colleague (from York University), Fethi Karakecili presents his paper, ‘Kurdish Wedding Rituals.’
On July 16, my partner, Paromita Kar, and I will arrive in Astana, Kazakhstan for the conference and now we’ve got our visas! This step makes everything feel a little bit more real and, as the summer approaches, we’re going to be experiencing all kinds of new things in the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Germany (with other possible stops along the way).
While there’s way too much to do before we leave, getting the visas from the Kazakh Consulate in Toronto checks one thing off that list! Stay tuned for more!