Schmaltz and Schumann

Schmaltz & Pepper spins Eastern European Jewish folk traditions into something entirely, irresistibly their own. Their repertoire is almost entirely original — drawing on Yiddish swing, jazz, Roma music, and classical sensibilities. The band brings together Eric Abramovitz, principal clarinetist of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra; Grammy-nominated multi-instrumentalist Drew Jurecka; virtuosic violinist, vocalist, and composer Rebekah Wolkstein; JUNO-nominated bassist Michael Herring; and JUNO award-winning pianist Jeremy Ledbetter. Their debut album is nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award for Best Compositions 2026. The Myriade  Quartet were selected to participate in the Trondheim International String Quartet competition and the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition. As artists in residence at the Prince Edward County music festival, the quartet provided lecture-recitals with engagements that followed including  collaborations with Charles Richard-Hamelin, Scott St-John, Angela Park, and Sharon Wei. Andrew Burashko founded Art of Time Ensemble in 1998. He and Art of Time created cutting edge of the performing arts in Canada, fusing music with theatre, dance, film and literature in unprecedented ways. Over 25 years, Art of Time commissioned over 300 works of music, dance, text and film from Canadian artists; performed over 400 concerts throughout North America and Europe; and collaborated with over 350 artists. Before founding Art of Time Ensemble, Andrew Burashko had established himself as one of Canada’s foremost concert pianists, performing under the batons of some of the world’s leading conductors. He was appointed Artistic Advisor, Concerts in Care Ontario in 2020.