Clarinet Workshop: An Intro To Syrian And Klezmer Playing.

Presented by:

North Wind Concerts

Event Details

CLARINET WORKSHOP: An introduction to Syrian and Klezmer playing styles.

with Majd Sukar and Jonno Lightstone.

Everyone welcome, players and auditors!

Date: Sunday April 26, 2026

Time: 2:30 - 4 p.m.

Venue: Redeemer Lutheran, 1691 Bloor St. W., Toronto M6P 1B1 (across the street from the Keele subway station)

Featured Program

Majd Sukar is a Syrian Canadian clarinetist whose name has been distinguished in the Toronto music scene for his fusion music and unique sound. His style blends Middle Eastern folk and classical music with Jazz music in unparalleled practice.

Sukar brings his music to the Canadian music scene as a soloist and improviser. He performed with prominent musicians like Robi Botos, Drew Jurecka, Andrew Downing and the Indian indigenous singer Laura Grizzlypaws. What made his music noticeable in a short time is his hard work and passion which pushed him to join many Torontonian bands like Romani Jazz, Fethi Nadjem North African ensemble, Moneka Arabic Jazz, Moskitto bar and Spiral Modes. Moreover, Majd has appeared as a master improviser with Canadian Arabic Orchestra since 2016. He toured over 30 Canadian cities with them carrying his unique sound from his roots to the new world.

Sukar shared the stage with veteran Middle Eastern Artists like Naseer Shamma, Charbel Rouhana, Elham Madfai, Fouad Zabbadi, Marwa Nagy, Ismael Fadel, Alset Faridah and Iranian Legend Aref Arefkia. He also participates with many Middle Eastern pop stars like Assi El Hallani, Hamza Namira, Adam, Faia Younan, Simor Jalal, and Sonia Odisho.

Academically speaking, Majd holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in addition to his Graduate Certificate in Jazz Music from Humber College (2018). On top of that, he was invited to give
masterclasses and workshops at the University of Toronto and York University about Middle Eastern music theories and extended techniques of using the clarinet microtones skills in improvising. After his graduation from Humber College, Majd joined the fusion jazz club by starting a band called “14 Hours”. This jazz-influenced fusion and folk music band left a serious fingerprint in rearranging middle eastern music on jazz harmony and pop rhythms.

In 2020, Sukar was chosen to receive the RBC newcomer Arts Award which was presented by the RBC Foundation and Toronto Arts Foundation and administrated by the neighbourhood arts network. Majd is a member of the Toronto Musician Association (TMA) and the Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA). He is considered one of the inspirational Clarinet Players in the Middle East and that is what makes Jabrin Musical Services name their professional model of Jabrin Clarinets after him (MS) as appreciation for his efforts to spread the sound of Middle Eastern clarinet in the Canadian Music scene.

       Jonno Lightstone is regarded as one of Canada's finest klezmer musicians. A clarinetist, equally at home on flute and saxophone, he is a multi-faceted musician whose eclectic experience includes a variety of genres ranging from jazz to big band, reggae to ska, salsa to flamenco, and klezmer to classical. His own projects, however eclectic, always reveal a passion for klezmer and a thorough knowledge of the idiom. He is the leader of the Yiddish Swingtet, a trio whose music runs the gamut from traditional Eastern European klezmer to American jazz and swing. He founded Hu Tsa Tsa, a traditional klezmer group with a chamber music aesthetic and has performed klezmer music to the R & B grooves of Matzo Ball Gumbo. In collaboration with guitarist Brian Katz, the duo Lightstone / Katz explores rarely performed klezmer repertoire, creating a variety of diverse moods by weaving together klezmer melodies with the sounds and textures of chamber music, modal jazz, Indian raga, and blues. He teamed up with renowned saxophonist David Mott and experimental jazz drummer Nick Fraser to form Klezmology, a group dedicated to exploring the interface between klezmer music and free improvisation.

       Performance venues include The Ashkenaz Festival, The Toronto Jazz Festival, The National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Koerner Hall, Ford Centre For the Arts, The Art Gallery of Ontario, and numerous clubs and restaurants in Toronto. Lightstone produced and played on a number of CDs including, Hu Tsa Tsa’s Well Tempered Klezmorim, The Hot Latkes Klezmer Band’s Eine Kleine Klezmer Muzik, Matzo Ball Gumbo’s Peyes Up Front, and The Yiddish Swingtet’s Shul Days. He has collaborated with musicians such as Matt Brubeck, Artie Roth, George Koller, Daniel Barnes, Zalman Mlotek, Tony Quarrington, Jordan Klapman, Rona Goldensher, Eric Stein, Mitch Smolkin, Teresa Tova, and Sharon and Bram.

       A much sought after teacher, he instructs privately at Royal St. George College and has taught klezmer workshops at CAMMAC and at Klezkanada. He has coached award-winning ensembles and is the musical director of Klezkonnection, Canada’s largest community klezmer orchestra. He holds a Masters Degree in Ethnomusicology from York University.