VOLUME 5 of the INSTITUT experiment. Every week, a different hypothesis. Underground at 620 Spadina Ave — around the back, through the lot to the steel doors, down the stairs, past the mechanical room, through the swinging wood laminate door.
Tonight: an open folk session rooted in village traditions, an evening of Greek taverna music, a live clarinet score over one of Egyptian cinema’s most haunting masterworks, and vinyl til close.
PWYC. RSVP for each event so we know who to expect.
5 PM | RESIDENCY | Kryva Kosa [RSVP]
7 PM | CONCERT | Greek Trio — Dimitra Kahrimanidis, Ariane Morin, Naghmeh Farahmand [RSVP]
9 PM | LIVE SCORE | Majd Sukar x Al Mummia (Shadi Abdel Salam, 1969) [RSVP]
11 PM | VINTAGE VINYL | Janina Marie [RSVP]
Open acoustic rehearsal of Balkan, Baltic, and Slavic village folk — simple songs to learn, easy listening for the curious.
KRYVA KOSA is a collective of musicians and artists dedicated to sharing folk traditions from their diverse backgrounds. “Kryva Kosa” — meaning “crooked scythe” in Ukrainian — brings timeless village melodies from Ukraine and neighbouring Slavic, Baltic, Balkan, and Finno-Ugric cultures to life through music, dance, and communal exchange. They have performed and taught at the Bloor West Village Ukrainian Festival, Drom Taberna, Kosa Folk Arts Melanka, and recently completed a four-month residency at Hart House, UofT.
From Northern Greece to Thrace to Asia Minor — music meant for folk dancing, celebrations, and quieter moments of song shared around the table. Voices, laouto, saxophone, and percussion in the basement.
DIMITRA KAHRIMANIDIS is a singer, ethnomusicologist, and recent participant on The Voice Greece. Known for her versatility and deep roots in traditional Greek repertoire, she is a familiar presence within Greek communities across the GTA. She performs on voice and laouto.
ARIANE MORIN brings her ongoing research and studies in Greek and Turkish music, cultivated in Thessaloniki and Istanbul, alongside a strong background in Balkan music. She performs on saxophone.
NAGHMEH FARAHMAND is an Iranian percussionist from a musical family, trained in Persian classical traditions. Based in Toronto, she is an active performer and teacher across a wide range of ensembles and collaborations.
Shadi Abdel Salam’s Al Mummia — The Night of Counting the Years follows a young man torn between his tribe’s ancient secret and his duty to protect Egypt’s heritage. A film of stark beauty and moral weight, tonight given a new voice by Syrian-Canadian clarinetist Majd Sukar.
MAJD SUKAR is a Syrian-Canadian clarinetist whose fusion of Middle Eastern folk and classical music with jazz has made him a distinctive voice in the Toronto music scene. A soloist and improviser, he has performed with Robi Botos, Drew Jurecka, and Andrew Downing, and has toured over 30 Canadian cities with the Canadian Arabic Orchestra since 2016. He is a member of Romani Jazz, Moneka Arabic Jazz, Fethi Nadjem North African Ensemble, and Spiral Modes.
Eclectic vinyl selections that get hearts pumping and blood bubbling — funky soundscapes, Italo-boogie-disco, and 90s-00s house.
JANINA MARIE is a Polish-Canadian DJ, record collector, and fixture in Toronto’s underground music scene. Her sets span funky soundscapes, Italo-boogie-disco, and 90s-00s house. She has performed alongside Waajeed, Lefto Early Bird, and Xica Soul, toured across Europe and the USA, and appeared on Brooklyn’s The Lot Radio and Poland’s Czworka Radio. She is also a founding member of Group Benefits, a multi-genre dance party series dedicated to amplifying women, queer, and non-binary artists.
