Payadora Ensemble
“A World Class Contemporary Chamber Ensemble” - Ottawa Citizen
“The beloved ensemble that is tango and beyond. It is world. It is classical. It is jazz. It is tango…a delicious swirl of music that is the Payadora Ensemble.” - Classical 96.3 FM
Payadora is an award-winning chamber music ensemble that performs original compositions as well as original arrangements of a core repertoire drawing from Argentinian/Uruguayan Tango and Folk music. Made up of a group of players who are each musical powerhouses in their own right, this “superstar group” has combined their their deep knowledge of tango with their classical, jazz and world music backgrounds to create something entirely new. Payadora is officially endorsed by the Argentinian Consulate in Toronto for its adherence to the spirit of tango Their performances convey joy, virtuosity, humour and their intense passion for the music that they play.
Payadora won the 2024 Folk Music Ontario Award for best album for their critically acclaimed album “Silent Tears: The Last Yiddish Tango.” The album reached #1 on the World Music Charts in Europe, accompanied by rave reviews, airtime, and press coverage around the globe, including the BBC, CTV, CBC television and radio, the Bangkok Post, NPR, and RTE Irish Public Radio. “…The most memorable release I have ever had the privilege to listen to and review” (WholeNote Magazine). They have been named on “Best of” lists on NPR’s Rhythm Atlas, Finnish National Radio and CBC Classical. They were also nominated for the Folk Music Awards as “Best Performing Artists.”
Payadora won the German world music prize in 2024 (Weltmusikpreis RUTH award) and performed at the famous world music festival, Rudolstadt where they received the award.
“Playful, Spontaneous and Sexy!” -Classical 96.3 FM
They are currently touring Tango Apasionado- a music act or music/dance performed with PointeTango Dance Company (fusion ballet/tango duo) and The Legend of Carau- a legend told through original music, illustrations, narration and videos of dance filmed in Argentina. They are also touring their album, “Silent Tears: The Last Yiddish Tango” , released by Six Degrees Records, the critically acclaimed for which they composed and arranged music based on testimonies of women who survived the Holocaust. It has received rave reviews and press coverage around the globe, including reports on the BBC, CTV, CBC television and radio, the Bangkok Post, NPR, and RTE Irish Public Radio. “Moving, heartbreaking… the most memorable release I have ever had the privilege to listen to and review.”- Wholenote
Payadora’s lineup features some of the most respected chamber musicians in Canada: Rebekah Wolkstein (violin, vocals), Drew Jurecka (bandoneon, violin, mandolin), Joseph Phillips (double bass, guitar) Mark Camilleri (piano) and Elbio Fernandez (vocals).
“With influences from Argentina to Eastern Europe to the great Astor Piazzolla, Payadora plays the tango like it’s meant to be: sultry, steamy, but with grace and precision. You will be entertained!” - Words + Music magazine
Founded in 2013, Payadora’s broad scope in tango draws from the height of Buenos Aires’ Tango tradition, including compositions by De Caro, Pugliese, Troilo, and Salgan, to the masterful, contemporary sounds of Astor Piazzolla and beyond. They compose and arrange their own repertoire. They created and recorded the score for a one hour film with PointeTango Dance Company with whom they are performing upcoming shows at Toronto Summer Music Festival and various festivals. They have received creation and recording grants from Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts Council. They received a generous grant from the Canada Council for the Arts to create a multi-arts digital presentation telling an Argentine folk tale through music, dance, illustration and words This project will be free to the public and online in June 2023. Their newest album was in the top 20 albums on the Transglobal World Music Chart.
Performance Highlights:
In October, 2024 Payadora toured Atlantic Canada with Debut Atlantic. In January 2025, Payadora performed their show “Tango Apasionado” with PointeTango Dance Company across Florida including shows in Miami, Key West and Palm Coast.
Payadora has presented concerts and sold-out shows in Poland, Austria, Brazil, Argentina, at the National Arts Centre, Ottawa Chamberfest, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre, Stratford Summer Music, Toronto Summer Music, Festival of the Sound, Vancouver Island MusicFest, Toronto Jazzfest, the COC’s World Music Series at the Four Seasons Centre and the World Accordion & Tango Festival in Victoria, Music in the Morning in Vancouver and Vancouver Island Music Festival. Payadora has also collaborated with the London Symphonia, the Cathedral Bluffs Symphony and the Hannaford Street Silver Band, as well as with PointeTango Dance Company, which explores the intersection between classical dance and Argentine tango. Their sold-out 2023 European tour (Madrid, Copenhagen, Budapest and London) included a live-to-air BBC performance.
In November 2025, they will be featured once again with the London Symphonia.
Rebekah Wolkstein, violin, vocals
Rebekah is a passionate chamber musician and a multi-award winning creative force in the Canadian music scene. She is the founder and leader of Payadora, as well as the co-leader of a new “global sensation” Schmaltz & Pepper, a star studded klezmer/ Yiddish swing ensemble. Rebekah is the first violinist of the Venuti String Quartet venutistringquartet.com Rebekah is celebrated for her stunning virtuosity, nuance and broad musical versatility. Her creative output has led to multiple composing and recording grants through Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts Council. She directs multi-disciplinary projects such as The Legend of Carau, a feature for Payadora. She has performed and toured extensively with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, The National Ballet of Canada, The Canadian Opera Company.
An active studio musician, Rebekah is also at home playing in the styles of Folk, Klezmer, Pop, Latin, and Jazz and can be heard on numerous recordings including new releases by Donovan Woods, Laila Biali, Royal Wood and Justin Gray.
Aside from her active performing career, Rebekah holds a Doctorate in Violin Performance from the University of Toronto as well as degrees in violin from the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Drew Jurecka, bandoneon, violin
Drew Jurecka began his relationship with Payadora as record producer for both of their albums. He is an accomplished jazz and session violinist but also as an arranger, producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist. Trained classically, he studied with Lorand Fenyves and has a degree from the prestigious Cleveland Institute of Music. Drew has spent the last twelve year years playing jazz, pop, rock and other contemporary styles in Toronto. Though violin is his primary instrument, he also works frequently as a performer and recording sideman on viola, saxophone, clarinet and mandolin. For five years, Drew played with Jeff Healey as part of his Jazz Wizards band, which toured extensively across Canada. Drew can be heard on three of Jeff Healey’s CDs, including the Juno Nominated "Last Call". Drew has also toured nationally and internationally with The Polyjesters, Jesse Cook, Stuart McLean and the Vinyl Cafe, Alex Pangman, the Bebop Cowboys and Jill Barber.
Drew's arrangements have been used on countless records for artists across Canada, the United States and Europe. Drew has written original scores for eight stage plays, including seven for Vancouver-based ‘Monster Theatre’ and one for Tracey Erin Smith’s play “the Burning Bush”, which has been performed extensively in Toronto and New York City. He has also written and produced music for film, including the award winning documentary "Cuba Libre" and the recent shorts "An Insignificant Man” and “Sidestep Goosestep”.
Drew currently teaches violin at Humber College, where he has helped to create the only specialized jazz strings post-secondary program in Canada. In seven years, the program has quadrupled in size and now includes ensembles, technique and master classes in addition to private lessons. His students have gone on to win international jazz awards and to perform and record in Canada, the US and France.From 2002 - 2011, Drew was the director of the Jazz series at the Northern Lights Music Festival in Guadalajara, Mexico. During that time he sold out nearly every show, performing with renowned Canadian artists such as Richard Underhill, Daniel Barnes, Terra Hazelton, Sophia Perlman and Jill Barber. He is also a member of the Venuti String Quartet, venutistringquartet.com a crossover quartet with violinist Rebekah Wolkstein.
More about Drew at his website: www.drewjurecka.com
Joseph Phillips, double bass/ guitar
Born and raised in Toronto close to the rolling green hills of Christie Pits, Joe Phillips started studying classical guitar at age 9, at the University Settlement House Music School. He attended Oakwood Collegiate, and after some time playing the clarinet, he discovered the double bass. Time spent playing in various blues bars, Irish pubs and booze cans and four years studying with renowned classical virtuoso Joel Quarrington have led to a busy and diverse career. When not playing principal bass in Orchestra London Canada, Joe can be found making music with artists as varied as The Art of Time Ensemble, Via Salzburg Chamber Orchestra, Group of 27 Chamber Orchestra, cabaret siren Patricia O’Callaghan, songwriters Jenny Whiteley, Sarah Slean, Ruth Moody, the Wailin’ Jennys, Corin Raymond and Rita Chiarelli, jazz bassist/cellist/composer Andrew Downing, banjoist Jayme Stone, Canadian fiddlers Pierre Schryer and Shane Cook and Irish flute and whistle virtuoso Nuala Kennedy. Joe has performed with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Les Violons du Roy, I Musici de Montréal, Tafelmusik and the Festival of the Sound and is an annual participant in the Sweetwater Music weekend in Owen Sound, Ontario. He lives in London, Ontario with his partner and their two children.
Mark Camilleri, piano
There are so many people in the world who have been quoted as saying “music is a part of life”. However, for Mark Camilleri, music is life. Mark’s entire professional life embraces music and he has had a wonderfully varied career for over 35 years. As Marvin Hamlisch put it, “Mark Camilleri , or “Mr. Canada” as I call him, is a one man does it all musical powerhouse, whether he’s conducting, or playing keyboards, or arranging”.
As a Theatre Music Director, Mark has conducted dozens of productions including “Funny Girl”, “Beauty and the Beast”, “Nine”, “Secret Garden”, “West Side Story” and “Mamma Mia”. Also, World Premieres of “Pollyanna the Musical”, “Juke Box Hero” and “Prom Queen”. He has also contracted countless shows for Mirvish Productions. Orchestrating credits include film scores for Directors Atom Egoyan and Érik Canuel, along with commissioned works for The Toronto Symphony and other orchestras and theatre companies across North America. Mark’s concert credits include performing in such venues as The Vatican, The Greek Theatre in Taormina, Notre Dame Church and the Oprah Winfrey Show as well as music directing “The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala”, the “Canadian Screen Actor Awards”, “Canada eh” with Steve Patterson (CBC) and several PBS specials with the Canadian Tenors. Mark was also a featured pianist at the Pan Am opening celebrations and has been honored to have shared the stage with Il Divo, Celine Dion, Sting, Eric Clapton, Seth MacFarland, Andrea Bocelli, Paul Anka, Wayne Newton, Sheryl Crow, Sarah McLachlan, David Foster, Annie Lennox, Audra McDonald, Herbie Hancock, The Priests, Dee Snider, Johnny Reid and Jim Cuddy. When he's not behind a piano or podium, you'll find Mark engineering music sessions for TV, Film and radio at his commercial recording studio IMAGINE Sound Studios.
photo by Don Beaulieu
Elbio Fernandez, vocals
Elbio Fernandez, known as “El pequeño gigante del tango” (the little giant of tango), was born in Uruguay. It was in Uruguay where he learned to love music and tango. In 1989 he moved to Canada, and in the decades since, he has been performing concerts across North and South America. He has recorded two albums, his own "Elbio Fernandez Tangos" and another one with the Toronto Tango Orchestra. Since 2017, Elbio has been collaborating with superstar group Payadora Tango Ensamble, joining them in different performances and lending his vocals for their latest album “Volando”.
