Temple Sinai Congregation of Toronto

BEN STEINBERG MUSICAL LEGACY AWARD​

The Ben Steinberg Musical Legacy Award Concert is performed by our winner, a Jewish artist at the threshold of his/her career. The award was established to encourage the careers of young Jewish artists in the Canadian community as well as the performance of music by Jewish composers.
The concert is made possible through the gifts of Helen and Joseph Berman and the Darren Kendal Memorial Endowment Fund.

2020 — Jaclyn Grossman

Hailed for her “unique voice type” (Opera Canada) and “command over a powerful range of expressive emotion” (The Whole Note), Jaclyn Grossman is a graduate of the Schulich School of Music of McGill University, where she received a Diploma in Opera and Voice. Notable performances included Vitellia (“La Clemenza di Tito,” Mozart), Lady Billows (“Albert Herring,” Britten), and Madame Lidoine (“Dialogues des Carmélites,” Poulenc) with Opera McGill; and excerpts of Lady Macbeth (Macbeth) and the Four Last Songs (Strauss) with the OperaFest at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival.

This year, Jaclyn is a member of the Rebanks Family Fellowship and International Performance Residency Program with Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music. As a Co-Founder of Likht Ensemble, Jaclyn will curate and perform this season in the Shoah Songbook, a concert series with the Harold Green Jewish Theatre, in cooperation with Temple Sinai, sharing music by Jewish composers from the Holocaust.

Equally committed to her work with nonprofits, Jaclyn is the Programs Associate for the Association for Opera in Canada. This year she will continue developing and facilitating the Association’s “LINK Artist Programs,” a series focusing on professional skills development for artists across Canada. Jaclyn is also the Founder of The Phoenix Leadership Project, a Canadian charity that promotes youth leadership education, and a Co-Founder of Tactical Creativity with Amplified Opera.

2019 — Daniel Temnik, Violin

Praised by audiences and musicians alike for his radiant tone, commanding technique and musical depth, Israeli-Canadian award winning violinist Daniel Temnik is swiftly establishing himself in the forefront of prominent young Canadian musical artists.
An exceptionally avid musician, Daniel’s professional engagements stem extensively in violin performance as a soloist and chamber musician of various music ensembles within North America, Asia and Europe. Daniel is a recipient of numerous awards, scholarships and diplomas in national and international violin competitions that include the Canadian Music Competition, AFAF Golden Strings of America, Paganini International Violin Competition, Schoenfeld International Music Competition and the Henri Marteau International Violin Competition.
Daniel currently studies with distinguished concert violinists and internationally renowned pedagogues Barry Shiffman and Victor Danchenko at The Glenn Gould School of Music in Toronto. Mr. Temnik’s previous instruments include a 1760 Gennaro Vinaccia and the 1740 ex-Sándor Végh Guarneri del Gesu. He currently performs on a 1785 Lorenzo Storioni violin generously on loan from Florian Leonhard.

2018 — Liel Amdour, Guitar 

A passionate ambassador of the classical guitar, Liel Amdour is committed to sharing the music of the guitar with the audiences everywhere. Liel regularly performs as a soloist in diverse settings and receives frequent praise for her expressive performances and charismatic presence. A recent graduate of the University of British Columbia, where she completed her Bachelor of Music in guitar performance under Dr. Daniel Bolshoy, and a two-time recipient of the British Columbia Arts Council Scholarship Award for promising young artists, Liel is devoted to the journey of refining her art. She has participated in numerous local and international guitar festivals and competitions.

2017 — Shulamit Sarid, Cello

Sarid, born in Jerusalem in 1993, began studying the cello at age five with her mother, the cello teacher Mrs. Bluma Sarid, at the Israel Conservatory. In 2016 Shulamit graduated with a Master’s degree from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. Currently, Shulamit is pursuing her studies for an Artist Diploma at the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory in Toronto with Mr. Andres Diaz and Mr. Desmond Hoebig.

Shulamit served in the IDF Outstanding Musician Unit. She played for the Music for the Community Project of the Education Corps and performed daily for the elderly, the sick, and children with special needs. In 2012, she had the opportunity to play in Poland in the ceremony at Auschwitz on Holocaust Memorial Day, as part of her army service, through a delegation called “Witnesses in Uniform.”

2015/2016  — Ron Cohen Mann

Ron is an Artist Diploma candidate at the Yale School of Music, studying with Stephen Taylor. He completed his Master of Music at Mannes School of Music, studying with Sherry Sylar of the New York Philharmonic, and his Bachelor of Music at the University of British Columbia under the tutelage of Beth Orson, where he was awarded the UBC Medal in Music.

Cohen Mann was a prizewinner at the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal Standard Life Competition 2014, and the winner of the Yamaha Young Performing Artists Competition 2013 and Ben Steinberg Musical Legacy Award 2015. He has performed in various orchestras including The Manhattan Symphonie, L’Orchestre de la Francophonie, The National Academy Orchestra of Canada, Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra, Kamloops Symphony Orchestra, and The National Youth Orchestra of Canada in performances at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully and Avery Fisher Halls (Lincoln Center), Symphony Space (NYC), Koerner Hall (Toronto), Notre Dame Basilica and Maison Symphonique (Montreal), among others. He has toured to India, China, and throughout Canada and the United States and played under eminent conductors including Valery Gergiev, Peter Oundjian, John Adams, Jonathan Darlington, Alain Trudel, and Carolyn Kuan. www.oboeron.com.

 

2014 – Beth Silver

2013 – Lyrit Milgram

2012 – Lily Chapnik

2011 – Kyra Folk-Farber

2010 – Reprise Concert

2009 – Inga Filipova-Williams, soprano, and Alex Mirzoev, pianist

2008 – Melanie Gall, soprano, and Jared Miller, pianist

2007 – Aaron Schwebel, violinist

2006 – Elissa Miller-Kay, pianist

2005 – Adam Sherkin, pianist

2004 – Reprise Concert

2003 – Shoshana Telner, pianist

2002 – Rachel Desoer, cellist

2001 – Sarah Silverman, pianist

2000 – Rebecca Gitter, violist

1999 – Daniel Bard, violinist, and Karen Wierzba, soprano

1998 – Elina Kelebeev, pianist

1997 – Ilya Poletaev, pianist

1996 – Daniel Boloshoy, guitarist

1995 – Shalom Bard, clarinetist

1994 – Jonathan Swartz, violinist

1993 – Jennifer Swartz, harpist

1992 – Igor Gefter, cellist

1991 – Vadim Serebryany, pianist

1990 – Lawrence Glatt, guitarist

1989 – David Louie, pianist

1988 – Michael Rusinek, clarinetist

1987 – Andrew Burashko, pianist

1986 – Karen Weingort, pianist

1985 – Barry Shiffman, violinist

1984 – Yuval Fichman, pianist

Composer-in-Residence
Ben Steinberg z”l

The prestigious Ben Steinberg Musical Legacy Award, created 34 years ago, is a prize given annually to a deserving young Jewish musician on the threshold of his/her career. It is the only award of its kind given by a synagogue in North America and would not exist without the financial support of our donors. Temple Sinai should be very proud of its role in perpetuating and sustaining this prize through the generosity of the Helen and Joseph Berman Fund and The Darren Kendal Memorial Fund. The Berman Family recognized the importance of supporting our emerging young artists, and for the Kendal Family, this award recital is an enduring tribute to their beloved son and brother.