Live Music: Ladom Ensemble

Event Description

Ladom Ensemble is a mini-orchestra made up of four musicians who play a kind of acoustic fusion drawn from Western classical, klezmer, rock, tango, jazz, east coast traditional and classical Persian influences - music that is distilled into something distinctly Canadian.

Ladom was founded nearly 20 years ago by a pair of music students at the University of Toronto. It grew into a quartet and took its current configuration in 2018. All are classically trained, all fearlessly virtuosic. They believe in taking improvisational risks, in listening deeply and responding spontaneously to one another. They value friendship, mutual respect and great food.

Pouya Hamidi, piano, was born in Tehran. Adam Campbell, percussion, is from Summerside, PEI. Michael Bridge, accordion, grew up in Calgary. Beth Silver, cello, is from the Toronto area.

Their second album, “The Walls Are Made of Song” released in 2019, was inspired by Rumi poetry and includes classical arrangements of Prokofiev, Bach and Chopin. An album based on Jewish and Iranian themes is set for release in 2025.

“Ladom can play really detailed and complex and tight notes and follow the score,” says Pouya. “And we can also let go and improvise in the moment. It becomes an intersection of ideas and connection on a human level. And everything we do is underpinned by genuine friendship.”