Michael Bridge shares, “We are touring our new Ladom Ensemble album, “Sofreh-Tisch”—just nominated for Instrumental Group of the Year 2025 by the Canadian Folk Music Awards.”
Ladom Ensemble is a mini-orchestra made up of four musicians – piano, cello, accordion and percussion – who play a kind of acoustic fusion that is both passionate and sophisticated. They create music drawn from Western classical, klezmer, rock, tango, jazz, east coast traditional and classical Persian influences – music that is distilled into something distinctly Canadian.
But the ensemble is about much more than the music they perform.
Let’s call it “Ladom-ism” – a way of working. An attitude. A set of principles about how to create a small musical community that works by consensus and aspires to share joy. They value rigour, experimentation and generosity of spirit in equal measure.
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.
The band 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.
Pouya Hamidi, piano: Born in Tehran, Pouya is the only remaining member of the original duo who got together to write pieces influenced by the traditions of their homelands. Ladom 1.0 became part of a revolving group of musicians who rehearsed in Pouya’s basement. That’s where, as a teen and young adult, he had noisy parties and jammed with rock and roll bands.
Pouya went on to get his Masters in Sound Recording at McGill. Today, he’s a much in-demand producer and engineer, scores music for film and theatre and is the chief composer and arranger for Ladom.
Adam Campbell, percussion: Born in Summerside, PEI, Adam jumped in for a Ladom gig in 2009 and never left. He received a BMus from Acadia and a MMus from U of T. And when not keeping the groove for Ladom, he’s a sound designer for theatre and dance and a member of TorQ, a percussion ensemble from Toronto now artist-in-residence at Western University. He magically seems to have a deep knowledge of everyone else’s part and somehow stays upbeat, no matter what the challenge.
Michael Bridge, accordion: Michael grew up in Calgary and started playing accordion when his Mom found a $5 instrument for a sale at a garage sale. He’s gone on to win major international competitions, complete his Masters and DMA at the U of T and is now a concert soloist, half of the Bridge & Wolak duo and teaches a course in business for musicians at his alma mater. Michael joined Ladom in 2015. He is the youngest member of the group, but the one with the oldest musical soul.
Beth Silver, cello: Joined 2018. Beth grew up in the Toronto area, got a BMus at U of T and a Masters at McGill. She’s a composer, arranger and performer; tours and records with classical, jazz, R&B and folk bands; plays for film and tv scores, commercials and video games and recently became fascinated by Klezmer music. She spent last year traveling to villages in Transylvania collecting traditional music. She sometimes feels like the contrarian in the group, but always with the best intentions.
Ladom has played countless shows across Canada – two tours for Jeunesses Musicales, as well as Prairie Debut, Debut Atlantic and independent excursions throughout BC and Ontario. The quartet has collaborated with a collective of Persian composers, appeared at the Toronto, Stratford and Ottawa summer music festivals and has worked with choreographers, animators and visual artists.
This is a music video animated by Jewish-Canadian artist Yoel O. Fellow (Adam Silver). Its music is an arrangement of part of a well-known (within the niche community) collection of klezmer violin pieces, the Rumanische Fantasien, made known by Josef Solinski. Beth Silver has extensively studied klezmer music and made several extended trips to Eastern Europe to research and enrich her traditional musical practice. Adam immersed himself in Ashkenazi folklore to inform him in creating the original story for the video, its synopsis: Inspired by Ashkenazi folklore, a young girl is cautioned by her grandmother before heading into the woods to forage. In the forest she encounters the wintry cryptid Lekhoet, which possesses the ability to replicate its prey by conjuring soulless doppelgängers. Ladom Ensemble’s music is a backdrop in her scramble to help her village outsmart the monster.
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.
Their third album, Sofreh Tisch, based on Jewish and Iranian themes was released to critical acclaim 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. This sets us apart from purely classical music groups or jazz or non-classical ones.
“It becomes an intersection of ideas and connection on a human level. It’s a very social thing, making music together in Ladom. And everything we do is underpinned by genuine friendship.”
Michael Bridge January 2026 Performances:
McALLEN, TX: January 6, 2026:Bridge & Wolak’s Scandalous Romantics
PAYSON, AZ: January 8, 2026: Bridge & Wolak’s Scandalous Romantics
PONKA CITY, OK: January 13, 2026: Bridge & Wolak’s Scandalous Romantics
GRANTS PASS, OR: January 15, 2026: Bridge & Wolak’s Scandalous Romantics
KINGSTON, ON: January 18, 2026: J.S. BACH’S LONG WALK IN THE SNOW, with Tom Allen & friends
Presented by the Isabel Bader Centre for Performing Arts
SEASHELT, BC: January 25, 2026: Ladom Ensemble / Sofreh-Tisch Album Tour / Presented by the Coast Recital Series
CALGARY, AB: January 28, 2026: Ladom Ensemble / Sofreh-Tisch Album Tour / Engineered Air Theatre, Presented by HONENS and HIGH PERFORMANCE RODEO
CANMORE, AB
January 29, 2026: Ladom Ensemble / Sofreh-Tisch Album Tour / Presented by ArtsPlace
CRESTON, BC: January 30, 2026: Ladom Ensemble / Sofreh-Tisch Album Tour / Presented by Creston Concert Society
NELSON, BC: January 31, 2026: Ladom Ensemble / Sofreh-Tisch Album Tour / Presented by Nelson Capitol Theatre
For more information on the Ladom Ensemble: see the June USA News 2025 article on “Sofreh-Tisch”:
https://accordionusa.news/ladom-ensemble-releases-3rd-studio-album/
