“In my 27 years of hiring artists, I can truthfully say that Guy is one of the finest and most intelligent musicians I have ever encountered...[He is] a music educator with very high standards.”
Myth, Lies & Truths
Romanticizing Traditional Cultures
This lecture traces the distortion of Sephardic music from the former Ottoman Empire, exploring shifts in both their inadvertent and intentional forms. How is it that music from the turn of the 20th century became perceived as Medieval? Who gains, and who loses, when traditional music is taken beyond its native contexts?
University - Adult Single Session
Length 60-90 minutes | Class visit or public lecture
Configuration Trio or Quintet
Relevant to History/Cultural Studies/Judaic & Near-Eastern Studies/Global Studies/Music/Ethnomusicology
Listening Through The Music
Team-Building Through Musical Improvisation
Geared for music educators as well as classroom teachers, this experiential workshop delves into the theory and practice of team building and the cultivation of leadership through games in musical improvisation.
University /Teacher Training/Leadership Program 1-3 day program
Length 60-120 minute sessions | Class visit
Group size typically max 15 | Call to discuss Your Goals
Configuration Solo
Relevant to Music Education/Music/Leadership Programs
Introduction to Dalcroze Education
In this master class, students gain a first hand experience of Dalcroze Education, a powerful, experiential approach to learning music through the body. Students engage in typical Dalcroze activities and explore some of the pedagogy, principles and teaching strategies for this joyful, non-verbal approach to learning the non-verbal art of music.
University - Adult 1-3 day program
Length 90 minutes | Master Class
Configuration Solo
Relevant to Music Education/Music
Around The World In Rounds!
Join us for a fun participatory song session. Rounds are an easy, exciting way for everyone to be part of fulfilling music-making, regardless of previous experience. Avid round collector Guy Mendilow shares some gems from around the world, skillfully accompanied by his band. No prior training needed - just come prepared to have a great time singing together. Have a favorite round to share? Bring it!
Ages Grade 5+
Length 60-90 minutes | Single workshop
Suitable for Groups of Any Size
Springboard Songwriting/
Story Telling Residence
How can we make our own stories include others, so that they resonate more deeply?
How can we increase the relevance of our stories so that others will listen?
What is the role of music in adding emotional power to our words?
Ages Grades 5+
Length 60-120 minutes | 3-5 days
Group Size Please contact us to discuss your objectives
Forgotten Kingdom
Adapted for grades 5-6
Embark on a musical trek through a nearly lost world with Guy Mendilow Ensemble’s The Forgotten Kingdom. Journey through former Ottoman lands starting in Sarajevo and winding through Salónica in a narrative-driven performance reimagining the historical record of Sephardic communities of the Balkans and Mediterranean.
Ages Grades 5-6
Length 45-60 minutes | Single session | Class visit, youth series theatre performance or school assembly
Group Size Suitable for groups of any size though best for intimate numbers
Sailors, Sirens & Kings
Adventures of Ladino Song
Through story and song, this classroom program introduces students to the richness
and history of Sephardic cultures from the former Ottoman Empire.
Ages Grades 5+
Length 60-90 minutes | Single Session
Best for intimate classroom presentation
Around The World In Song!
Everyone becomes part of the music-making in the Guy Mendilow Ensemble's family concerts! Through colorful songs, stories and games, the Guy Mendilow Ensemble transports families on an exhilarating interactive adventure through Ensemble members' diverse homes worldwide. In this highly musical, pedagogically-sound performance, families encounter vibrant characters and some of the band's most fascinating "stars:" instruments like overtone singing, the munnharpa (jaw harp) and musical bow and arrow.
Ages Kindergarten - Grade 4 (In Age Appropriate Groups)
Length 50-60 minutes | Single performance or Multi-Day Residency
Class visit, youth series theatre performance or assembly
Move The Music!
Dalcroze education offers a joyful, socially-interactive way
of knowing music through the body.
In this joyous Dalcroze Education workshop, exciting experiential games nurture children's musicality and confidence in their own musical intuition. Discovery, active listening and a spirit of play abound as children learn vital musical concepts by using their bodies as the principal instrument. Be ready to move, sing, explore and improvise together!
Ages Grades 1 - 4 (In Age Appropriate Groups) •
Length 30-45 minutes | Single Workshop or Multi-Day Residency | Class visit |
Group Size Up to 15
Choral/String Collaborations
With choral and string specialists in the Ensemble, tailored collaborations with community and professional choirs and string groups are an excellent way to forge connections and expand musical horizons. Repertoire is crafted at a level suitable for each group: challenging enough to stretch technique yet always within reach to ensure success.
Ages Grades 7 and up
Guy Mendilow
M.M. Longy School of Music; International Certificate, Dalcroze Eurhythmics, Longy School of Music; B.A. Oberlin College
Guy Mendilow is Director of Music and Education for the Guy Mendilow Ensemble, "An international tour de force” (Bethlehem Morning Call) from the Middle-East, South and North America. The Ensemble combines world-class musicianship with cinematic storytelling in shows that “explode with artistry, refinement, and excitement” (Hebrew Union College), whisking audiences to distant times and picturesque places to stir highly resonant connections to contemporary struggles and dilemmas.
The Guy Mendilow Ensemble was distinguished by the National Endowment for the Arts for public engagement with diverse and excellent art and the strengthening of communities through the arts, and is the recipient of grant awards from foundations like The Boston Foundation, New England Foundation for the Arts, Arts Midwest and Western Arts Alliance.
Alongside performance, Mendilow is active in music education, pursuing Dalcroze Education as a means of cultivating musicality while fostering vital skills such as deep focus and the sense of contribution, capability and belonging that together form esteem. Mendilow designs custom artist residencies for leading performing arts organizations like Celebrity Series of Boston and including innovative storytelling/songwriting projects with at-risk populations.
Mendilow’s research interests include music and culture of Sephardic communities of Salónica,in the early twentieth century.
Mendilow is a guest artist-lecturer in universities across the U.S. including Harvard University, Cornell University, Brandeis University, Oberlin College, University of Oregon and the University of Washington, leads children's workshops in schools worldwide and directs the Dalcroze School of Boston, offering Dalcroze Education for children and adults in the Boston area.