David Moss is the Executive Director of KlezKanada. He is a bilingual executive, consultant, and strategist with over 25 years of leadership in the not-for-profit arts, culture, and community sectors. He specializes in organizational strategy, governance, change management, partnerships, fundraising, communications, and stakeholder engagement. David has served as Chief Executive of the Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts and l’Opéra de Montréal, and co-founded Culture Days. His experience spans startups, public institutions, governments, foundations, universities, and community organizations. A champion of cultural innovation, social impact, and collaboration, he has also contributed to numerous boards, juries, and advisory committees across Canada and beyond.
Avia Moore is the Artistic Director of KlezKanada and has worked extensively as a creative producer across North America and Europe. An internationally-acclaimed leader of Yiddish dance, she presents Yiddish dance at festivals and events around the world, coaches emerging dance leaders, and works as a consultant for choreographers, directors, and teachers seeking to engage with Jewish movement. Avia’s work as an interdisciplinary artist draws upon dance, theatre, music, fibre arts, and photography, among other forms, and is grounded in devised theatre techniques and collaboration. Avia holds a PhD in Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies from York University. Avia first attended KlezKanada’s Summer Retreat in 2003 and has worked for the organization (in a number of different roles) since 2006.
Kelly Steinmetz is the Operations and Administrative Manager of KlezKanada, facilitating organizational systems and event production year-round. She holds a B.A. in Cultural Studies from McGill University and an M.A. in Media, Culture and Communication from New York University. Her academic pursuits focused on the intersection of aesthetics and politics, and she uses that lens to approach her professional endeavours. Before joining KlezKanada, Kelly worked in the contemporary art, media, and cultural sectors in New York and Montreal. She is dedicated to making ambitious artistic projects run smoothly and to fostering vibrant spaces for scholarship, play, and connection.
Ellie Mota is the Marketing and Communications Coordinator (formerly intern) for KlezKanada. She graduated from McGill with a B.A. in Cultural Studies and Russian. When she isn’t writing captions for Instagram posts or the biweekly newsletter, she co-manages a canal-side poke restaurant in the beautiful Pointe Saint Charles. Off the clocks, Ellie edits and occasionally publishes poetry and creative nonfiction in local literary magazines, watches lots and lots of movies, delivers impassioned speeches, and laughs loudly with her friends. She’s delighted to rejoin the wonderful KlezKanada team in her new role.
Asa Brunet-Jailly is a doctoral candidate at the University of Michigan, where she is pursuing a Ph.D. in English Language and Literature and a certificate in Judaic Studies. Her research interests include nineteenth-century Anglo-Jewish literature, Yiddish print culture in Britain, material culture, critical translation studies, and diaspora studies. Asa began interning and volunteering for KlezKanada in 2019, and has continued to work in various roles ever since. Currently, she works part-time as KlezKanada’s Development Associate, alongside teaching first-year writing in Ann Arbor and being a full-time Yiddishist.
Jen Jack is a theatre designer and cultural worker based in Tiohtià:ke/Montréal, working across scenography and puppetry. Most recently, they exhibited a toy theatre installation on the history of Cinema L’Amour, Amour Toujours, in collaboration with the Museum of Jewish Montreal. They will soon be pursuing an MFA in Stage Design at Northwestern University. In their free time, they love to contra dance and explore Montreal by bicycle.
Christian Dawid is an internationally noted musician, most widely known for his work in Yiddish music and related genres. As both a performer and a teacher, he has been involved with culture festivals and festival academies all over Yiddishland, such as the Jewish Culture Festival in Kraków, Yiddish Summer Weimar, KlezKamp, Klezfest St Petersburg, Ashkenaz, and festivals in Safed, Warsaw, London, Paris, Sao Paolo, Buenos Aires, Moscow and many other places. Christian was first invited to KlezKanada in 2003, and has been assisting its artistic directors as music program coordinator since 2010.
Uri Schreter is an interdisciplinary musicologist, musician, and cultural organizer, who has served as KlezKanada’s Multidisciplinary Programs Coordinator since 2022. His work explores twentieth-century Jewish music through scholarship and artistic creation, with an emphasis on Yiddish language and culture. He earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University and has held postdoctoral positions at the University of Michigan and Queen’s University. As a composer and performer, he has collaborated with artists across Yiddishland, including Shane Baker, Anthony Russell, Isabel Frey, Levyosn, and Judy Bressler. Starting in September 2026, he will be based in Vienna as a postdoctoral researcher in Yiddish Studies at the University of Vienna.
Zoë Aqua is an in-demand teacher, violinist and composer. Known for her warm and engaging teaching style, Zoë is a pedagogy nerd, holding certifications in several different music education methodologies. She is particularly passionate about helping beginner- and intermediate-level players develop holistic musicianship in the context of learning klezmer. Zoë has a deep and longstanding engagement with the Romanian region of Transylvania, having spent 2 years there as a Fulbright research fellow studying folk music. She collaborates regularly with Transylvanian musicians in her band “Zoë Aqua and her Transylvanian String Band,” and has recorded 3 albums with the band.
Leah Whiteman is the Work Exchange Program Coordinator at KlezKanada, where she coordinates participants and volunteers who help support the summer retreat. Throughout the year, Leah works as a Marriage and Family Therapist in Chicago and also supports individuals and couples navigating fertility journeys through Mishkan Chicago. Born in New York City, Leah was raised in a Yiddish-speaking family and attended Pripetchik, a program that evolved from a playgroup into a Sunday school and children’s chorus. As someone who grew up in the communities of KlezKamp and Yugntruf, Leah is grateful for the opportunity to give back to the community that helped shape her. When not working Leah enjoys walks by Lake Michigan, a pilates class, and spoiling her niece and nephew (af Yiddish!).
Noah Guthman is a locally acclaimed musician and event production specialist, with over 15 years of experience onstage and backstage in every sort of venue imaginable, from small rooms to shuls to stadiums. Noah is primarily a saxophonist and vocalist, but is often found with other instruments. He plays tenor sax in Mrs. Toretsky’s Nightmare, and has performed on tour and in studio with Eleanor Reissa and Di Boyess, and The Obertones. He has been attending and working on the KlezKanada Summer Retreat for most of his life, and is thrilled to be a part of this wonderful community!