Founded in 2011, Ventanas interweaves flamenco, Sephardic and Balkan music and dance, and their own original compositions. They have released three albums (2013, 2015, 2019) and have toured extensively throughout North America, including a sold-out show at the Skirball Centre in Los Angeles in 2019. They have been nominated for four Canadian Folk Music Awards, including Best Traditional Singer and Best Ensemble. The six-piece Toronto-based world music ensemble is fronted by the powerhouse vocalist and dancer Tamar Ilana, and features the city’s finest world musicians. They perform in over 20 languages such as Ladino, Spanish, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Hebrew, French, Romani and Arabic, drawing inspiration from today’s worldwide themes of migration and the questioning of one’s identity. 

Tamar’s childhood was spent gathering songs from small villages on the edge of the Mediterranean and dancing flamenco, and Ventanas’ band members are from across the globe. Together, and in true Canadian fashion, they intertwine their musical cultures to create an all-encompassing world of their own in which they lead audiences down the less travelled paths of the Mediterranean, mixing in contemporary interpretations of ancient ballads, original compositions and new choreographies, inviting audiences of all backgrounds into their lives and music.

Throughout the pandemic, Ventanas served as the house band for the new performing arts organisation, FabCollab and the Women in Song series, collaborating with primarily BIPOC world class women artists such as Tara Moneka (Iraq), Eliana Cuevas (Venezuela), OKAN (Cuba), Aline Morales (Brazil), Maryem Tollar (Egypt), Kaeja d’Dance (Canada), Dimitra Kahrimanidis (Greece), Nastasia Y (Ukraine) and others, in iconic Toronto venues such as Koerner Hall, the Aga Khan Museum and Lula Lounge. This series was also livestreamed by the National Arts Centre garnering over 100,000 online views. 

In summer 2022, Ventanas embarked on a tour in Colombia, their first South American tour. In April 2023, Ventanas debuted new compositions with the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra, and will be continuing to work with them to create new works moving forward. Read the review here.


Currently, Ventanas is working on their 4th studio album. Please consider contributing towards the cost of the album here.

Awards/Nominations

• Ontario Arts Council Premier's Award for Excellence in the Arts; Emerging Artist (Nominee) (2016)

• 4-time Canadian Folk Music Awards Nominee: Best World Music Group of the Year; Best Traditional Singer of the Year (2015); 

• Best Ensemble of the Year; Best Traditional Singer of the Year (2014)

Official Showcases:

Contact East (2023)
Mundial Montréal at WOMEX (2022)
Folk Alliance International (2022) 
Ohio Presenting Arts Network (2021)
Arts Midwest online (2020) 
CINARS/Mundial Montreal (2018)
Global Toronto (2018)
Mundial on the Road at APAP (NYC 2016)
Pacific Contact (British Columbia 2016)
Folk Music Ontario (Toronto 2014)
Mundial Montreal (2013)
Zlatne Uste Golden Festival (Brooklyn NY, 2012)