Nikki Yanofsky at ORT Gala

Nikki signing autographs (photo: Triviaking)

At the age of ten, when most kids are online checking out the latest teen idol, Nikki Yanofsky was discovering the magic of Ella Fitzgerald and listening to jazz classics like It Don’t Mean A Thing and A Tisket, A Tasket.

Four years later, just past her 13th birthday, the singer was in a recording studio with Grammy Award-winning producer Tommy LiPuma and some of L.A.’s top session musicians, brilliantly scatting her way through Lady Ella’s classic Airmail Special for Verve Records’ all-star collection We All Love Ella: Celebrating The First Lady Of Song. Nikki more than held her own with the legendary artists on the album including Michael Buble, k.d. lang, Diana Krall, Natalie Cole, Etta James, Queen Latifah, Linda Ronstadt and Gladys Knight.

Nikki performed at the Montreal Jazz Fest in 2006 and 2007, selling out a four-night run at Place des Arts. After rehearsing with Nikki, jazz pianist Oliver Jones raved: “Jazz is alive and well in Canada!”

Over the past 18 months, Nikki has made numerous television and radio appearances in English and French, including documentaries on CBC and CTV. She has been the subject of countless magazine and newspaper profiles, including full page feature articles in the Globe and Mail, the Gazette, and La Presse. She has sung the national anthems at Montreal Canadiens’ hockey games and at a Lakers game at the Staples Center in L.A.

Since January 2008 Nikki has toured with Marvin Hamlisch, and the two are scheduled to take the stage in Montreal at the ORT Gala November 16.

Marvin Hamlisch’s music is notable for its versatility and substance. As a composer, Hamlisch has won virtually every major award that exists: three Oscars, four Grammys, four Emmys, a Tony and three Golden Globe awards. His groundbreaking show A Chorus Line received the Pulitzer Prize.

He is the composer of more than 40 film scores including his Oscar-winning score and song for The Way We Were and his adaptation of Scott Joplin’s music for The Sting, which won him a third Oscar. His prolific output of scores for films include original compositions and/or musical adaptations for Sophie’s Choice, Ordinary People, Three Men and a Baby, Save the Tiger and others.

Hamlisch was Musical Director and arranger of Barbra Streisand’s 1994 concert tour of the U.S. and England as well as of the television special, Barbra Streisand: The Concert, for which he received two of his Emmys.

Hamlisch holds the position of Principal Pops Conductor with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He is also the Pops Conductor for the National Symphony and San Diego Symphony Orchestra.

Hamlisch is a graduate of both Juilliard and Queens College. He believes in the power of music to bring people together. “Music can make a difference. There is a global nature to music, which has the potential to bring all people together,” he says.

ORT’s 25th Anniversary Benefit Gala is at Place des Arts on Sunday, November 16. For reservations, call 514-481-2787.