photo by Craig Harris

Guy Mendilow

Performer • Educator • Vocalist •
Composer, Arranger

Guy Mendilow Band

Inventive World Music & Outreach

The Guy Mendilow Band’s mission is to advance cross-cultural communication by pursuing excellence in musical performance and innovation in educational programming. We especially ally with organizations making a positive community or environmental impact through the arts.

Guy Mendilow Band Offers

Vibrant School Assemblies & Family Performances
Everyone becomes part of the music in interactive, ear-opening adventures full of exciting instruments, songs and stories from far and near. Through colorful songs, stories and games, the Guy Mendilow Band transports students on an ear-opening interactive adventure to the places Guy has called home — including Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Israel and the United States. Everyone becomes part of the music as   students meet such fascinating instruments as overtone singing, the munnharpa (jaw harp) and Peruvian cajon (box drum), along with languages and joyous songs from distant lands.

Inspiring Residencies and Workshops for Children and Adults that give participants tools to make their own music and that promote effective communication and team building through musical improvisation.

Captivating Concerts — that break down musical boundaries with an inventive blend of Israeli and Sephardi with Bahian street beats and Blues. Performing in Hebrew, Arabic, Ladino, Portuguese and English, the spirited quintet skillfully fuses ancient tradition with a contemporary sound through rich instrumentation including berimbau, trancy jaw harps, lush vocals, and award-winning overtone singing. The group’s presentation includes plenty of warmth and humor, and their appeal extends far beyond just world music audiences.

Some of our More Unusual Instrumentation
Vocals and Overtone Singing by Guy
Berimbau or Berimbau Da Barriga
Electric Mbira
Jaw Harp
Bamboo Flute
Other instruments: Percussion, Tenor and Sprano Sax, and guitars 

Artist Statement

“Only our best is just good enough for children.” —Zoltán Kodály

Children’s early music experiences shape the rest of their musical lives. It is a privilege — and a responsibility — to give children our highest. Drawing upon our training as music education specialists and teacher trainers, we strive to create the most engaging, interactive and educationally sound concerts for young audiences.  —Guy

Typical applications may include:

PROGRAM LOGISTICS
Performances
Workshops

ABOUT GUY MENDILOW

A citizen of Israel, Great Britain and the United States, Mendilow spent his most formative years playing hopscotch between continents when his musician-turned professor father was invited to a succession of teaching posts. From early childhood on, most aspects of his life were a cultural, linguistic and musical mix. He grew up participating in late night song circles and living room concerts with local musicians in his different homes, whether in Jerusalem or Johannesburg and whether the songs were Israeli, South African, English or American. At ten, Guy joined the renowned American Boychoir and kept traveling, touring internationally and domestically and performing some two hundred concerts a year in venues like Carnegie Hall. Since age fifteen, Guy continues to immerse himself in new cultures, seeking opportunities to learn languages and collaborate with instrument builders and performers. To date, he has lived and performed in South Africa, Israel, Taiwan, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and the United States. He sings in six tongues and is fluent in four.

An accomplished educator Guy is deeply committed to teaching leadership and communication skills through music, Guy leads workshops, teacher trainings and residencies at schools across the United States and Brazil and presents at such conferences as the New Jersey Montessori Administrators Council Conference, the Conference on Alternatives in Jewish Education at Duke University, and the Conference on Social Healing through the Arts in Boston. He also collaborates with international mediation organizations like Seeds of Peace, which works with Israeli and Palestinian youth, teen leadership projects like the Breakthrough Collaborative, and social justice efforts like Jaymes Fund for Social Justice. Mendilow holds a Masters in Music and international Dalcroze Eurhythmics certification from the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA.