Sophie Berkal-Sarbit
WINNIPEG — In just three short years, Sophie Berkal-Sarbit has graduated from playing leads in elementary school productions to singing with big bands in Winnipeg and Toronto.

The 14-year-old has a number of jazz gigs coming up this summer. On June 18, she was to perform at the Winnipeg Jazz Festival as the vocalist for the Manitoba High School Big Band at Old Market Square.

On June 25, she will be performing at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto for the TD Canada Trust Toronto Jazz Festival. On July 14, she’s back in Winnipeg to appear at the Canwest Global Jazz Concert with Walle Larson and Rick Boughton. On July 30, she makes a return trip to Toronto for the Beaches Jazz Festival. In August, she has been booked to sing in Winnipeg with both the Walle Larson Big Band and the Ron Paley Big Band.
Berkal-Sarbit is a granddaughter of Rabbi Louis Berkal, who for more than 50 years was the much-loved cantor at Shaarey Zedek Synagogue, Winnipeg’s largest congregation.

The youngster started singing in Grade 4. Her vocal interests at first were musical theatre numbers.

“My dad [nationally known investment analyst Larry Sarbit] has a large jazz collection,” she said. “One day three years ago, he had me listen to some of the music. I really got into it.”
While she still enjoys musical theatre, she said, right now she sings strictly jazz.

Berkal-Sarbit made an impressive debut in the world of jazz two years ago when the young singer won in the best Broadway vocalist category in the New York International Music Festival, which was held in Las Vegas. The showcase aims to help new singers and bands break into the music business.

Berkal-Sarbit competed against 200 other performers, almost all of them adults. Her mother, Harriet, said she received a standing ovation at the end of her performance.

To be eligible for the New York Festival, Berkal-Sarbit had to submit a demo CD with jazz and Broadway numbers. With accordionist Shayla Fink of the Klezmer group Finjan accompanying her, Berkal-Sarbit recorded a CD titled Drop Everything – Have a Listen.

After Las Vegas, she played the Los Angeles leg of the festival, which opened with a celebrity gala evening with performers, artists and filmmakers. She sang in front of distributors, record producers and talent agency personnel, as well as international media representatives.

Currently, she flies to Toronto once a month to study with vocal coach Elaine Overhalt. She is also looking forward to putting out her first album soon.

“I’m really excited about appearing at the upcoming jazz festivals,” Berkal-Sarbit said. “I love singing with big bands.”
She also enjoys singing with her zaida at the Sharon Home, Winnipeg’s Jewish nursing home