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Info/ Book us/ Audio/ Photos/ Scores/ Members only - London Jewish Male Choir |
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Press ReleaseLondon Jewish Male Choir Visit Poland - 4th Sept 2001The London Jewish Male Choir made history on Monday 3rd September 2001 when it performed to an audience of over 1200 in the 17th Century synagogue in Breslau as part of the 'Wratislavia Cantans' Festival. The Synagogue is in the process of being completely renovated by the Polish Government. Due to financial restraints the festival organisers could only invite 15 members of the 45 strong choir to participate. The event itself is one of the most prestigious in Eastern Europe and is the only Polish festival, which is a member of "The European Festivals Association", which includes The Edinburgh International Festival, The Bayreuth Festival and The Salzburg Festival to name a few. The Polish and international audience, which filled the ancient synagogue to capacity, heard a 90-minute program covering the spectrum of Jewish music – Liturgical, Cantorial, Ladino, Chassidic Yiddish and Israeli. Polish National Television recorded the concert in its entirety for broadcast later on in the year. The choir received a standing ovation from the predominantly non-Jewish and musically knowledgeable audience, which lasted for more than 5 minutes and which was repeated following the Choir’s encore. Other notable participants in the 10-day festival included the City of London Sinfonia, The Strasbourg Philharmonic and the Paco Pena ensemble. The President of the Jewish community stated that the performance of a Jewish choir would help in the regeneration of Jewish culture and identity, which had been eradicated by the Nazis. The choir’s Musical Director Clive Hyman said that his lasting memory was seeing the President of the 500 strong Breslau Jewish community in tears as he remarked that the last time the Synagogue was filled to capacity was Yom Kippur 1939 prior to the Holocaust in which more than 90% of Polish Jewry perished". For further info contact Clive Hyman on 07850 010181 |
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