Dreidles, Doughnuts and other delights
posted 21 August 2004

Wednesday 15 December 2004 (Chanukah) 6.15pm

The Jewish Youth Choir conducted by Vivienne Bellos
Cantor Stephen Robins and the Choir of Woodside Park
Synagogue Music for the Jewish Festival of lights and other songs
Barbican Art Gallery, Silk Street, London EC2
Entrance free

One of a series of four concerts to accompany the Daniel Libeskind Exhibition
Find out about the other concerts taking place

The Jewish Youth Choir, based in North London, was set up in 1996 by Vivienne Bellos to develop a youth choir with Jewish repertoire to a very high level for concert performance. Their first major event was at the Barbican where they performed in a major Choral Pageant 'Vanished Voices' which highlighted synagogue music in Central Europe before the war. At this performance they joined seven distinguished international soloists and a mixed choir of over a hundred singers. They are the ensemble of choice to open showings of the Anne Frank in the World Exhibition. They have appeared at many Fundraising dinners and at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in a concert of American Jewish Music.

The Jewish Youth Choir welcomes new members between the ages of eight and fifteen. Rehearsals are on Wednesday from 5.00pm—6.30pm. Contact v.bellos[at]jmi.org.uk, for details.

Tonight they sing a medley of songs for Chanukah, the Festival of lights as well as music from their varied repertoire of Jewish song.

Cantor Stephen Robins and the Choir of Woodside Park Synagogue
Cantor Stephen Robins ARCM is one of just a handful of cantors who trained with the late Rev L Bryll in a full time course at the London Jews College — now the London School of Jewish Studies (LSJS). After graduating from the College in 1975, he studied voice and repertoire with Mark Raphael, a senior lecturer of the Royal College of Music.

He has held two major full time positions first at Wembley Synagogue for 12 years and later at Edgware Synagogue for 11 years. In 1997, he decided to work free-lance in order to expand his career internationally, mainly in Canada and America. He has held a secondary post as Chazan to the Shaar Hashomayim Synagogue in Montreal, where he has conducted New Year and Day of Atonement Services for the last seven years.

Cantor Robins has appeared on both ITV and BBC television over the past few years and has made several CDs, including important Passover and Sabbath recordings in the Anglo-Jewish Tradition. His CD A Taste of Shabbat, was issued by his own synagogue in Woodside Park. He has performed at major concerts both in this country and abroad.

Stephen is recognised as a leading teacher of Nusach Hatefilah, (prayer motifs) and has taught at Jews College (now the LSJS) for the last 15 years. He is now the tutor in Cantorial music at the Jewish Music Institute's School of Jewish Liturgical Music where he gives a course in the modes and melodies of the synagogue prayers each Wednesday evening. These classes are open to the public.

This year, Stephen will be conducting Rosh Hashanah (New Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) Services at Woodside Park Synagogue, North Finchley, where he has been the part-time cantor for the last 4 years. For the first time, this year, under the Guidance of Stephen Robins, a male voice choir is being established, from members of the synagogue, to accompany him in the High Holyday services. This is an exciting development for the synagogue and Simon Appleman, the Tuba playing Head of Music at the JFS School, conducts the 12—16 enthusiastic choristers.

This concert at the Barbican is the first time that the choir will have performed outside of its home territory. Stephen Robins and the Choir will perform a seasonal and festive programme of solo and choral works celebrating Jewish joys and sorrows.

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