Celebrate With Song 2011-A Sephardi Celebration

Are you a wannabe singer, but not sure that X-factor is quite the thing? Did you love choir at school, but found that adult life got in the way? Perhaps it is time to try something different.

If you fancy “dipping your toe in the water” by learning to sing a few pieces of music and joining the Zemel Choir in a concert, we would love to welcome you.

As one participant wrote after last year’s Celebrate with Song, ‘I was thrilled to bits when I found out what the programme was, and felt I had been given both the privilege and the opportunity to realise the dream of my life and take part in a choral concert.’

The music of the Sephardim has proven fascinating, beguiling and attractive to audiences throughout the world. It has inspired folk bands and composers of both choral and instrumental music, offering a glimpse into the world of Spanish Jewry many hundreds of years ago, and demonstrating the musical diversity of the Jewish diaspora. This music is the focus of the Zemel Choir’s 2011 Celebrate With Song, an event now in its fifth year and aimed at attracting new singers and new audiences to mixed-voice Jewish choral music. In previous years, we have presented workshops and concerts focussing on music from the shows, American Jewish music and music spanning the past ten centuries. This year, our repertoire will include music in Hebrew, Ladino and French, originating in countries including Italy, France, Spain, Israel, Yemen and Iraq. This year we are presenting a wider range of workshops than ever before, with separate sessions focussing on choral technique and vocal technique and an introduction to the history of Sephardi music. As in previous years, workshop participants will also perform in a public concert alongside the Zemel Choir.

Are you interested in singing? Do you enjoy the mellifluous melodies of Sephardi music? Would you like to learn more about voice technique and participating in a choir? If so, come and join us. This year’s event takes place at JFS (Kenton) on June 12^th and 26^th. Workshops will be led by experienced professional coaches, including the Zemel Choir’s Musical Director, Benjamin Wolf, Michael Cayton (a favourite with Celebrate With Song audiences) and Gareth Roberts, a former member of the BBC Singers and the chorus of the Royal Opera House.  Come and Sing!