June 03, 2005
Orthodox Choir to Sing in Wales
The Welsh Valleys will echo to the sound of traditional Jewish music in July 2005, when the first Orthodox choir from Israel participates in the 56th Llangollen International Eisteddfod. The Ramatayim Men’s Choir of Jerusalem has been invited to participate in thisprestigious international choral competition before, but the dates have usually prevented their attendance. For more information about Ramatayim, contact Sarah Manning: sarah@globalvisionsisrael.com MORE...
The reason they weren't able to attend before is that they cannot participate during the traditional Three
Weeks of Mourning for the Destruction of the Temple. This being a Jewish leap year,
however, they are coming to the UK to represent Israel, along with competitors from
more than 50 other countries.
“The Eisteddfod is a world-renowned festival dedicated to the promotion of peace and friendship through music, as well as the pursuit of choral excellence”, explains Ramatyim’s Muscial Director Richard Shavei-Tzion. “We believe that we are the first orthodox Jewish men’s choir to participate, and we are delighted to be able to bring our repertoire of classical Chazanut, Chassidic and Israel songs to Wales, to compete alongside the world’s best choirs.”
The Ramatayim Men’s Choir takes its name from the Ramot suburb of Jerusalem where it first started 10 years ago. Its 30 members originate from Israel, the UK, South Africa, Australia and the USA, and they have performed together in concert halls and
synagogues around Israel with some of the world’s leading Chazanim. While in Britain they will be giving concerts in Wembley for Spiro Ark and at Birmingham’s Israel Cultural Centre in aid of Magen David Adom.
Ramatayim has just released its debut CD, entitled “400 Years of Synagogue Music”, comprising a seletion of music composed by famous composers from the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.