Choir

Introduction

Makhelat Micha’el: The Mishkan Shalom Community Choir meets weekly on Tuesdays from 7:30 to 9:30 in the Chapel. It is open to any singers interested in our repertoire and approach. Non-Mishkan members, including
non-Jews, are welcome to join.

We began as a choir assembled by Rabbi/Cantor Liz Bolton for the ceremony after the death in 1998 of longtime Mishkan singer Michael Litan. Liz named the group Makhelat Micha'el (Michael's choir). Conductor/composer Janice Hamer took over in 1999 and has been with us since. Jan brings a remarkable musical background, with a Ph.D. in composition from the City University of New York, and a Masters in conducting from Westminster Choir College. She was the choral director at Haverford and Bryn Mawr Colleges, has taught at the Curtis Institute of Music and is currently teaching at Swarthmore College. She is writing an opera based on a Holocaust memoir commissioned by American Opera Projects and is the recipient of numerous awards.

Repertoire and Concerts

Our repertoire is broad; we explore all branches of Jewish choral music, from the classical composers (Rossi,Mendelssohn, etc.) to contemporary American, Israeli and other Jewish pieces. We maintain a continuing repertoire of arrangements of Yiddish, Ladino, Yemenite and other "ethnic minority" works.

Our recent work includes musical settings of the Psalms and Song of Songs. We also perform peace and freedom songs, and have performed in Arabic as part of several Middle East peace concerts. We have also premiered several works by members of the choir and of Mishkan.

This may be the only choir that sings in Hebrew, English, Yiddish, Ladino, Zulu, and Arabic!! Concerts have included such events as the Thanksgiving Northwest Interfaith Movement service, a performance at the Lovett Memorial Library in Mt. Airy with the Summit Presbyterian Church Choir, Delaware Valley Jewish Choral Festival, a collaboration with a local African-American church, a collaboration with Intercultural Journeys (an ensemble of Arab and Jewish musicians), a service during the Gay Pride Festival, participation with Mothers Against Violence and with the Philadelphia Interfaith Peace Walk, performances at retirement communities and many Mishkan events.

In short, we are a community choir that works on and performs a concert repertoire while also contributing music suitable for peace and justice events to the greater Philadelphia community. A warm, extended-family atmosphere makes the choir socially enjoyable as well as musically challenging.

Joining

If you are interested in joining the choir, come visit us during one of our Tuesday evening rehearsals and see if you'd like to sing with us. Jan will hear all prospective singers informally, to make sure you have a musical ear and the potential for musical growth. Non-sight-readers as well as more advanced musicians will be considered.

Please contact Jan Hamer with any questions.