Community unites together

CYNTHIA RAMSAY

A capacity crowd of nearly 1,000 people filled the River Rock Casino Resort Theatre in Richmond last week. The energy of New York cantor and performer Sol Zim, the enthusiasm of the Vancouver Talmud Torah, Richmond Jewish Day School, King David High School and Vancouver Jewish Men’s choirs and the world-class sound of the 10-piece orchestra combined to make this community pre-Chanukah concert a success by every measure.

Spearheaded by the Louis Brier Jewish Aged Foundation and the Jewish Seniors Alliance, the Nov. 17 event brought together the breadth of the community. Zim’s electric performance charged the crowd, who were eager to participate, singing and clapping along to most numbers. The backdrop of the chanukiyah, created by VTT, RJDS, KDHS and Vancouver Hebrew Academy artists, added color to the stage and framed the musicians and singers perfectly.

As the audience took their seats, a video presentation showed the incredible preparations of the schoolchildren for the concert – making the chanukiyah and rehearsing the music. Unite2nite chair Marie Doduck then welcomed everyone and the show got underway. All of the singers were together for the first several songs. When Zim held the microphone up to various kids so that their voices could be heard, their excitement was visible.

Zim then performed on his own, followed by a couple of numbers by the men’s choir. The piece that Zim sang with the men’s choir actually involved the entire crowd, and the last number, “Am Yisrael Chai,” said it all.

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