A Chanukah extravaganza

CYNTHIA RAMSAY

At the upcoming concert Unite2nite, New York cantor and renowned performer of Jewish music Sol Zim will be joined by a 10-piece orchestra, the Vancouver Jewish Men’s Choir and singers from Vancouver Talmud Torah, Richmond Jewish Day School and King David High School.

Gordon Cherry, principal trombonist of the Vancouver Symphony and CBC Radio orchestras and leader of the Cherry Classics for more than 20 years, will be bandleader. He has handpicked his performers for the concert: Chris Startup (alto sax and clarinet), Saul Berson (alto sax), David Branter (tenor sax), Henry Christian (trumpet and flugelhorn), Ray Kirkham (trumpet), Rolf Barnes (piano and conductor), Lawrence Mollerup (electric bass), Gary Mussatto (drums), Ron Thompson (electric guitar) and himself on trombone.

“As with most out-of-town performers coming to perform in Vancouver,” Cherry explained to the Independent, “we will only have one 3.5-hour rehearsal in the afternoon with Cantor Zim and the choirs, with the show at 7. This seems like not much time, but the top professional musicians in town are used to sight-reading almost perfectly ... and playing at a very high level by the time of the concert.

“The ‘band’ won’t see Cantor Zim’s music till that afternoon’s rehearsal, so each musician brings in a whole lifetime of experience in performing and rehearsing many different styles of music and having practised their scales and other techniques for thousands of hours in order to pull off a show like this with seeming ease.... [A]ctually there is a lot of stress,” continued Cherry, “but musicians are used to this stress and feed off of it to make the concert an exciting one for themselves and the listeners. In a way, we are hooked on adrenaline,” he joked.

Cherry said that, while he has had to typeset some of the music, VTT choirmaster Elana Jacobson has done a “recording on piano of the accompaniment so that the kids and the teachers could rehearse their kids with the accompaniment, and then she did a version of it where she sang the vocal parts along with the piano, each part, so she did three separate recordings.”

He said there was concern as to whether all the singers were up for the task of learning all the music, but stressed, “The important thing is just that they’re participating and, if one or two of the kids happen to decide that this is an epiphany for them and that they’re going to be cantors or opera singers or who knows what, they’ll look back at the concert and say, ‘You know, that got me started, hearing Mr. Zim.’”

Cherry’s own epiphany came when he was seven or eight years old, at a Capt. Kangaroo Toronto Symphony concert. He said that the sound of all those musicians playing together inspired him. Less romantic was Cherry’s eventual choice of instrument. In Grade 6, he said, there was the selection of kids for string class, brass/concert band or choral for the next year. When a fellow student asked Cherry which instrument he would choose, he responded, “I think I’m going to play the trombone because I hear you need long arms.” Last month marked Cherry’s 50th anniversary on the trombone, and he has also conducted for almost as long, beginning in Grade 11 or 12.

While an engineer by profession, Stan Shear, conductor of the men’s choir, said, “I studied music. It was my main passion.... I did a lot of concert performances as a kid, as a pianist. I played in symphony concerts, concertos, and have a lot of experience in broadcasting and things like that, so I was quite well known in South Africa as a pianist, but it always took a second role – I had to earn a living.” However, Shear also took up singing and has been a professional chazzan (cantor) for about 25 years. “I gained a lot of experience in music as such, besides picking up a lot of other instruments at the same time, and becoming a ventriloquist and doing entertaining, which is what I like doing here in Vancouver.”

About the pre-Chanukah concert, Shear said, “We’re rehearsing very hard, the guys have been pulling their weight and we should be OK. We’re looking forward to it.”

Currently, there are about 15 members, but more singers would be very welcome, said Shear, who would like to see that number doubled. “People will not only participate in performing ... but they’ll have fun and they’ll get a lot of experience in music and in singing through being members of the choir.”

As with Cherry and Shear, VTT’s Jacobson also knew early in life that she wanted to be in music. In high school, she was part of a band and, traveling with that band, she grew more into music. However, she said she knew she loved music when, in Grade 7 at VTT, the grade put on Fiddler on the Roof and she begged to play piano at the show – it was her “first accompanying gig,” she said. “And I loved it! And that sprung this entire career really ... that single experience.”

Jacobson studied music at the University of British Columbia, majoring in piano, and, right out of university was hired at VTT. “I applied and gave it my all, and I’m just thrilled that they took a chance on me,” she said. Since she joined the staff, VTT has had a choir. Now called the Glee Club, there are 84 singers: 66 in Junior Glee, which includes kids in grades 1-4; and 18 in Senior Glee, grades 5-7. While the name change has helped membership, Jacobson said that she has never mentioned the TV program Glee because it’s not an appropriate show for the younger kids to watch. When they ask what glee is, Jacobson said she answers, “It’s a group of people that come together to sing. If you love to sing, come join Glee, so a lot of them came, and it’s really fun.”

The choirs practise once a week at lunch, there are no auditions and everyone is welcome, she said. The choir has some performance experience, including participating last year at Oakridge Centre’s Sound of the Season. For the upcoming concert featuring Zim and his compositions, Jacobson said, “I’ve given the main melody to the Junior Glee and I’ve given the harmony parts to the Senior Glee because they can the handle the harmony, because it’s harder, and then we’ll put it all together.”

The experience has been positive for the students so far, she continued. “The kids are loving the music,” she said, noting some of the songs – “Al Hanissim,” a Chanukah medley, “L’Dor V’Dor,” a song called “Celebration” – “and the kids love one song better than the next. Every time we learn a new song, they think that that one is their favorite and then they learn another one, and that one is now their favorite, so they’re really enjoying the music.”

All of the choirs will come together for the first time on Monday, Nov. 8, at KDHS. At that rehearsal, explained Jacobson, “We’re going to hopefully arrange how the kids are going to stand, get a proper order to make the 17th ... run smoothly. We’ll go through all the music and hopefully everyone will have learned all of the music by Nov. 8th. It’s kind of hard when you only see the kids 40 minutes once a week. It’s a lot of music to learn, but I trust that we’ll be able to do it.”

As with VTT, every student is welcome to join the RJDS Choir, which meets twice a week at lunch and also performs occasionally.

Diana Greenberg, who teaches kindergarten and music, said the choir – which comprises 25-30 kids from grades 2-6 – has only had a few rehearsals this year because of the High Holidays. Nonetheless, the students are very enthusiastic about the upcoming performance, she said. “They’re fantastic. They’re really gung-ho. They’re very animated about it. They’re loving it.”

She explained, “We’ve just been practising to get them into the inspiration of it all and today I did their vocal ranges and they’re amazing. Their pitch is great and they’re hearing it and they’re able to do it. We managed to create some harmonies the other day, so I was very impressed.

“We’re only doing two-part harmony right now,” she continued. “There’s one piece with three-part, but I don’t think we’ll manage that at this stage. It’s a lot of pressure to make the concert for Nov. 17th, considering we only meet for a limited time.... In the end, there’s a men’s choir ... and there are other schools involved, so I’m not too concerned. I want the children to have a positive sense of the experience and some confidence in themselves.”

While this is Greenberg’s first year teaching at RJDS, she has taught for many years. A music major with a master’s in performance and an education degree, Greenberg said about teaching music, “For me, it’s my first language, so I love it.”

KDHS’s Johnny Seguin is also new to his school, this being his first year as music teacher at the high school. He has a bachelor of music from McGill University with an additional two years of graduate work in sound recording. “During this time,” he told the Independent, “I participated in the McGill vocal ensemble and recorded many choirs around the city of Montreal.”

Seguin explained that, at this point, there is no KDHS choir – though he suggested that there might be a glee club in the near future. For the Zim concert, he said, five handpicked volunteers will participate: Jared Khalifa, Izzy Flader, Claire Riback, Shoshannah Nider and Sasha Kaye.

“These five young adults are eager to lend their vocal talent to the community,” said Seguin. “When all is said and done, I think that they’ll be impressed with the scope of this production and its purpose. This event is way bigger than they can imagine.”

Unite2nite takes place at the River Rock Casino Resort Theatre in Richmond on Wednesday, Nov. 17, 7 p.m. For tickets, call 604-261-5550 or 604-280-4444.

^TOP