Kaufman Center Press Releases
Lucy Moses School announces the Auditions for Nashir! The Rottenberg Chorale are Being Held
Nashir! The Rottenberg Chorale are being held Tuesday, October 28 and Tuesday, February 10, 6pm. Call 212 501 3360 to sign up for an audition time. Join one of New York's finest amateur vocal ensembles dedicated to performing a wide range of Jewish repertoire that spans continents and centuries. Praised by the New York Times for the professional quality of its performers, Nashir! brings a sense of joy and passion to Jewish choral music and encompasses a repertoire that is both spiritual and whimsical.
Nashir!, which means “Let’s Sing!” in Hebrew, specializes in the music of the Jewish people in its many languages, including English, Hebrew, Yiddish and Ladino. The ensemble’s repertoire has included works by Salamone Rossi, Tzipora Jochsberger, Ben Steinberg, Samuel Adler, David Burger, Louis Lewandowski, Solomon Sulzer, Robert Applebaum, Yehezkel Braun, Handel, Schubert, Moshe Wilensky, Gil Aldema, Debbie Friedman, Charles Osborne, Joshua Jacobson, Matthew Lazar and others. Styles have included classical, Renaissance, folk, Sephardic, jazz, rock and gospel and ranged from a capella to pieces with thick instrumental accompaniment (including drums, guitar, trumpet, clarinet, flute, dumbek, saxophone, piano and bass).
Nashir! Artistic Director and Conductor Benjamin Gruder is also the founding and current director of Kol Rinah, a community choir in Westchester County and the High Holy Day conductor at the Society for the Advancement of Judaism in Manhattan. A trumpet player and bassist, he studied conducting at the University of Memphis and has performed in symphonic, jazz, ethnic and punk rock ensembles. In addition to arranging and composing choral and instrumental pieces, he created and produced Jonah! A Rock Musical, which has been performed in New York and the surrounding metropolitan area.
Nashir! will perform its annual concert in Kaufman Center’s Merkin Concert Hall on Sunday, June 14, 2009 at 8 pm. Other performances may be scheduled during the year. The 28 week chorale class meets on Tuesdays from 7:00 to 9:30 pm from November 4 through June 14, 2009. Fee: $215+ $35 music materials fee.
For information about Nashir! and other classes and programs at Kaufman Center’s Lucy Moses School, please call 212 501 3360 or visit kaufman-center.org.
Listings Information:
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center presents
AUDITIONS BEING HELD FOR:
NASHIR! THE ROTTENBERG CHORALE
Tuesday, October 28 and Tuesday, February 10, at 6pm
129 West 67th Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam)
About Kaufman Center
Kaufman Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to arts education and performance. Kaufman Center
comprises Lucy Moses School, one of the most respected community arts schools in the U.S.; Special Music
School, a New York City public school for musically gifted children; and the renowned Merkin Concert Hall. A
not-for-profit organization founded in 1952, Kaufman Center occupies its own facility, the award-winning
Goodman House, located in Manhattan’s Lincoln Square arts district. The center is an unsurpassed cultural
resource where people of all ages can experience the joy of artistic creation, expression and appreciation.