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Triangle Jewish Chorale

The Triangle Jewish Chorale learns and performs music dating from the Middle Ages to the 21st Century. It is open to singers from the entire Jewish community in Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary and Raleigh. The Chorale has two songs included on the "Dixie Diaspora" cd, a compilation of Jewish music from the Triangle area.
MEMBERSHIP IN THIS GROUP IS OPEN TO ALL WHO:

want to sing and perform Jewish music in various languages including Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino, and English;
who can sing in tune and listen to others at the same time;
who are willing to put in the time to learn their parts;
who are responsible and committed enough to attend rehearsals with great regularity!!
TO SING WITH US:

You do not have to be able to sight read (but bring a tape recorder).
You do not have to endure a formal audition.
You do not need to be affiliated with any Jewish organization.
You don't have to be Jewish.

Upcoming Concerts on our current schedule:

* Sunday, Dec.6, 2009 3:00pm, Hillel House in Chapel Hill

* Tuesday, May 2, 2010, ~3pm, Cedars of Chapel Hill

* Tuesday, May 11, 2010, 7:30pm,Gathering Place at Fearington, Pittsboro

HOW WE ARE ORGANIZED:

Rehearsals are held 7:30-9:30 pm, every Tuesday(barring holidays), from September to June.
Rehearsals are currently held at Beth El Congregation (1004 Watts Street at corner of Watts and Markham)in Durham.
We perform about 3-5 times a year.
We sing secular and religious music, ancient and contemporary. Some is unaccompanied, but we often use piano, percussion, instruments played by members. Sometimes we perform with members of the band Mappamundi.
Costs: Dues are $50/year; cost of music under copyright.
Our founder and general manager is Gayla Halbrecht
Our (brand new) conductor this year is Tom Moore,(click for brief bio).
Our wonderful accompanist is Gary Berman.

CONTACT/MEMBERSHIP INFO:

We prefer to bring new members into rehearsal only twice a year near the beginning of each new 'season'(September, January).
Our first rehearsal for the Fall is on September 1. Contact us beforehand for music.
For membership questions contact Bernard Most or 919-493-1288.

WE HAVE A LOT OF FUN!

TJC just before performing for the Chavurah in Fearington, May 2009.

We are available for special occasions...
For more information, contact our manager Gayla Halbrecht.

Introducing our new conductor, Professor Doctor Tom Moore:
Tom Moore has been the Music Librarian at Duke University since April 2007, where he also directed the Collegium Musicum from Sept. 2007 to May 2009. He came to Duke from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he was Visiting Foreign Professor in the Graduate Program in Music at the University of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO), and co-director of the Camerata Quantz, the early music ensemble for UNIRIO. He sang in the Symphonic Choir of Rio under the direction of Julio Moretzsohn. Before moving to Brazil he sang with Pomerium Musices and Concert Royal in New York, and directed La Fenice and the Dunstable Singers in Boston. He also performs extensively on baroque flute, modern flute, and recorder, with compact discs of chamber music by Telemann and Boismortier to his credit.
Archived excerpts of performances of TJC may be viewed at Jewish Sparks.

Review: "A Chanukah Party at Temple Beth Or"
By Ken Hoover (http://www.cvnc.org/reviews/2004/december/TJC.html)
"Chanukah, Oh Chanukah, come light the Menorah
Let's have a party, we'll all dance the hora"
~ Traditional Chanukah Song

The Triangle Jewish Chorale set the mood for a Chanukah party on the afternoon of December 5 at Temple Beth Or in Raleigh. The Chorale is made up of members of the Jewish communities of Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Cary and is conducted by Jane Peppler and accompanied by Gary Berman. The choristers, drawn together by their love of singing, have ranged from college students to professors, business people and retirees. This is not a polished group, but what it lacks in refinement is made up for in individual talents and the infectious enthusiasm of all.
The program included many traditional Jewish songs, most of them related to the celebration of Chanukah. Some were sung in Hebrew, some in Yiddish, a few in the unique Spanish/Hebrew blend of the Sephardim, and a few in English. The concert was informal, with several selections on a printed sheet inviting audience participation. While the only Yiddish this gentile knows is "Oy vey," it was a delight to try to sing along with "Khanukah, oy Khanukah, a yomtev, a sheyner, Alustiker, a freylekher, ...." With the patience and persistence of Peppler, I was actually able to get most of the sylables in after the third or fourth time the chorus came around.
Of note on the program were several songs of Naomi Shemer, who passed away this past summer. She was truly Israel�s greatest songwriter, depicting the love of the land, its history, and the unifying belief that the people of Israel are one. Her song "Yerushalayim Shel Zahav" ("Jerusalem of Gold") became second only to the National anthem, "Hatikvah." She lived for many years at a Kibbutz in the Kinneret, writing songs about the daily lives of Israelis. Especially beautiful were two songs near the end of the first half of the concert � "Kineret," a song about the lake region and a girl of the same name, and "Shir Aviv," a song about the coming of spring and the beauty of the land.
Bernie Most sang with panache a delightful rendition from the Yiddish theater � "Itsik Shpitsik." The addition of Jean Ritchie's "Now is the Cool of the Day" and Stephen Foster's "Hard Times", complemented the wistful modal lilt of the traditional Jewish tunes. There were instrumental contributions from violin, squeeze box, clarinet, recorder, harmonica, and a chorus of kazoos. Berman is an excellent accompanist, and he announced that he was not responsible for the sticking damper on the piano that allowed one note to vibrate longer than it should have. This is a very talented group and they made it a thoroughly delightful afternoon.
In the inviting sanctuary at Temple Beth Or, sitting before the gorgeous woodwork of the Ark of the Covenant, containing the scrolls, one could feel at home in the world we all have been given to share. The clear glass windows at the front are a reminder that the Temple is a part of the world, not apart from it, that the community of God is in the world as God's representatives. Chanukah is a holiday that celebrates an event in which the Almighty demonstrated that He is here with his people and able to accomplish miraculous things for us and through us. Happy Chanukah. Happy holidays to all.

Triangle Jewish Chorale Makes Its Mark on Cultural Calendar
By Martin Lakin
The Triangle Jewish Chorale is no longer just a group of folks who like to get together to sing Jewish songs. Fresh from a triumphant appearance at the Carolina Theater in Durham at the second annual N.C. Jewish Film Festival, the chorale is acknowledged as having made its mark on our region's cultural calendar. For four years now, the chorale, founded by Gayla Halbrecht, conducted by Jane Peppler, and accompanied by Gary Berman on piano, has been giving performances in synagogues and temples as well as for secular civic occasions.
The chorale has regularly performed at Yom HaShoah, Holocaust commemorations, Hannukkah celebrations and other events sponsored by the Durham-Chapel Hill Jewish Federation and its agency, Jewish Family Service. You may have heard the group in performance at celebrations of Israel Independance Day, at installation banquets and at special meetings in the Triangle Area.
The Triangle Jewish Chorale has grown to more than thirty members who rehearse twice monthly and plan their offerings to include diverse elements of Jewish music, such as Hebrew melodies from Israel, Yiddish songs from Eastern Europe and from immigrants to the U.S., Ladino songs that were sung by descendants of Jews expelled from Spain and Portugal in 1492, and even some songs in mixed languages, such as Yiddish and Russian.
You've not yet heard the chorale in concert? Don't be the only one in your Chavurah or social group who hasn't been to one of these performances. If you want to enhance your standing with your friends, get your synagogue or temple or other Jewish organization to call Gayla Halbrecht at 620-0546 about being included in our schedule of forthcoming concerts.

Triangle Jewish Chorale rehearses at Beth El (2009)
Original site created by Jane Peppler. Current editor Bernard Most