The Great Synagogue Choir
Great Voices
The Great Synagogue Choir enhances the beauty of the prayer service, and its weekly performances are considered one of the shule's highlights. You can hear the choir and our magnificent Chazzan, Rabbi Menachem Feldman sing every Shabbat morning, during the High Holidays and at other Festival evenings and mornings during the year. Other special choral services include the Law Service in February and Sefirat HaOmer (the evening service for the Counting of the Omer) during Pesach.
Tradition & Repertoire
Our all-male choir follows the unique tradition of western Jewish choral music, especially as it developed in Britain and Australia, creating a modern and specifically Australian expression of Minhag Anglia (the English liturgical style and custom). The current repertoire draws from classic and contemporary sources; liturgical composers from the 19th century such as Lewandowski, Sulzer, Naumbourg and Mombach can be heard alongside Alman, Rosenblatt, Herstik, Glass, Finkelstein and Goldstein. Our own cantors, choirmasters and choristers have also contributed their own arrangements of traditional pieces over the decades.
Voices
Simon Alperstein, Joseph Ginges, Robert Green, Ezra Hersch, Jacques Klein, Jackson Ryder, Gilad Serafim, Alex Walter.
High Holiday Additional Voices
Jesse van Proctor, David Spicer
Choirmaster
Joshua Weinstock became Choirmaster in 2023 after several years as a member of the Choir.
History
The Great Synagogue Choir has been singing since the shule was founded in 1878. Rabbi Francis Lyon Cohen, Chief Minister from 1905 to 1934, happened to also be a distinguished musicologist and had a major impact on the choral tradition. Until 1975 the Choir was comprised of male and female voices, but since then has been comprised of male voices only. For further reading on the history of the Choir and music at The Great, click here. Recent Choirmasters include Justin Green, Robert Teicher and Joseph Toltz.
Join the Choir!
The fellowship of the choir provides a safe, supportive and stimulating environment in which you can sing regularly and develop your musicianship. If you can read music, that is an advantage; if you can’t read music but have other musical strengths, you can certainly find a place in our choir.
We encourage you to sing with us; engaging through choral music builds confidence and familiarity with our tradition from a unique perspective.
Rehearsal
Regular rehearsal for Shabbat and other events is on Wednesdays 18:30 - 20:30
High Holiday music preparation begins after Shavuot.
Contact
If you or someone you know would enjoy singing with us, please be in touch.
Contact: 9267 2477 or choirmaster@greatsynagogue.org.au