Choir

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, Joshua Winestock
 

High Holiday Additional Voices

Jesse van Proctor, David Spicer
 

Choirmaster

Justin Green became Choirmaster in 2018. He has a Bachelor of Music Studies (Piano Performance) from the Conservatorium of Music, Sydney. As boys he and his brother Stuart sang with the North Shore Synagogue Choir under Simon Singer and Rev. Solly Goldberg.
 

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.