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April 25, 2003
Sheba Choir joins celebration
Shlomo Gronich and Ethiopian singers come here for Yom Ha'atzmaut.
CYNTHIA RAMSAY SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
Music lovers will get to see one of Israel's foremost composers
and choirs when Shlomo Gronich and the Sheba Choir come to Vancouver
next month to perform at the community's Yom Ha'atzmaut celebration.
The Sheba Choir, which is made up of children, 12 to 17, is drawn
from the Ethiopian Jewish community, mostly new immigrants to Israel,
who now live in the Netanya area. It was established in 1991 by
Gronich, an internationally renowned musician and composer, who
continues to serve as artistic director and solo performer with
the group.
Operation Moses in 1985 and Operation Solomon in 1991 enabled the
immigration of the Ethiopian Jews to Israel. In the late 1980s,
Israel Television was producing a special program about these Jews.
One of the producers asked Gronich if he would help out, and he
agreed. He met with 40 children and, after an audition of sorts,
he chose six of them to sing for the TV program.
These six became the Sheba Choir. Currently, there are 15 members
– 10 girls and five boys. The youngest children are in sixth
grade, the oldest are high school seniors.
"After high school graduation, they all do military service
or the alternative National Service," said Dalya Meidan, the
group's manager. "National Service is an alternative program,
mainly for religious girls. They work in hospitals, health clinics
or public schools rather than military service."
This poses some challenges for the choir, as they are constantly
training new children. As well, Gronich is involved in many other
musical projects.
Gronich spent his military service as a professional musician –
creating original arrangements and compositions for various Israel
Defence Forces musical groups. He is a graduate of the Academy of
Music in Tel-Aviv, as well as the Mannes College of Music in New
York.
To date, Gronich has released 15 recordings as a soloist and been
involved with numerous presentations in which he was featured as
a composer, singer, pianist and/or musical arranger. He has been
commissioned to write compositions by diverse groups, from classical
to theatre, from film themes to ballet scores. He has been awarded
by his peers many times for his talents.
Gronich performs regularly as a soloist in Israel and throughout
the world. But the Sheba Choir is his "pride and joy,"
said Meidan. The choir's repertoire includes original music composed
by Gronich, which is based on the rhythms and melodies of Ethiopian
music brought over by the children and traditional Jewish music.
Some of the lyrics are taken from biblical sources, traditional
prayers or Ethiopian folk songs. The songs tell the story of the
flight to Israel and the difficulties of absorption into Israeli
society.
The choir was featured at the opening ceremonies of the World Zionist
Congress in Brussels, Belgium, in 1992. The first Gronich and Sheba
Choir album was released in 1993. They have sung at the Lincoln
Centre in New York, the Rome Music Festival, the Shimon Peres Centre
for Peace, in London, England, several cities in the United States,
East Germany, Uruguay and many other places.
In 1994, their music video for the song "Hot Soil" won
first place in the Israel Music Video Contest and sixth place in
the European MTVision (Music Video) Contest. In 1995, they were
awarded a Gold Record for selling more than 20,000 copies of their
first album.
In their Vancouver performance, the choir's repertoire will include
"The Journey to the Land of Israel" and "The Stork
Song" with lyrics by Haim Idissis; "Memories of Africa"
by Shlomo Mashiah; "Israeli Song" by Ehud Manor; and "Hot
Soil" by the children of the Sheba Choir.
"The Journey to the Land of Israel" is the best-known
song of the Sheba Choir, and has become the unofficial anthem of
Israel's Ethiopian community. It tells the story of the hardship
and fear faced by Ethiopian Jews during Operation Moses, the secret
trek through the deserts of Sudan on their way to the Promised Land.
One verse reads:
"Through the moonlight, her face shining clear / Looking at
me, Mama don't disappear / How I wish you were here / You would
show them it's true / That I'm one of them, that I'm really a Jew.
"In a while you'll see / We'll be saved, we'll be free / Never
rest until you come to Jerusalem."
While Gronich and the choir have been to Canada before – Montreal
and Toronto – they have never been to Vancouver.
"We are all very excited," said Meidan of their upcoming
stop in the city.
While in North America, the choir will be performing in Denver,
Colo., on May 1 and in Austin, Tex., May 3 and 4. They return home
after their Vancouver engagement.
This year's Yom Ha'atzmaut concert celebrates Israel's 55th Independence
Day. It takes place May 6, 7:30 p.m., at the Chan Centre for the
Performing Arts at the University of British Columbia. Tickets are
$12 and parking is free. For tickets, contact the Jewish Federation
of Greater Vancouver at 604-257-5100 or TicketMaster at 604-280-4444
or www.ticketmaster.ca.
For more information, contact Cory Bretz at 604-257-5100 or visit
www.jfgv.com.
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