It has been decades since 蜜柚直播鈥檚 Jewish community has come together on one stage, but this weekend, a choir of 30 along with cantors and cantorial soloists from seven 蜜柚直播 Jewish congregations will join voices to perform the world premiere of a new Hanukkah choral work composed by one of their own.
鈥淪omething like this, where everyone is performing at the same concert, has not been done for a very long time,鈥 said Robert Lopez-Hanshaw, the architect behind the Saturday, Dec. 8, performance of his 鈥淐hanukah Cantata.鈥 He composed the piece and will conduct on Saturday.
Over the past five or so years, several Jewish congregations have collaborated on smaller performances. But this is by far the biggest effort, involving:
- A 30-voice choir comprised of choristers from seven 蜜柚直播 synagogues as well as SaddleBrooke鈥檚 Institute for Jewish Studies and Services.
- About an equal number of instrumentalists from the Southern 蜜柚直播 Symphony Orchestra.
- Nine solo voices, including Rabbi and Cantor Avi Alpert from Congregation Bet Shalom and cantorial soloist Nichole Chorny from Anshei Israel.
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鈥淚鈥檝e talked to some oldsters who say 鈥 and maybe they are exaggerating 鈥 they say the last time that happened was in the 鈥60s or 鈥70s,鈥 said Lopez-Hanshaw. 鈥淥ther than not having enough Hanukkah music, the other impetus was to get the whole community involved.鈥
Robert Lopez-Hanshaw, a composer, has written a 45-minute piece called The Chanukah Cantata that will be performed on the seventh night of Hanukkah at the Jewish Community Center. Hanshaw poses for a photo in his home on Nov. 19, 2018.
Lopez-Hanshaw, whose music career included participating in the 蜜柚直播 Symphony Orchestra鈥檚 Young Composers Project as a teen and playing in the popular 蜜柚直播 pop band Sun Bones, drew on biblical texts in Hebrew and Aramaic to tell the Hanukkah story 鈥渋n a way that I hadn鈥檛 seen done before,鈥 he said.
Unlike traditional Hanukkah cantatas that tell the story through historical characters, Lopez-Hanshaw used the texts to create a discussion and a debate of the significance of Hanukkah and its role in history. Set to what he describes as 鈥減retty lively music鈥 that invites people to connect to the work, Lopez-Hanshaw said he can see the piece having a future in the Hanukkah repertoire.
鈥淭here is not enough new music for Hanukkah, I feel, especially not a lot that is known,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 would love to get this performed in Israel and whatever American cities we can get.鈥
鈥淭he music is very challenging and there鈥檚 deep meaning behind the texts he chose and even the music itself,鈥 said Chorny, who has worked for months on the project with Lopez-Hanshaw. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very interesting arrangements. I think the audience will enjoy it.鈥
Dale Whitmore, cantorial soloist and chorus manager of the Southern 蜜柚直播 Symphony Chorus, center, works with Southern 蜜柚直播 Symphony Orchestra chorus members Nancy Anderson, left, and Sherry Jameson during a rehearsal.
Chorny, a 蜜柚直播 native who has been the cantorial soloist at Anshei Israel since 2014, doesn鈥檛 recall having as many cantors and cantorial soloists come together for one event while she was growing up. She said it sends a message of unity and 鈥渃ollaboration,鈥 one of celebrating diversity and differences. Most important, it sends a message of community.
鈥淐oming together through music is a beautiful way to show that community,鈥 she said.
And that message is needed now more than ever.
As the 蜜柚直播 production was coming together, the world watched in horror on Oct. 27 as the news unfolded of a lone gunman bursting into Pittsburgh鈥檚 Tree of Life Synagogue in the sleepy little enclave of Squirrel Hill and gunning down 18 people; 11 of them died.
Lopez-Hanshaw said the horrific and violent anti-Semitic mass shooting made him even more determined to bring the 蜜柚直播 community together.
Violinist Sheryll McManus of the Southern 蜜柚直播 Symphony Orchestra marks her music. Composer Robert Lopez-Hanshaw says that after a shooting in October at a synagogue in a Pittsburgh suburb, the work 鈥渢ook on this entirely new life.鈥 It features nine solo voices.
鈥淎fter Pittsburgh, it took on this entirely new life,鈥 he said, adding that his initial inclination after hearing about the Pittsburgh murders was to 鈥渢ry and exhibit some solidarity and try to heal a little.鈥
鈥淓verybody鈥檚 reaction is different, but the one I kind of most identify with is to be more Jewish鈥 in the face of Jewish oppression and anti-Semitism, he said, and 鈥渢ry to offer everybody a chance to show up in defiance to these type of events.鈥
Robert Lopez-Hanshaw, musical director at Temple Emanu-El, conducts a rehearsal for an upcoming performance of his 鈥淐hanukah Cantata.鈥 The event features cantors and other vocalists from 蜜柚直播鈥檚 multiple congregations and members of the Southern 蜜柚直播 Symphony Orchestra.
Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com or 573-4642. On Twitter @Starburchs
Cathalena E. Burch
Reporter
