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Welcome to The Zemel Choir's 50th Anniversary Concert The Zemel Choir is delighted to welcome you to this evening of celebration. For fifty years it has performed the best of Jewish choral music to audiences in the UK and beyond, and has held a place at the heart of Jewish music in this country. Tonight we wish to celebrate this long history. The Zemel Choir was founded by Dudley Cohen in 1955, its name an acronym based on the Hebrew for North-West London (Tsaphon Ma'arav London). It has been based there ever since. The choir is particularly delighted to welcome Dudley, and his wife Joan, as participants in this concert. We would also like to extend a warm welcome to all the choir's subsequent Musical Directors - Geoffrey Simon, Antony Saunders, Malcolm Singer, Robert Max and Vivienne Bellos, each of whom has contributed so much to the choir's history. The Zemel Choir has always prided itself on being as much a family as a choir. In the audience there are many former members of the choir who have come from both far and near. We are thrilled to see so many familiar faces joining us for this very special event. We would also like to welcome Jeremy Menuhin, one of the choir's distinguished patrons. We remember with great affection his father Yehudi, (Lord) Menuhin, who held that same position for so many years. Jewish simchas often include a note of sadness, and so we also fondly recall the family and friends who are unable to be with us tonight. This evening's concert will include many old favourites from the choir's extensive repertoire, starting with Louis Lewandowski's rousing setting of Halleluyah (Psalm 150), which has been performed under the baton of every one of the choir's Musical Directors. Each of them will be directing the Choir later this evening in a selection of items personally chosen by them. We are also pleased to be able to present first performances of three pieces composed especially for this evening by Dudley Cohen, Malcolm Singer and Chonon Lewis, a former member of the Choir. Last, but not least, we welcome many friends and followers - those who have faithfully attended our concerts over many years, and those attending for the first time. Without the support of our audiences there would be no point, and we hope you will enjoy this evening's performance, and that we will see you at many future concerts. Finally, a note of thanks - many people have been involved in preparing for this concert. We cannot list them all here, but we are extremely grateful for all that they have done in creating this event. We hope that you will enjoy the fruits of their labour, as you join us in celebrating 50 years of the Zemel Choir.
Philip Roth Benjamin Wolf |
