Sigma Alpha Iota

sai-national.org • SPRING 2016 • PAN PIPES 9 C D E H I J K N O P S T U X Y Z e San Diego Jewish Men's Choir (SDJMC) truly has something to be proud of. eir latest album, KOCHI, debuted at #3 on the Billboard Music Charts in June, and is now being played on 119 radio stations throughout the United States and Canada. e album, which is a musical celebration of the history of the Jews in India, received two Global Music Award medals, in addition to winning the Akademia Music Award for Best World Beat album this past month. But how did a group made up of 25-30 male volunteers get to achieve all of these things? ey will be the first to tell you that it took a woman to get them there! Artistic Director, and former Iota Delta chapter president, Ruth (Hertz) Weber has a Bachelor's Degree in Music from San Diego State University and Master's of Music Performance from California State University, Northridge. She has been active in teaching music on the university level for many years in addition to directing several college, church, community, and children's choirs. She was invited to lead the SDJMC choir, which sang liturgical and Hebrew folk music, on the retirement of its founding conductor, Rhoda Gaylis. Ruth Weber learned about the group when she was the organizer of several Jewish music festivals in San Diego. Admitting that at first she was a bit nervous about directing a men's choir, she took over the choir six years ago and found herself treated like "just one of the guys." She expanded the choir's repertoire to include Yiddish and Ladino folk melodies, and this enlarged its audience base. Some of their numbers now include "choralography" as well, which brings a new dimension to the performances. e group's mission is the preservation and promotion of Jewish music and they achieve this by performing at festivals, concerts, religious and community events, and through their outreach programs to senior homes and schools. Much of the music they perform is in danger of being lost, and it was for this very reason that the choir decided to begin making recordings of this music. KOCHI is the second of their albums and does something never done before with Jewish music. e album combines historic Jewish songs with traditional instruments from India in celebration of the rich history of the Jews in the land that has always welcomed them. Weber collaborated with Grammy award winning arrangers Ricky Kej and Vanil Veigas from Bangalore, India, and Danny Flam, a brass arranger from New York, to create this unique blend of musical flavors. It is interesting to learn that at one time there were over 70,000 Jews living in India. e majority of them immigrated there to escape persecution in other lands. In the little fishing village of Kochi (known as Cochin in the U.S.) in the state of Kerala, India, there were once 5,000 Jews. e Jews were welcomed and encouraged to live and worship freely as they wished. On Synagogue Lane in Jew Town, an area outside of Kochi, two synagogues were built. One synagogue is still in use today and the other is presently undergoing reconstruction. ere are currently no Jewish children in Kochi, and only a small Jewish population remains, but the schools still close on the Jewish holidays in honor of the Jews that once lived there. In the spirit of "Tikkun Olam," (Repairing the World,) the choir donates part of the proceeds from the sale of the KOCHI album to the Gabriel Project Mumbai. is is a Jewish Global Distribution project providing nutrition, literacy support, and basic health care needs to thousands of children in the slums of Mumbai. More information about the project is available at gabrielprojectmumbai.org. Giving back to the community is not something new for the San Diego Jewish Men's Choir. e choir donated hundreds of copies of their first album, HERITAGE, to schools, senior centers, and libraries so that this music could be preserved and enjoyed by many who hold the music dear, and passed on to future generations. e choir also performs at local senior homes and community centers as part of their outreach program. e group has now begun work on several other recording projects and is in the process of organizing its first tour, as well. KOCHI by the San Diego Jewish Men's Choir is available for purchase on Amazon and iTunes, and can also be streamed on Spotify. SAIS IN ACTION SAI Alumna Leads Men's Choir to Success Iota Delta initiate Ruth Hertz Weber is Artistic Director of the San Diego Jewish Men's Choir. FOR MORE INFORMATION about SDJMC, visit sdjmc.org

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