The Vienna Jewish Choir, which plays a vital part in making Jewish culture an integral part of life in Vienna again, hosted in the Austrian capital the first European Jewish Choral Festival with a comprehensive repertoire of Yiddish, Hebrew, and Ladino songs.
Hundreds of Jewish and non-Jewish singers from across Europe out of 18 groups gathered for this 4-day event - which drew some 1,500 spectators over the weekend.
The festival, under the patronage of Austria’s Federal President, Heinz Fischer, is sponsored by the European Jewish Parliament, the European Jewish Union and the Jewish Community of Vienna.
In addition to concerts, the singers took part in intensive workshops to increase cultural exchange, learn specifically about techniques of Jewish music under the guidance of renowned teachers and exchange views on their interpretations of Jewish music.
Roman Grinberg, head of the Vienna Jewish Choir, founded in 1989, who hosted the Festival, said it “brings together these many initiatives in Vienna to a great musical fireworks.”
The highlight of the festival was the gala concert "Shir LaShalom - A Song for Peace" at the Austria Center Vienna. It saw 400 vocalists from Jewish choirs from 16 European cities perform the best pieces of their repertoires.
The event is to become an annual festival. Next year’s gathering is scheduled to take place in Rome and, the following year, in Paris.