The London Yiddish Choir is at the Museum – come join us!

by Robin Rubenstein,
Guest Blogger

This story begins like a Jewish joke: an Irish Jew, a
Russian Jew and an American Jew meet in a hall in West London…

In June 2009, I attended Shivaun Woolfson’s extraordinary
exhibition “Surviving History: Portraits from Vilna” at Spiro Ark.
The multi-media presentation included film, artefacts, and moving testimony
from Jewish partisans and holocaust survivors from Lithuania. 

Suddenly an ethereal
voice came from behind the old upright piano in the corner of the room. I had
grown up with a Yiddish speaking father and grandparents who were versed in
songs like “Tumbalalaika” and “Oyfn Pripachik”, but I had
never heard Yiddish sung like this and accompanied in such an improvisatory
way.

Polina Shepherd conducting the London Yiddish Choir at the museum

This music spoke of a living culture not a dead one. I knew
then and there that I would be starting a journey to discover and recover the
music of my ancestors.

The singer was Polina Shepherd, nee Skovoroda, born in
Siberia, a founder member of Russia’s first Klezmer band after Perestroika and
accomplished performer, conductor and arranger of Yiddish and Russian song
repertoire. 

I will be forever grateful to my Irish Jewish friend and writing
mentor, Shivaun Woolfson, for introducing me to Polina and her work. I am an
American classical pianist, Alexander Technique teacher, and proud founder
member of the London Yiddish Choir.

The London Yiddish Choir performing at the museum

The London Yiddish Choir, conducted by Polina Shepherd, started in 2012 in
my living room and has moved through several venues since then. We are now
delighted to have a home at the Jewish Museum.

Come and join us and discover the diverse world of Yiddish
song! We sing a wide range of repertoire, from folk songs and Nigunim to
Yiddish Theatre songs and original part songs. The choir is open to singers of
all levels of ability – it is affiliated to the Natural Voice Network. Knowledge of
Yiddish is not required, and all ages, faiths, and family backgrounds are very welcome.

We rehearse at the museum on Tuesday evenings from
6.30-8.30 pm. For more details, email [email protected].
Find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/londonyiddishchoir
and on Twitter at @yiddishchoir