LASHIR IN CONCERT
LASHIR, the Jewish Community Choir of Princeton, will present its annual
Spring Concert on Sunday, June 7 at 2:30 p.m. at Richardson Auditorium,
on the campus of Princeton University . LASHIR, conducted by Raanan Shefa
and accompanied by JoAnne Sciarrotta, sings solely in Hebrew, Yiddish and
Ladino, and is the oldest independent Jewish choir in the State of New Jersey.
LASHIR performs throughout the year at various venues, including the State
House, synagogues, nursing homes, and has also performed at Drumthwacket
for Governor Corzine. This concert is free and open to the public.
LASHIR choir to perform June 7 at Princeton
Janet Hughes
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH STATE
May 22, 2009
Richardson Auditorium will host LASHIR choir's annual performance on Sunday, June 7. Songs will be
performed in Yiddish, Hebrew, and Ladino, arranged and conducted by Ra'anan Shefa, well-known Israeli
musician and conductor who has been with LASHIR since the 1980s. Accompanying the choir will be Jo-Ann
Sciarrotta.
Prior to Shefa working with LASHIR, Moshe Budmor was their conductor for 10 years. Budmor, who holds
degrees in choral and orchestral conducting from Juilliard, contributed greatly to the growth of LASHIR and a
CD in his honor entitled "Ten Years with Moshe" was presented to him by the choir members.
The June 7 concert will feature two original songs written by Yehezkel Braun performed for the first time
outside of Israel. Music by Salomone Rossi, a celebrated Italian composer, will also be featured as well as "Songs
of the Pioneers" sung in Yiddish. Doors open at 2 p.m. and this event is free and open to the public.
LASHIR was first established in 1981 and is the oldest independent non-profit Jewish community choir in New
Jersey known to many as a "performance choir." Their members consist of 17 women and seven men in their
30s and up residing primarily in the Princeton vicinity, whose goal is to serve as a cultural representative of the
Jewish community by preserving Jewish heritage through choral music. LASHIR performs at various events
approximately five or six times throughout the year.
Discussion with some of the 24 members of LASHIR conveyed their commitment to this choral group and the
significance of preserving Jewish heritage through music. The members of LASHIR come from very diverse
backgrounds — a few attorneys, an investigator, a real estate agent, a city planner, etc., which brings together a
very eclectic group of people who love to sing Jewish music.
Arthur Miller, a former scientist, is one of the original members of LASHIR and can recall the choir's former
days in which students of all nationalities participated in their performances. He advised that the group
formerly met in Stevenson Hall but moved to The Jewish Center in Princeton after that space became
unavailable and thereafter the number of students becoming choir members started to decline.
Phyllis Teitelbaum, Bill Weinstein, Robin Wallack, and Barbara Gantwerk have been singing with LASHIR for
several years and said the choir is a significant part of their lives. Teitelbaum, a former test developer at ETS,
said she loves to sing and always yearned to find a Jewish choir to do so. The group "provides great pleasure" for
Teitelbaum and keeps her connected with her Jewish heritage. Weinstein said that he wants to "educate the
Jewish community with LASHIR's ethnic music as well as entertain the audience." Gantwerk, New Jersey's
assistant commissioner of education, said that LASHIR provides her with a once-a-week opportunity to engage
in something spiritual on and gives her "a connection to the Jewish community through music."
LASHIR is a means to reach out to the broader community, and they have performed at Greenwood House, the
Governor's Mansion, Israel's 60th birthday events, and synagogue functions as well. Their upcoming spring
concert at Richardson Hall on June 7 has become an annual event in Princeton. LASHIR has become a
recognized musical presence to Jewish and non-Jewish communities for all age groups and all concerts are
always free of charge and open to the public.
Anyone interested in participating in LASHIR need only show up on a Wednesday evening at 8 p.m. at The
Jewish Center on Nassau Street in Princeton. LASHIR welcomes anyone interested in singing Jewish music and
is always open to receiving newcomers. One LASHIR member stated that "Wednesday is the best night of the
week."