Israeli youth choir to tour U.S.
Israeli teens from Yemin Orde Youth Village in northern Israel will perform in select cities to build awareness and understanding for the challenges faced by at-risk youth throughout Israel. The touring youth choir, which consists of 11 teenagers and one graduate of Yemin Orde, has scheduled dates in Westchester County, NY; Manhattan, Northern New Jersey, Atlanta and Los Angeles.
Friends of Yemin Orde is pleased to announce that the Yemin Orde Youth Choir, a group of at-risk immigrant teens from around the world, will begin a two-week performance tour throughout the United States, starting March 2016. Would you like to be a sponsor for the choir’s U.S. tour? Call 202.237.0286 or email [email protected] for more information. Listen to a selection of songs by the choir.
Plans include performances with local youth choirs, schools and synagogues to promote cultural US Choir group webunderstanding and hope for peace everywhere. Choir members range in age from 15 to 18 years old and are from Ethiopia, France, former Soviet Union, Brazil as well as Israel-born and reflect the diversity of the 440 youth at risk who live and learn at Yemin Orde Youth Village.
Most of the children at the Village have suffered trauma in their lives – from abandonment and isolation to loss and severe poverty. At Yemin Orde, they receive the therapeutic and educational support needed to turn their troubled lives around and develop hope for a bright future as productive citizens of Israel.
Choir Performance Schedule
TRI-STATE AREA (NY, NJ, CT)
- Thursday March 31:7:00 pm; Westchester Performing Arts Center, White Plains, NY. RSVP Now
- Monday, April 4: 7:00 pm; Central Synagogue, New York City, NY. RSVP Now
- Tuesday, April 5: 7:00 pm; RTW Academy, Randolph, NJ. RSVP Now
ATLANTA
- Wednesday, April 6: 7;30 pm, The Temple. RSVP Now
LOS ANGELES
- Monday, April 11: Beth Jacob Synagogue, multi youth choir event. (RSVP link coming soon)
Shmuli Bing, Director, Yemin Orde Youth Village, said the youth in the choir reflect the diversity of the Village and the “fascinating mosaic of individuals that represents the diversity of immigrants who have arrived in Israel in recent years. As former President of Israel Shimon Peres said, ‘Yemin Orde is what Israel is supposed to be.’ Such is the choir, in which youth from Ethiopia, former Soviet Union, France, Brazil, and native Israelis come together as one group.”
The choir’s repertoire includes contemporary and traditional Israeli songs as well as original songs written by the children at Yemin Orde. The group typically performs throughout Israel at special events and for programs at the Village. The choir has traveled internationally including a performance at the re-opening of the only surviving synagogue in Auschwitz, located in Poland, at the invitation of the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation.
In the United States, the choir has performed at the Israel embassy in Washington, D.C., Jewish day schools, synagogues, community centers, private homes and clubs.
“Through their singing, these youth are saying that they are here to succeed and to make a home for themselves in Israel – to learn, to become a part of, and to enrich Israeli culture, said Bing. “The beauty of Israeli culture is that it is dynamic and changes from the fact that it comprises people coming from such diverse backgrounds. I see our choir a beautiful tapestry representing hope for Israel’s future.”
During its two-week U.S. tour, the choir and its adult chaperones will stay with local host families. This arrangement presents a great opportunity for the Israeli youth to meet American families and learn about each other’s culture, traditions and lifestyle.
Since 1953, Yemin Orde Youth Village has provided a sanctuary and quality education for hundreds of Israel’s traumatized immigrant youth. The Village’s highly-successful educational methodology, called the Village Way, provides these troubled teens with specialized therapeutic care, important life and leadership skills, confidence and cultural identity in order to transform their lives around and develop hope for a bright future as productive citizens of Israel.
A unique feature of the Village is the promise that Yemin Orde will be a forever home to its graduates and will provide emotional and financial support whenever necessary for the rest of their lives.
Today, Yemin Orde’s graduates are accomplished and successful professionals. After suffering neglect and abandonment as youngsters and teens, these formerly at-risk children are healthy, capable and strong. They are Israel’s next generation of leaders.
Members of the Yemin Orde Youth Choir on Tour in the U.S.
Girls
- Karina, 18, 12th grade, Ukraine
- Liran, 18, 12th grade, Israel
- Sara, 15, 10th grade, France
- Yafa, 16, 11th grade, Ethiopia
- Hana, 17, 11th grade, Brazil
Boys
- Artur, 17, 12th grade, Brazil
- Ayanawo, 18, 12th grade, Ethiopia
- Eitan, 17, 12th grade, France
- Or, 18, 12th grade, native Israeli
- Refael, 15, 10th grade, native Israeli
- Yoram, 18, 12th grade, France
Yemin Orde graduate, Sandro Golis, who orginally is from Soviet Georgia, will also join the choir. Sandro will soon graduate from Technion, Israel’s prestigious Institute of Technology, where he studied Computer Science.