ISRAEL 2009

Concerts in TEL-AVIV, JERUSALEM, HAIFA and CARMIEL

In the second tour of a busy Christmas the Choir left Luton on 22 December to travel to Tel-Aviv to perform Bach's Christmas Oratorio across Israel. The timing of the tour meant that we would be away from our families for Christmas but the opportunity to visit that part of the world at that time of year was too good to miss. The tour was more relaxed than usual since we only had one piece to sing and therefore minimal rehearsals once we reached Israel. This gave us plenty of time to relax by the beach in the mild, and occasionally sunny, weather. The concerts were fantastic with solos provided by tenor and bass, Simon Wall and Jonny Sells, who both have Cambridge connections and a soprano and counter-tenor from Israel. The orchestra, the Israel Camerata, was made up largely of Russian and Israeli players and stand-out performances came from the trumpeter in the Bass aria Grosse Herr. The non-musical highlight was a trip to Midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve. The rest of the congregation seemed shocked by the vigour with which the carols were sung, but that’s what happens when you take Choral Scholars anywhere...