As we approach one year since the October 7 massacre in Israel, Jews in the Diaspora are searching for ways to make the anniversary meaningful, to find a way to unite in solidarity for our brothers and sisters in our homeland. In Sydney, SHIR has answered the call.
A rebranded Shir Madness, SHIR is presenting Songs of Hope on October 6 hoping to strengthen and uplift the community through music.
“Members of the SHIR committee led, participated in and attended the communal vigils last year and were inspired by the power wrought by song,” SHIR Festival Director Ben Adler told The AJN. “They galvanised many thousands of us and formed the emotional heart of those events.”
Adler shared that some of the top artists in our local community will be taking part, with the single aim to bring the music to the fore.
“We have selected some of the top artists in our outrageously accomplished local Jewish music scene and have brought them together in one of Sydney’s most prestigious concert halls, to present the biggest evening of Jewish music Sydney has seen in years,” he said.
Songs of Hope will feature critically acclaimed klezmer fusion band Chutney, who will support outstanding soloists including APRA award-winning, multi-platinum certified Ilan Kidron, one of Australia’s most renowned and best loved pianists Simon Tedeschi, Israeli soul/folk singer Noy Ben Ami, Israeli-Australian powerhouse songstress Sarit Michael, Cantor Mordechai Aryeh Levin, Nikki Stanislav and Eden Shifroni, all of whom feel honoured to be taking part.
“Music has a raw, unfiltered power to break through the scars that conflict leaves behind. It doesn’t just mask the pain … it reaches into the cracks, into the places words can’t reach, and offers something real, something healing,” Kidron said. “Performing at SHIR feels like we’re sending out a signal to remind ourselves that, in the chaos and destruction, there’s still so much beauty to be found, still hope to be sung.”
For Stanislav, Songs of Hope allows the community to gather and find strength in everything we’ve lost.
“Songs of Hope is where we gather, letting music strengthen our community and sustain hope in these challenging times,” she said. “Our voices unite to offer resilience, support and a reminder that even in the face of adversity, hope endures.”
Tedeschi said it’s a reminder that Jews have known struggle for thousands of years, but as a people, we have managed to keep our identity through music and books.
“Now, in a world full of new challenges born of alienation and atomisation, our obligation remains the same as in previous ages: Tikkun olam, repair the world,” he said. “I am proud to be part of this magnificent concert Songs of Hope, because that is what we are going to bestow on our audience, both Jew and non-Jew – a sense of hope, that we have more in common than those things that divide us.”
The SHIR team hopes Songs of Hope will empower the Sydney community.
“It has been a difficult year for all of us, and many of us have felt unwelcome in, and unsupported by, our own city. When our community comes out in numbers to fill one of Sydney’s most iconic landmarks to listen to the music of our people, by our people, for our people, the reverberations will be felt widely,” Adler explained.
Ben Ami shared similar sentiments. “It’s where I come from, it’s my home, my first language, and it’s what we want to get for the future – hope for a better future.
Apart from the fact that I love singing in my mother tongue, singing Israeli songs, I really support the aim,” he said.
Adler also said it is poignant to be filling a concert hall on the Sunday between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
“Coupled with deeply moving performances of the most iconic Jewish and Israeli music – some of which has been a soundtrack to our lives over the past 11 months – Songs of Hope will be a concert like no other, and a night to remember.”
Shir Madness has been reformed in recent years, passing the mantle to a younger generation.
It was Shir Madness festival director Gary Holzman who approached violinist Ben Adler late in 2022 to revamp and revitalise the music festival; a shidduch arranged by Danny Hochberg and indeed, an excellent match.
Adler quickly formed a new committee featuring singer Aliza Waxman as production manager, previous chair of Yom Limmud Britt Foetschl as logistics, singer/ violinist Lara Goodridge as digital manager and Slava Inberg as finance manager.
SHIR has already begun planning a new direction for the festival.
“We hope to radically expand the envelope of what Jews consider to be possible in Sydney, and indeed in Australia: musically, artistically and socially.”
Songs of Hope is on October 6. Tickets.
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