THE MOSCOW MALE JEWISH CAPPELLA

Московская Мужская Еврейская Сапелла

The Male Choir of Cantorial Art Academy was established in 1989 with personal support from Mikhail Gorbachev, then president of the USSR, and assistance from the Russian Jewish Community and Joint Distribution Committee, an American Jewish charity. In 1998 the choir was renamed the Hassidic Cappella and based at the Moscow Maryina Roshcha Jewish Community.
Since 2012 until 2014 the choir worked under the support of The Russian Jewish Congress and The State Classical Maimonides Academy. Since 2014 the choir works under the name of The Moscow Male Jewish Capella.

The choir’s singers are all professional musicians – students and teachers at Moscow Tchaikovsky State Conservatory and other leading musical institutes in the capital who have performed in the city’s most acclaimed choral groups. They are united by their commitment to introducing listeners to the beauty of Jewish liturgical and cantorial music – music that has been forgotten and remains unknown to even the most educated lovers of music. The choir’s extensive repertory includes Jewish liturgical music, songs in Yiddish and Hebrew, Russian folk songs, and classics of world music. The choir is one of the few recognized professional Jewish academic musical groups in the world and the only one in Russia.

Guided by the deep and ancient traditions of both Jewish and Russian professional choral singing, the choir is reviving the art of Jewish choral and vocal music, demonstrating at every performance that the riches of Jewish culture are an inalienable part of Russia’s multi-national tradition and world culture.

The Moscow Male Jewish Capella has performed in countless Russian cities, in the former Soviet republics, and in 13 foreign countries. Performances are held in Jewish community venues, but also on the stages of the most prestigious concert halls in Russia and abroad. The group has performed in all three halls of the Moscow Conservatory; the Hall of Columns of the House of Trade Unions; the Academy of Music and Carl Orff Hall in Munich; the Theatron Yerushalayim in Jerusalem; Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York. Wherever they have performed, audiences and critics have responded with accolades.

The choir has performed before the presidents of Russia, the USA, Poland, and Israel. Three times the group was honored to give concerts before the royal families of Denmark, Sweden and Norway on the anniversary of the Danish rescue operation of Jews during World War II.
For many years the choir has had the joy to give subscription concerts with the Moscow State Philharmonic in the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory.

The Moscow Male Jewish Capella has performed many times with renowned Russian and foreign symphony orchestras under the direction of Arnold Katz, Mark Gorenshteyn, Yuri Bashmet, Roman Kofman and Zubin Mehta, with such acclaimed soloists as Mikhail Alexandrovich, Nehama Lifshits, Joseph Kabzon, and Joseph Malovany, the chief cantor of the Fifth Avenue Synagogue in New York.

The choir has recorded 9 CDs and 8 films. Universal Music released and distributed 4 CDs and one DVD.

Alexander Tsaliuk is the choir’s founder and artistic director. Alexander Tsaliuk has graduated Moscow Conservatory with honors in 1994, receiving Master’s degree in choral conducting. He wrote Master’s thesis on historical development of Jewish liturgical music and went on to continue training for his PhD program in choral conducting as assistant to Professor Kulikov, Director of Moscow Conservatory.At the same time, he started another PhD training – in symphonic opera conducting at the Moscow Jewish Academy, graduating both programs with honors only two years later.
He has directed more than 1300 concerts and participated in countless international festivals and competitions.

www.hasidic-cappella.com