Concerts

Over the years, a number of concerts have been held in the synagogue which boasts excellent acoustics,. Details of some of these events appear below.

Solaris - String Quartet

On Sunday 19 June 2005, we were treated to the wonderful sound of a string quartet playing music from Terezin. The excellent accoustics of the synagogue enhanced the quality of the musicianship.

The Terezin concentration camp (Theresienstadt), a staging post on the brutal way to Auschwitz, was briefly home to a remarkable flowering of music and art.  The Solaris Quartet’s repertoire for this concert is the legacy of the composers and performers whose talents pushed the darkness aside for a while.

 

“Clarion Voices”

On Sunday 11 January 2004, Members of Chatham Memorial Synagogue enjoyed a concert of music by a new choral group, Clarion Voices, who gave an excellenent performance to a capacity  audience. The concert consisted of sacred and secular music for unaccompanied voices, with pieces from the 16th to the 20th centuries. Composers included Salomone Rossi, Palestrina, Byrd, Monteverdi, Saint-Saens, Elgar, Vaughan Williams and Gershwin. The pieces had been chosen to show off the fine accoustics of the mid-19th century listed building and the superb singing was much appreciated by the very mixed audience, consisting of members of the Synagogue and friends, local interfaith groups, local churches and choirs but all with a love of music.

The concert had been arranged by the Secretary of the Synagogue, David Herling and a welcome was extended by Jon Weiner, the Chairman, who also, at the end of the concert, presented the singers with a certificate for trees to be planted in Israel in their names.

The singers, Karen Gilbert, Judy Elias, Carolyn Steel, Nan Atichatpong and Matthew Shoults, were heartily congratulated at the resounding success of their inaugural concert. The proceeds of the concert will go towards the continuing repairs to the synagogue building.

Karen Gilbert commented after the concert, "It was fabulous to give Clarion Voices' inaugural performance to such a packed and enthusiastic house. The evening had a real sense of occasion about it, and we couldn't have wished for a warmer or a more appreciative audience. The Shul has a wonderful acoustic and it was a real pleasure to sing there. We hope that there will be many moreopportunities in the future to fill it with sound, and meanwhile we wisheveryone at the Shul all the best!"

To hear extracts from a recording of the concert click here.

Summer Concert - 2001

In July 2001 we held a concert of Jewish cello music at the synagogue with Dan Kazez, who is a world-renowned cellist from Ohio. Dan is also Professor of Music at Wittenberg University. He has previously played at many of the famous Jewish centres all over the world. The pianist at the concert was Andrew Ashbee, former Head of Music at Rochester Grammar School.
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Chatham Memorial Synagogue is a registered charity - No. 800902        Website last updated 27 April 2012