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Jewish Exponent
PHILADELPHIA Youth Zimriyah
Choral Festival
Makes Return
After Pandemic
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APRIL 20, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT
Sasha Rogelberg | Staff Writer
P hiladelphia’s Youth Zimriyah
choral festival will return for the
fi rst time in four years.

On April 23 at 1:30 p.m., youth choirs
from Temple Beth Hillel-Beth El, Ohev
Shalom of Bucks County and Darchei
Noam will perform songs for the
concert’s Israel 75 theme. The event
will be held at Beth Hillel-Beth El.

“Judaism is almost synonymous
with music. ... Kids love music. From
a young age, they sing to themselves
as they’re playing,” said Shirley Cohen,
the Zimriyah’s coordinator and music
specialist at Beth Hillel-Beth El.

The choirs will perform songs such
as Israeli counting song “En Den Dino,”
sung by Beth Hillel-Beth El’s choir,
the largest and oldest of the three,
and “Yerushalayim Shel Zahav,” sung
by Ohev Shalom’s choir in Ladino,
an homage to their Cantor Annelise
Ocanto-Romo’s Sephardic roots.

Beyond an opportunity for commu-
nity members to enjoy the concert, it is
a way for Jewish youth to connect with
Jewish culture creatively.

“It’s just the chance to perform
and just to be in front of others and
do something that they love doing,”
Ocanto-Romo said.

For Ethan, 10, son of Darchei Noam
President Brandi Lerner, performing
as part of Darchei Noam’s children’s
choir helped him build confi dence,
community and a connection to the
synagogue. “He’s very musical. He plays three
instruments and loves to sing. So
for him, it’s a way to express that in
synagogue,” Lerner said. “For him, it’s
kind of the marriage of the two, that
it’s giving him a way to make many
prayers fun and for him to participate in
services, which is very appropriate at
his age, and doing something he really
enjoys, which is music.”
Ethan is not alone. Cantors and
musical educators at the three partic-
ipating synagogues have noticed that
youth choir programs can help Jewish
children participate in services, as well
as meet kids from other synagogues
through the Zimriyah.

“My kids want to see that there are
other Jewish kids who love performing,
who love Jewish music,” Ocanto-Romo
said. “And it brings our community
together.” Though the concert will last about
an hour, the impact of being part of a
choir can have a profound impact on a
young person’s Jewish pride.

When Zimriyah organizer and Darchei
Noam’s Hazzan Arlyne Unger was a
child, she joined her synagogue’s youth
choir as a way to enhance her Jewish
identity. Her family wasn’t very obser-
vant, but many of her friends attended
Hebrew school. Unger’s family joined
a synagogue, and the young girl joined
its youth choir.

“It just became such an important
part of my life; it really anchored my
identity,” Unger said. “And my parents
actually became more observant
because of my Jewish journey.”
Her participation is ultimately what
drove her to become a cantor, getting
a master’s degree in Jewish educa-
tion and administration and a Jewish
music degree with a concentration in
cantor studies from Gratz College. She