Lifestyle/Community
Shwekey wows a packed-out audience
Referring to popular Jewish songster Yaakov Shwekey (pictured) as “the consummate musician in every sense of the word”, music professor and composer Jeanne Zaidel-Rudolph who attended last Thursday evening’s concert at Carnival City in Brakpan on the East Rand, said: “He integrates the voice of an angel, body and soul, in a celebration of the Jewish spirit – for me he has no peers at this time in interpreting vocally the essence of the beauty in the music, together with the message.
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“He uses his voice like a finely-tuned instrument that can modulate vocal nuances to exquisitely give meaning to every syllable and word!” she added, referring to the concert, which was completely sold out, as a glorious experience.
Arguably the single biggest concert in the contemporary history of the South African Jewish community, this event, to a 3 500 strong audience, also featured Baruch Levine, Chazzan Yudi Cohen, who opened the show, and Bryan Schimmel leading an orchestra of 22 performers.
Conducted by Yochi Briskman, it was a project embarked upon with a great deal of enthusiasm and not a little chutzpah, but, says organiser Rabbi Yossy Goldman: “Thank G-d, the show was absolutely spectacular on every level. I couldn’t have asked for better.”