During the program year, all HaZamir chapters learn the same repertoire developed annually with a curriculum by HaZamir professional staff. Weekly chapter rehearsals are led by skilled and knowledgeable choral conductors. Annually, HaZamir chapters come together for a four-day Festival in the spring that culminates in a performance at a major concert venue in New York City. The 2024 performance will take place in Carnegie Hall on April 7th. The HaZamir Israel chapters follow with a second performance in late spring in Israel.
Through HaZamir’s expansive programming, teens with a love for music and talent for singing connect with like-minded peers. They build friendships through the experience and personal challenge of making music together as a choir. HaZamir sets high musical, educational and social standards while by creating a diverse, pluralistic, welcoming, inclusive and affirming experience.
The HaZamir Chamber Choir features HaZamir singers (from the U.S. and Israel) who are more musically advanced and are ready for more challenging music. The HaZamir Chamber Choir rehearses and performs as a select ensemble at national events.
The Teen Leadership Program identifies qualified 11th and 12th grade teens through a rigorous application process. Teen leaders are trained throughout the year in an on-line forum and are brought together several times during the year for 2-3 day training retreats.
HaZamir introduces an educational theme each year around which the musical repertoire is chosen. Study texts and curricula are developed by HaZamir’s Director of Education, Dr. Marsha Bryan Edelman, Professor Emerita of Music and Education at Gratz College, and professor of music at the Jewish Theological Seminary.
HaZaPrep, the HaZamir Preparatory Program, is the first Jewish choral prep program in America. HaZaPrep is designed to prepare 6th, 7th and 8th graders with the Jewish choral music skills and Hebrew language skills they need to enter into the HaZamir high school program in grade 9. The HaZaPrep curriculum teaches those skills in an environment that is educational and fun. There are currently HaZaPrep chapters in cities across the United States including Baltimore, Bergen County, Boston, Brooklyn, Houston, LA Valley, Long Island, Pittsburgh, Raleigh-Durham, and South Jersey.
The Conductors Training Program gives eligible members of HaZamir, as well as selected HaZamir alumni, the opportunity to learn conducting methodology, gain conducting experience, and study the relationship between text and music from Maestro Matthew Lazar. We are proud that 23 HaZamir alumni have been or are currently conducting and coordinating HaZamir and HaZaPrep chapters.
HaZamir Alumni return each year to perform in an alumni ensemble at the HaZamir Gala Concert. Fifteen alumni have become HaZamir conductors. Alumni also serve as staff at regional events in the U.S. and Israel as well as the annual HaZamir Festival. HaZamir alumni assume leadership positions, first on campus and then around the world in music and Jewish organizational life; they have entered the ranks of the clergy and assume leadership roles in their communities. In New York, HaZamir alumni were the driving force in the establishment of Zamir Noded.
