TORONTO, ONT --The Varsity Jews are planning to sing their way into the hearts of the Jewish community in the hopes of raising enough money to save a child’s heart.
A Jewish a cappella group at the University of Toronto affiliated with Hillel of Greater Toronto, the Varsity Jews will be performing at the Holy Blossom Temple on April 2, with all proceeds going to Save a Child’s Heart, an organization that provides underprivileged children all over the world with free open-heart surgery.
Avi Shack, 19, a second-year U of T student taking sociology and Jewish studies who has been with the group for two years, said the show, called Big Shtick, “is about spreading people’s interest in Jewish music and Judaism and spreading the feeling of friendship and community.”
Shack said he knew he wanted to get involved with Hillel from the moment he showed up on campus two years ago.
“I went to a Hillel club fair and bumped into Shayna Levitan who was my brother’s friend,” said Shack, who is the publicity co-ordinator of the group.
Levitan, the group’s manager who was one of the original members of the group that was founded by former director Jeremy Burko in 2002, told him about the Varsity Jews.
After seeing the group perform at a Hillel Shabbat dinner, he auditioned to be part of the 16-person choir.
“I think the music can help students engage in a deeper connection with the Jewish community,” Shack said.
At the Sunday night performance, Shack said people can expect to hear traditional Jewish standards such as Yerushalayim Shel Zahav in a cappella arrangements, as well as parodies.
“We’ve put an interesting twist on Jewish standards as well as classic rock songs,” he said, adding that they changed the name of a song called Rainbow Connection, originally sung by Kermit the Frog in The Muppet Movie, to Jewish Connection and changed the lyrics to be about Jewish geography.
“We like to think our music is enjoyable for any age group. Everyone finds our music humourous. The crowds usually get into it, tapping their feet and clapping their hands to the beat.”
Since the Varsity Jews made their debut as the first campus Jewish a cappella group in Canada four years ago, another group emerged out of York University called Kol Neshama and they will be performing that night as well.
Last year, the Varsity Jews managed to raise about $2,500 for One Family Fund, an organization that supports families of Israeli victims of terror.
This year, Shack said the goal is to sell 1,000 tickets. Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor who offered to match whatever they can raise this year, they hope to raise $10,000 for Save a Child’s Heart, which would be enough money to pay for a heart transplant at the Wolfson Medical centre in Holon.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.varsityjews.com.
Reprinted with permission from the Canadian Jewish News: http://www.cjnews.com/viewarticle.asp?id=8881
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