International Days of Jewish Music: Concerts in Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Saxony

This year's International Days of Jewish Music at the end of November in Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Saxony aim to bring Jewish music and culture closer to their audiences. Several concerts are planned from November 25 to 28 - in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, for example, on Usedom and in Stavenhagen, as well as in Berlin and in Görlitz, Saxony. At a time when the world needs intensive cultural exchange and mutual understanding more than ever and anti-Semitism is on the rise, the organizers said they are focusing on the unifying power of music.

Concerts to join in

The series of events will start on 25 November in Röbel on the Mecklenburg Lake District with a free workshop concert. Young people are invited on a journey through time to traditional Jewish music from the 17th to the 20th century and to learn and sing along. On the same day, the opening concert is planned for the evening in Berlin with an ensemble that combines Israeli and Iranian music.

The following day, there will be a free sing-along concert in the synagogue in Stavenhagen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and a concert by a klezmer trio in Heringsdorf on Usedom. On November 27, there will be a concert in Berlin with a big band, among others.

The series ends with a concert on November 28 in Görlitz at the Kulturforum Neue Synagoge with a selection of music by renowned composers of Jewish descent, many of whom were forced into exile.

Prominent patron

The International Days of Jewish Music are under the patronage of Josef Schuster, President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany. The motto of this year's edition is "Kamocha - He is like you", based on a corresponding Hebrew commandment.

Director Thomas Hummel emphasized, "Music can be a means of dialogue. It has the unique ability to build bridges and bring people together. It speaks a universal language that is understood across cultural, religious and political boundaries."