On March 23 approximately 150 people attended Makela's Friends and Family Concert, titled "Why is this Show Different from all Other Shows?" The title mirrored one of the traditional four questions that would be asked in a few days time at Passover.
Makela performed its signature blend of Jewish liturgical music, Israeli popular music and American popular music. This concert we also added American gospel to the mix.
Below, Makela's cover of "The Chain" by Ingrid Michaelson, featuring Makela member Jenni:
One of Makela's best features is that we make a point of including all our members equally and giving everyone an opportunity to shine. This certainly showed during our concert, as nine out of twelve singers who performed had solos. The three remaining singers are our newest members and solo opportunities haven't arisen since they joined, but they're all very talented and will likely be picking up solos soon.
Joel and Emerald rocking their duet in Makela's original song, Aliyah L'Regel
The show was held in the social hall at the historic 6th & I Synagogue in downtown D.C. 6th & I was amazing to work with. The space and stage setup were perfect for our needs, our contacts were gracious and accommodating, and the green room was beautiful. Everything was set up perfectly when we arrived and it was clear that the people at 6th & I went out of their way to make sure everything went smoothly for us. We were thrilled with this venue and, based on the feedback we received after the show, so was our audience.
Makela performing a liturgical piece, Samacthi:
After
the concert Makela's members and much of our audience stuck around for
snacks and refreshments. It was an opportunity -and a treat- for group
members to meet one another's friends and relatives, particularly
getting to meet Makela president Dani's adorable baby girl, who
was nothing but smiles throughout the concert. Later we enjoyed a night
out in D.C.'s Chinatown area in celebration of a successful concert and
to commemorate all the hard work that went into putting it together.
Special
thanks go to Joel, our music director, for working to ensure
we were prepared and for taking the time to organize and lead extra
rehearsals; to Jenni for locating and securing an amazing venue as
well as hosting some of our rehearsals; to Dani, the group's
president, for taking care of the administrative aspects of the
performance as well as going out of his way to obtain door posters,
snacks and refreshments for our audience to enjoy; to Emily for
drawing the concert poster and managing concert publicity; to Emerald for providing set lists and choreography and making sure that our
performance was visually pleasing; to Andrew for creating finished
video clips of all our songs from the concert, and to everyone in the
group for the extra work they put in to make sure that the concert
was a success.
