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By Suzanne Parlett
“Who would have believed that our little San Diego Jewish Men’s Choir would be making their Carnegie Hall debut, but we are, and you all can be a part of our journey!” announced Shaun Edelstein, choir board member, during a recent performance on Tifereth Israel Synagogue’s music concert series. As the audience gasped, Edelstein went on to explain that the group would be performing their “Celebration of Love” concert on Valentine’s Day, Feb.14, 2026 in Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, 8:00pm, as part of the Distinguished Concerts International New York series.
After the concert I spoke about this further with choir director, Ruth Weber. Weber explained that the group had been accepted in the past, but they were unable to fund the airfare and hotel expenses involved in getting 25 members to New York. “You know, we just thought what a great opportunity, let’s do it! But then reality set in, and we had to withdraw our application,” said Weber. “People always say, how do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, Practice, Practice! We thought, we’ve been doing that every week for over 20 years, but we just didn’t figure on the expense involved in physically transporting the group to the hall itself! We are older and wiser now, and have started a fundraising campaign. Each member has made their own contribution, and we have received generous donations from people who love what we do and want us to go as music ambassadors—spreading our message of love, understanding, and peace to the East Coast through music. We are a third of the way to our goal, and donors can have their names listed on our website or in the program. Due to the excitement of our upcoming Carnegie Hall debut, we have a few new younger members that have joined, which is a great bonus. We are always looking for more members, and of course we would love to have people come and cheer us on at the Concert Hall as well!”
The San Diego Jewish Men’s Choir will perform a free Carnegie Hall Preview Concert on Sunday August 24, 2025 at 3 p.m. in the Social Hall at Congregation Beth El, located at 8660 Gilman Drive., La Jolla, CA 92037. This is a wonderful opportunity for the local community to hear many of the selections that will be performed at the Carnegie Hall concert in February. To request your free tickets call the synagogue office at (858) 452-1734. If you cannot attend the concert but would like to support the choir’s journey to Carnegie Hall, you can make a tax-free donation through their website at https://www.sdjmc.org/donatecontact.
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