The Yiddish
Philharmonic Chorus
The Yiddish Philharmonic
Chorus

Keeping Yiddish choral music alive!

Come sing with us!

Would you like to sing contemporary choral arrangements of songs in Yiddish?

We invite you to audition if you can:

– learn a vocal line by reading music or working with a recording
– sing in harmony with others
– attend Monday evening rehearsals

No Yiddish knowledge is required. With the help of recordings, translations, and lively rehearsals, we all sound like native speakers by concert time – at least while we’re singing!

The Chorus rehearses weekly on Mondays from 7 to 9 p.m. in Midtown Manhattan, a few blocks from Penn Station. This coming season’s rehearsals run from September 15, 2025 through June 15, 2026 – with days off on Jewish holidays and most national holidays.

All rehearsals are videorecorded. If you need to miss a rehearsal, we expect you to work with the recording before the following week’s rehearsal.

There are several additional non-Monday rehearsals for each voice section. Dates for these sectional rehearsals are determined by consensus and usually take place between January and March.

We give two full concerts a year and one or more additional shorter performances.

Auditions

At your five-minute audition, we listen for musicianship, ability to learn pronunciation, and ability to convey the meaning of a text. We also determine your vocal part (soprano, alto, tenor, or bass) and range within that part.

You’ll be asked to sing a brief song or part of a song you choose (in any language), repeat pitches and rhythms, and repeat a sentence or two of Yiddish text.

We schedule appointments on two late-summer evenings. In 2025, they will be:
– Tuesday, August 26, from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.
– Wednesday, September 3, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.

To schedule an audition and for more information, write to us at [email protected].

When possible, please attend one of our concerts before you audition – visit our CONCERTS page. And watch some of our YouTube videos, like our jazzy Dayenu and our intense Partisans’ Hymn.