Listen to the music

February 7, 2010 - 10:19 AM by

(Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski/The Jerusalem Post)

One doesn’t often mention the words music and haredi in the same sentence, unless you’re referring to cantorial liturgy.

But at the Ron Shulamit Music Conservatory in the Har Nof neighborhood of Jerusalem, haredi women of all ages (from age 7 through adulthood) are not only learning the classical canon on their instruments of choice, but many are going on to graduate from a BA program and enter the work force as music teachers.

The 15-year-old institution is slowly changing perceptions – that of the girls and their families toward the outside secular world of culture, and also of society’s accepted but tainted view of the haredi world as a backwards society where culture is disdained and scorned.

Maybe somewhere, a middle ground exists where the truth lies. And if the Ron Shulamit conservatory is involved, then surely there’s music playing.

I recently visited the conservatory and sat in on some classes. These girls are serious – and very talented. They tackle the music with the same tenacity as they would Torah studies. And, according to the staff, the fact that they’re coming to the field with zero knowledge (since most of them don’t have stereos or TVs at home), it provides a freshness to their approach to music.

“When they hear a piece of music, this is the first time they’re hearing it – and their reaction is ‘wow!’ It’s a discovery,” Rina Shieffer, the conductor of the conservatory’s student orchestra, told me. “Everyone’s heard Beethoven’s 5th a million times, but for these girls, it’s all new. They play in an exciting manner and are interested in all the details.”

Non-haredi Israelis still have plenty problems with the haredi population here – issues of welfare for big families, refusal of most of them to serve in the army, Shabbat road closures, etc..

But there shouldn’t be anyone to argue against adding this element of culture into their lives, and enabling haredi young women to find their voices and learn a skill that will enable their families to perhaps leave the welfare line. More power to the Ron Shulamit Conservatory.

Tags: , , , • Category: A New Reality, coexistence, General, Israeliness, Music, Religion 

Comments

One Comment on Listen to the music

  1. mademusic on Thu, Feb 18th 2010 7:37 PM

    2. interesting and enlightening. great post

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