The founding members of a fledgling adult Jewish choir in Washington already knew one another from the community. They were just missing the Jewish choral group.
Barbara Diskin, a Jew by choice who has sung since she was a child attending church choir, sang in Georgetown Chorale and the choir at Temple Micah. “I just find that singing anything makes me feel good,” she said. “I always come away feeling more energized than when I started.”
But she missed traditional four-part choral music.
Diskin, along with her husband, David, is among the three original founders of HaKol, an adult Jewish choir launched in fall 2024. The group of about 35 members sings traditional Jewish, modern Israeli and Ladino music. Their first performance was a Chanukah concert in December at the Edlavitch DCJCC, where they rehearse.
As the group’s coordinator, Barbara Diskin runs HaKol’s day-to-day operations, sends out email communications, updates the member database and schedules rehearsals and performances.
“I love to sing, and I love the experience of making harmonies with other people,” said Rabbi Tamara Miller, a community rabbi and member who sang with Zamir Chorale at the Jewish Theological Seminary in the 1960s.
The group recently achieved 501(c)(3) status, making it a nonprofit organization, thanks to the efforts of Carol Stern, a Chevy Chase resident and HaKol’s secretary.
“Love of music takes priority over making money,” said David Diskin, HaKol’s webmaster and a founding member. “I think it’s important to spread joy.”
Many of the founding members crossed paths through Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation’s and Temple Micah’s choirs and Zamir’s North American Jewish Choral Festival.
“I’m kind of a person who likes to connect different people and different congregations, and that’s part of why choral singing is so important,” Miller said. “It brings people together [in a way] that’s not political, that’s not religiously-based, but just music.”
Singers originally met in members’ living rooms, until HaKol grew in size and required a larger rehearsal space.
HaKol’s members, many of whom are retired adults, said they enjoy gathering twice monthly with fellow musicians.
“When you sing together, there’s something very special,” Stern said.
“The fun comes from learning the pieces and the camaraderie,” HaKol board member Ed Grossman said. “That’s an important component too. It’s a social organization, but it has a performance element to it.”
“I’ve made some new friends,” Miller said. “And we’re becoming a musical family. We’re a team.”
Miller said she hopes to do more “cooperative singing.” The group is currently working on all Israeli choral music, in preparation for an April 21 Yom Ha’atzmaut performance, she said.
“Israeli music is always appropriate and fun to sing in the spring because we have all the Israeli holidays in the spring,” HaKol conductor Joshua Fishbein said. “That’s a good time to learn Israeli music.”
Miller appreciates the “diverse” music that Fishbein selects for the group. Many members who sang or sing in congregational choirs see HaKol as filling a musical gap in the Jewish community. Synagogue choirs tend to prioritize singing liturgy over choral music, Stern said. Shul choirs also don’t leave room for as much secular Jewish music.
“A lot of synagogues aren’t as interested in choral music as they used to be,” said Fishbein. “I grew up singing in several choirs, but today, they don’t exist.”
While a few Jewish community choirs exist in the D.C. area, such as Kolot HaLev and Zemer Chai – The Jewish Chorale of the Nation’s Capital, the latter halted operations a few years ago, according to Grossman.
The pandemic also put a major damper on many choirs.
“COVID pretty much shut down much music, but especially choir music,” said Grossman, a Bethesda resident.
For those reasons, the small group of founding members wanted to start a new group in the DMV.
“There was no place to do what we’re doing, to bring together people in the D.C. area who want to sing really good Jewish choral music,” Stern said. “We’re filling the void and people are coming.”
“I’m happy with the dedication of all the singers to make this happen,” said Fishbein, who said he was approached by founding members in summer 2024. “They’re just a dedicated group of singers who want to make music at a strong level. They have high musicianship, they take the process seriously and have fun with it. That’s rewarding.”
Fishbein, who has worked with other, more established choirs in the region, said he was drawn to the opportunity to “start something new.” He composes and arranges both vocal and instrumental music, specializing in choral music, plays the piano during rehearsals and conducts choirs.
“Josh knows the history, so for every piece of music, he teaches us about the composer,” Stern said. “To have someone who has that much history and talent and expertise as your choral director is very special.”
“It’s hard to find a Jewish conductor who knows Hebrew and knows the sphere of the Jewish music,” Miller said. “So we’re delighted he had time for us.”
In addition to forging friendships and making music, Miller said she wants HaKol to be “of service” to the DMV’s Jewish community. She’s discussed singing at area nursing homes and assisted living facilities to cheer up residents.
“Whether it’s Yom Ha’atzmaut or whether it’s other Jewish holidays, we want to offer our spirit and our music and our voice,” she said. “If we’re invited, we’ll go anywhere.”
