“Music is our most powerful tool of emotion and communication”: Reflections from the Northeast Hillels A Cappella Competition
More than 300 Jewish students, alumni, community, and music enthusiasts recently came together at the University of Maryland for the first-ever Northeast Hillels A Cappella Competition. Six groups from across the region participated, spending Shabbat together and competing for awards like “Audience Favorite,” “Best Arrangement,” and “Best Vocal Percussionist.”The community, connections, and friendships that attendees built over the course of the weekend ended up being the top award for all involved.
Here’s what a few of the competition’s amazing vocalists had to say about their experience!
Stephanie Bromberg (Class of 2025) Shir Appeal, Tufts University
Shir Appeal is Tufts University’s only mixed gender Jewish a cappella group, and this was their first opportunity to compete in a Jewish a cappella competition — something that represented an exciting opportunity to meet other groups.
“It’s so important to bring Jewish a cappella groups together in community because Jewish a cappella is a pretty niche group of a cappella…” said fourth-year student Stephanie Bromberg, who has been part of Shir Appeal since her first year at Tufts. “So this is such a beautiful way of getting to come together and sing Jewish music and really meet other people who have such a deep passion for what we do, as much as we do.”
Aviel Taube (Class of 2025) Kol Sasson, University of Maryland
In Kol Sasson, University of Maryland’s oldest Jewish a cappella group, members come from all over and have a variety of Jewish backgrounds, but they all have two things in common: a shared love for Jewish music and culture, and the Northeast Hillels A Cappella Competition serving as their first experience competing against and gathering with other Jewish a cappella groups.
“I think that there’s a lot that we can learn from each other, from getting together and singing for each other, singing together, engaging in some friendly competition, because really, there’s no better way of learning different ways to sing and different ways to share each other’s music… [than] by just being around each other,” said fourth-year student Aviel Taube. “It’s really important that we spend this time together, get together, and you know, share our secrets a little bit with each other — so that we can all improve.”
Zachary Buller (Class of 2025) ApiChorus, Harvard University
While some of the groups at the competition have been around for decades, Harvard University’s ApiChorus is just two years old — but that hasn’t stopped them from making an impact with their sound and their presence.
“Our group is pretty new… it’s our group’s first real opportunity to perform with other groups,” said ApiChorus President and Founder Zachary Buller. “It’s really amazing to meet other singers from schools who are equally passionate about Jewish music. Learning from them over the past weekend has been really transformational for us… We hope that we win, but I think, all in all, we’re happy to participate, and we can grow and learn from the other groups that are here.”
Gabi Stern (Class of 2027) Rak Shalom, University of Maryland
The singers from the winning group, Rak Shalom, brought an extra layer of pride to the competition — their assistant music director Dani Schwartz and musical director Elyon Topolosky played a big role in bringing the competition from concept to reality. Their members were all in on making the event a success, not just for the joy and excitement of competing against other groups, but because they knew how important it would be for the Jewish a cappella community to come together under one roof.
“I think music is one of the most powerful and inspirational tools of communication and of emotion,” said second-year student Gabi Stern, Rak Shalom’s business manager. “This is a wonderful opportunity to combine music and Judaism and friends — it’s just such a meaningful experience.”
Want to experience Jewish a cappella in action? Recordings of the competition are available on the Hillel International YouTube and Facebook pages. The winners may have already been decided, but you’re welcome to sing along!