- Miami Boys Choir
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Miami Boys Choir 
The choir performing in 2007 at a 30th Anniversary Concert.Background information Origin Miami Beach, Florida Genres Contemporary Jewish religious music Years active 1977 - Present The Miami Boys Choir (MBC) is a contemporary Jewish religious music boys choir.
Contents
History
Formed in 1977 by Yerachmiel Begun, the Miami Boys Choir was part of a larger surge in popularity of Orthodox Jewish choral music.[1]
While the group was formed in Miami Beach, Florida, after releasing the first few albums, Begun moved the choir to New York. Although he retained the "Miami" in the name of the group, subsequent albums were released with boys primarily from the New York/New Jersey area.[1]
Over the years, the choir's imaging has changed with the times. Originally called the "Miami Choir Boys," its name has alternated between "Miami Boys Choir" and "Yerachmiel Begun and the Miami Boys Choir." In addition, the album titles have slowly changed over time from just Hebrew titles (i.e., B'syata D'shamaya) to English and Hebrew together (e.g., Torah Today) and finally to the present format, which places "Miami" before the title (i.e., Miami Moshiach).
Compared to mainstream artists, the choir has not had spectacular results in terms of sales. However, in the Jewish music world, they are recognized as a success story. An example is their album released in 2005, Miami Revach, which reportedly sold over 15,000 copies in the first few weeks alone.[2]
DVDs
Since very early on, the choir has released DVD and VHS versions of their live albums. In 2005, "Miami Revach" was released in High-definition video.
Prominent soloists and alumni
- Yaakov Shwekey[3]
- Ari Goldwag[4]
- Nochum Stark[5]
- Yitzy Spinner[6]
- Shloime Dachs
- Yitzchok Rosenthal (Shalsheles)[7]
- Avraham Solomon[8]
Discography
Title[1][9] Year Released Comments Miami Choir Boys Victory Entebbe 1976 Miami Meets Toronto 1978 Prior to starting the Miami Boys Choir, Yerachmiel Begun lived and directed a choir in Toronto. Miami Live 1979 B'Siyata Dishmaya 1984 Contains the first MBC hit song "B'Siyata Dishmaya" Klal Yisroel - Together 1987 Shabbos Yerushalayim 1989 One of the soloists, Avraham Willig, is now a Menahel Ruchani in Bircas HaTorah Torah Today 1990 Contains the wedding hit "Od Yishoma" and "P'sach Libi" Miami Experience 1 1991 The first of the "Miami Experience" albums featuring live concerts. Miami Experience 2 1992 It's Min Hashamayim 1993 Contains two of the most popular and lasting MBC songs; Ani Ma'amin and Lo Yisa Goy. Miami Experience 3 1993 Miami Experience 4 - Shiru Lo 1994 Contains MBC hit Nekadesh One By One 1995 Contains MBC hits Chasdei Hashem and Sunshine Miami Experience 5 1995 15,000 people attended the Miami Experience 5 concert at the Nassau Coliseum The Simcha Song 1997 Contains MBC hit Adon Olam Chanukah - Light up the Nights 1997 Featuring MBC hit Yaaleh V'yavoh. This album featured five new songs and then instrumental versions of those same songs. Stand Up 1999 Featuring MBC hit Hinei Ma Tov Yerushalayim - Can You Hear Our Voice 2001 A collection of songs from the past of Miami, and two new recordings. All the songs surround the idea of centrality Jerusalem to the Jewish nation. Bederech Hatorah - We Will Prevail 2001 An album that set the stage for a number of rising stars. It also has one song, Lo B'Ruach Hashem, that tops 7 minutes. Miami 25 - Past Present and Future 2002 Recording of the 25th anniversary concert including a number of prominent alumni. Miami and Dedi 2003 Recording of the 26th anniversary concert featuring guest start Dedi. Miami Revach 2005 Sold over 15,000 copies. Miami Revach-DVD 2006 Miami Moshiach 2007 Featuring 5 new songs and five concert recordings from Miami 29 by Ohad!, Dovid Gabay and Michoel Schnitzler. Around the Campfire 2007 MBC's first A Capella album. It features voices from several "generations" of the choir, being as it was a project started in 2004. Yavoh 2009 Ultimate Miami - The Ultimate Collection 2010 A collection of the English songs over the years. The Miami Solo Album 2010 This album of non-Miami songs features Miami soloists: Shaul Elson, Yair Kenig, David Herskowitz, and Binyamin Ravina Abramowitz. Me La'Hashem Ailai 2011 This album features one song from the new "Miami Israel" Choir directed by Miami Alumni Menachem Klein. References
- ^ a b c "Boy Choir & Soloist Directory - Miami Boys Choir". 16 January 2008. http://boysoloist.com/artist.asp?vid=177. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
- ^ Miami Revach DVD. Chapter 1.
- ^ Yaakov Shwekey Hebrew Bio
- ^ "Ari Goldwag's Website - Biography". http://www.arigoldwag.com/bio.html. Retrieved 3 January 2010.
- ^ "BCSD - Nochum Stark". http://www.boysoloist.com/artist.asp?VID=1705. Retrieved 3 January 2010.
- ^ Maruch Miller, Rochelle. "Music Man: Up Close and Personal with Yitzy Spinner". JE Magazine. http://www.yitzyspinner.com/Images/JEArticle.pdf. Retrieved 3 January 2010.
- ^ "Chasidi News - Jewish Music". http://www.chasidinews.com/eng8.htm. Retrieved 3 January 2010.[dead link]
- ^ "Jewish Music Report - Avraham Solomon". http://jewishmusicreport.com/2011/02/01/jewish-music-comes-to-texas. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
- ^ Mostly Music Store Listing of MBC albums
Categories:- American choirs
- Choirs of children
- Boys' and men's choirs
- Jewish American musicians
- Jewish musical groups
- Musical groups established in 1977
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