Miami Boys Choir

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Miami Boys Choir
The choir performing on 5 April 2007 at a 30th Anniversary Concert.
The choir performing in 2007 at a 30th Anniversary Concert.
Background information
Origin Miami Beach, Florida
Genres Contemporary Jewish religious music
Years active 1977 (1977) - Present

The Miami Boys Choir (MBC) is a contemporary Jewish religious music boys choir.

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] The use of an all-boy choir is related to the Orthodox Jewish prohibition on listening to a woman singing. A boy's choir affords Orthodox Jewish men a way to listen to a Soprano range without violating this prohibition.

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

Discography

Title[1][10] Year Released Comments
Victory Entebbe 1977
Miami Meets Toronto 1978 Prior to starting the Miami Boys Choir, Yerachmiel Begun lived and directed a choir in Toronto.
Miami Live 1979 Contains the now classic slowly sung "Baruch Hagever" which was later more famously sung solo by Ari Goldwag at Miami Experience 2
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 and in 2013 released a CD "Lev Avos"
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 star 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 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.
Mi L'Hashem Eilai 2011 This album features one song from the new "Miami Israel" Choir directed by Miami Alumnus Menachem Klein.
When the Siyum Calls 2012 A double CD album and music video released in honor of the 12th Siyum HaShas to take place at the MetLife Stadium on 1 August 2012.[11]
Miami in Concert 2013 Recorded performances from 2011-2013. Includes special bonus features including 'Miami at Pomegranate' and 'In the Beginning', showing how the Israeli choir began and were trained even long distance from the U.S.
Ut Ut 2015 Special track "Invei Hagefen" featured the Miami Alumni

References

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  2. Miami Revach DVD. Chapter 1.
  3. Yaakov Shwekey Hebrew Bio
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  10. Mostly Music Store Listing of MBC albums
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