The combined choirs of Perth’s Ellenbrook Secondary College and Carmel School have sung the Partisans’ Song in Yiddish, Hebrew, English and the Indigenous language of Noongar.
Photo: Ellenbrook Secondary College
The event took place recently at Ellenbrook Secondary College and repeated at Carmel School later that week, under the direction of Stuart Rhine-Davis.
ECU lecturer Jesse John Fleay translated the song into Noongar with Suzanne Kosowitz arranging this new music presentation.
The choir has been invited to perform the Partisans’ Song at the Kristallnacht Commemoration at a high profile event on 10 November at Perth Modern School.
The keynote speaker will be the former Governor of WA, Malcolm McCusker AC CVO QC.
Using the stories of the Jewish Partisans, WE ARE HERE! seeks to inspire in young people the confidence and ability to stand up in the face of prejudice and oppression and to encourage and inspire Upstanders through the stories of Jewish Partisans and the learning of Zog Nit Keynmol – the Jewish Partisan anthem.
Jill Rabinowitz spoke about the choir’s performance. She said: “This, for me, encapsulates the essence of the WE ARE HERE! Project for Upstanders. These are Ellenbrook choir girls, not Jewish, so are far removed from knowing much about the horrors of Holocaust survivor Rivka Majteles’s experience. Learning and singing the Partisans’ Song, a song of defiance and hope, but perhaps not fully understanding the context, is made suddenly real to them by meeting and talking so intimately with Rivka.”
Our WE ARE HERE! Project for Upstanders has been supported by the US government through their Embassy in Canberra and their Perth Consulate.
We also appreciate the efforts of those both in and outside the Perth Jewish community.
Visit our website – https://wah.foundation
Watch the two other renditions by the joint choir of Ellenbrook Secondary College and Carmel High School – https://wah.foundation/program/
So moving.
It was a very emotional evening all round.
Great to hear the stories and the choirs rendition of the Partisan song in 4 languages was just magic.
Beautiful