B’nai Amoona holds night of Jewish music

Congregation B’nai Amoona will feature an evening of Jewish music on Sunday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. in honor of the congregation’s 125th anniversary.

“Magical Musical Moments” will feature performances of compositions by Jewish songwriters and composers.

Concertmaster David Halen and members of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) will perform.

Included in the program will be Yiddish, klezmer, Broadway, Israeli, cinema, classical, jazz and liturgical music, all played by some of the city’s finest instrumentalists: Scott Andrews, SLSO principal clarinet; Melissa Brooks-Rubright, SLSO associate principal cello; Peter Henderson, concert pianist; Mark Sparks, SLSO principal flute and Jonathan Vincour, SLSO principal viola. The musicians will be led by Halen, the orchestra’s concertmaster, who has served as concertmaster under Leonard Slatkin, the late Hans Vonk and currently David Robertson.

George Gershwin and Irving Berlin will be much a part of the evening’s segment featuring special guest jazz vocalist Erin Bode, the local singer, composer and arranger, who has captivated audiences in St. Louis, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., New York and Europe.

Bode has traveled with her group to South Africa to work with the Themba Girls’ School Choir, and recently she performed with Garrison Keillor on A Prairie Home Companion.

Tickets, starting at $18 for general admission, $36 for reserved section seats and $72 for a reserved seat, are available by sending a check payable to B’nai Amoona MMM, to Phyllis Traub and Marilyn Humiston, co-chairs, Congregation B’nai Amoona, 324 S. Mason Road, St. Louis MO 63141.