The Jerusalem Youth Chorus (JYC) is an Israeli-Palestinian music and dialogue project raising the voices of young leaders from East and West Jerusalem to the global stages of America’s Got Talent, TED, and beyond.
This performance, with the help of our friend @jacobcollier, is our tribute to all whom we have lost and to the shared future in which we unwaveringly believe.
JYC is far more than a music ensemble. We are building a youth movement of Palestinians and Israelis raising our voices for peace, justice, inclusion and equality, despite the violence and injustice surrounding us. Singing together creates a container for us to have hard conversations that transform the way we see ourselves, one another, and the broader world. We weave our pain into powerful performances that inspire vision and action for a shared future.
Even in times of war, JYC continues to meet, and our singers’ commitment to each other, and the power of our voices raised in harmony, has only grown.
This past year has brought devastation day after day to our singers, our communities, and many others. Each of our singers knows someone who has been killed, kidnapped, or displaced in the last year. But we also know that my pain does not cancel out yours—and that recognizing that our futures are intertwined is the only way we can stop the cycle of violence and begin to build a just world for all.
The Arabic and Hebrew songs in this video express our unspeakable grief for all we’ve lost.
في حزن وسع المدى – Fi Hizn Wisa’ ilMada is an Arabic setting of “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” from Les Miserables that has become iconic throughout the Arab world. It reminds us of all the songs that have been silenced in this war.
(בדידות (שלכת – Bedidut (Shalechet) is a Hebrew setting of the French superhit “Je Suis Malade” that has similarly embedded itself in Israeli culture. It sings the pain of lives lost too soon, like leaves falling before their time.
We refuse to continue the madness of war. Join us in forging a different way: http://jerusalemyouthchorus.org
Credits:
An Ode to All We’ve Lost | JYC feat. Jacob Collier
Arr. Micah Hendler, Jacob Collier, Shams Ahmed, Ben Bram
في حزن وسع المدى – Fi Hizn Wisa’ ilMada
Adapted from “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” from Les Miséables
Music: Claude-Michel Schönberg
Original Lyrics: Alain Boublil
Arabic Version: From “Arab Idol” 2014
(בדידות (שלכת – Bedidut (Shalechet)
Adapted from “Je Suis Malade”
Music: Alice Dona
Original Lyrics: Serge Lama
Hebrew Translation: Moshe Ben-Shaul
Lyrics and translation can be found at http://bit.ly/3O9T95N
JYC Founder & Artistic Director: Micah Hendler
Piano and Harmony Vocals: Jacob Collier
Additional Composition: Shams Ahmed
Conductor and Coach: Matan Serry
Soloists: Natalie Abu Ghosh, Evyatar Ofri, Yehia Abu Nijmeh, Yaara Mokadi
Recording Engineer: Yoav Romem at Hariton Studios, Jerusalem
Vocal Engineering: Ben Bram & Shams Ahmed
Editing & Mixing Engineer: Ed Boyer
Video Director, Director of Photography, and Editor: Gil Yishay
Second Camera Unit: Hanani Horovitz
Support JYC and spread this message of humanity:
http://jerusalemyouthchorus.org
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