Miami Boys Choir
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The Miami Boys Choir (MBC) is one of the most well known and enduring acts in contemporary Jewish music.
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[edit] History
Formed in 1977 in Miami Beach, Florida[1] by Yerachmiel Begun, the Miami Boys Choir was part of a larger surge in popularity of Jewish choral music. Due to the Orthodox Jewish religious prohibition against men listening to women singing (Kol Isha), a choir made up of boys whose voices have not yet changed affords virtually the only opportunity for Orthodox men to hear a soprano range.
Made up of Orthodox boys from the Miami area, the choir began recording and performing almost immediately. After releasing the first few albums, Begun moved MBC to Brooklyn although he retained the "Miami" in the name of the group. After its move to New York, the Miami Boys Choir has released a new album nearly every year with boys primarily coming from the New York area.
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 Miami Boys Choir has not had spectacular results in terms of sales. However, in the Jewish music world, they are recognized as an unparalleled 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]
[edit] DVDs
Since very early on, MBC has released DVD and VHS versions of their live albums. This includes all of the "Miami Experience" titles as well as "Miami in Yerushalyim" the Miami 25 and 26 albums (the second being sold as "Miami and Dedi") and the popular "Miami Revach" which was filmed in HD and features a 40 minute bonus feature following the choir on tour in Miami.
[edit] Prominent soloists and alumni
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Many of today's Jewish music superstars began as child soloists or choir members in MBC.
[edit] Albums
| Title[3][4] | Year Released | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Miami Choir Boys | ||
| 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 | |
| B'Siyata Dishmaya | 1984 | |
| Klal Yisroel - Together | 1987 | |
| Shabbos Yerushalayim | 1989 | One of the soloists, Avraham Willig, is now a Rebbi in Torat Shraga |
| 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 | |
| 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 Shall 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. |
[edit] References
- ^ Miami in Miami, "Miami Revach DVD" Bonus Features
- ^ Miami Revach DVD. Chapter 1.
- ^ Mostly Music Store Listing of MBC albums
- ^ The Boy Choir and Soloist Directory
