Jewish A Cappella group to perform winter showcase

It’s about that time. Snow is falling, Christmas lights are hung and everyone is in the holiday spirit. There doesn’t seem to be a better way to celebrate the holiday season than with a holiday concert.

At 7 p.m. today in Rawles Hall 100, Hooshir A Cappella is having its annual winter concert.

“The attendees can expect a wide range of music, possibly a new cultural experience,” said junior Andrew Ruggles, business manager for Hooshir.

Hooshir A Cappella is the mixed a cappella group on campus that started in 2006 when the White House asked for an IU singing group to perform at the annual White House Hanukkah party.

The group was started and continues to be sponsored by IU Hillel. The group performs around campus at various events and travels around the country.

While Hooshir continues to represent Judaism, roughly half of the group is not Jewish.
Ruggles said the group performs a wide range of music: anything from Jewish sacred music to prayers, modern music like Sara Bareilles or classics like the Beatles.

They also perform a variety of genres, including Israeli Pop, Jewish Liturgical and American Pop.

“This concert is our opportunity to show the University who we are and to do what we love doing,” Ruggles said. “We’re not getting paid for a performance like this, so it’s all about us having fun.”

The group has toured to places such as Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. And while they have smaller performances on campus, they are trying to gain more university awareness.

“We mainly travel around the country to perform, but we don’t perform much around Bloomington. We’re trying to change that,” said junior Julie Womack, the group’s president.

Having one performance each semester on campus and three or four tours per semester, this concert is a chance for people to see what Hooshir A Capella is about and for everyone to enjoy an a cappella concert, Womack said.

Donations will be accepted at the door to help finance the group’s CD, which is currently in the works, as well as fund a trip to a Jewish a cappella competition in Washington, D.C., in the spring.

“I think we’re going to have a great turnout,” sophomore and publicity manager Sally Schiffman said. “In the past we have performed at Hillel, but because we are moving our concert to a bigger venue, we’ll be able to have many more people come (than) in the past.”