Lincoln Center. Photo: wiki commons.

Matthew “Mati” Lazar has been dedicated to the creation of Jewish music for most of his life.  On Sunday, May 20th, the Maestro and his Chorale celebrated their reunification of at a grand “Celebrate Jerusalem” concert in the Frederick P. Rose Hall at JAZZ at Lincoln Center.  The songs of the Zamir Chorale  – and some of its extraordinary friends, Yehoram Gaon and Alberto Mizrach – resonated in the mid-Manhattan auditorium, telling the history of Israel and its capital city in music.

Lazar carries his singers, young and “older,” to unique  musical heights.  As Director of the Zamir Choral Foundation, a position he has held for forty years, he gives teenagers and adults opportunities to sing Jewish music across America, in Israel and in international venues. The Yom Yerushalayim – Jerusalem Day – concert celebrating the reunification of Jerusalem after the Six Day War was no exception.  A robust chorale, directed by an enthusiastic Lazar, entertained a packed house with two hours of extraordinary musical presentations, evoking a range of emotional responses.

2012 is the 45^th anniversary of amalgamation of Israel’s capital.  The Zamir Choral is just a bit older, as it turned fifty just two years ago.

Lazar has been at its helm more that 80% of those years, successfully raising awareness of Jewish identity and culture through music.