News

Angels in Jewish Music- Sunday, June 10th

Rachel Brook — Tue, 29 May 2012 01:54:54 +0000

Sunday, June 10th at 7pm

Congregation Ansche Chesed (100th st. between Broadway and Amsterdam)

I will be singing on Cantor Natasha Hirschhorn's beautiful program honoring Angels in Jewish music (Surprise! They all all over Jewish music!).

Shir Chadash will be singing one song, and I will be soloing, duet-ing, and trio-ing on this great concert.

If you are in the New York area, I hope to see you there! Cantor Natasha is one of the finest musicians, and people, in the Jewish music world today, check out her stuff if you didn't already know this:

http://www.cantornatasha.com/

Hope to see you there!

After A Hiatus, Much To Share!

Rachel Brook — Wed, 09 May 2012 03:01:18 +0000

It has been far too long as I have acclimated to the many wonderful transitions in my life. This past year was filled with many blessings with the top two stand outs easily being getting married to my wonderful and talented husband, Matt Holman, and starting my Cantorial studies at the Academy for Jewish Religion where I am now finishing up my first year (don't ask me how many more to go!).

In the meantime I have been remiss in sharing my performance events, but to get back in the swing of it:

On Wednesday, May 16th, 7:30pm I will be making my conducting debut at Merkin Hall as part of the Academy for Jewish Religion's Shirei Shalom: Songs of Peace concert. Great line up of singers, including Natasha Hirschhorn, Leon Sher, Gerald Cohen, Sol Zim, and more. I will also be soloing on the concert, along with several of my AJR colleagues.

I am so proud of this concert on many levels, and hope to see you there!

Less than a week later, on Sunday, May 20th, 4pm, at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Zamir Chorale will present a concert in honor of Yom Yerushalayim. Yehoram Gaon will be the guest soloist, along with Cantor Alberto Mizrahi. This is going to be a stellar concert, and will be the only Yom Yerushalayim commemoration event happening that day which adds an extra layer of meaning to the afternoon.

Information for the concert can be found here.

Shir Chadash: Brooklyn Jewish Community Choir presented our spring concert, And the Angels Sing!, on Sunday, April 29th, which highlighted some gems from the Jewish Jazz repertoire. It was such a blast and we were so lucky to share the stage with an amazing jazz combo and two wonderful Brooklynite soloists, Cantor Lisa B. Segal and Cantor Josh Breitzer.

I am also excited to share that in this coming season I will become the new conductor of HaZamir-Westchester...what's HaZamir, you ask? Find out here! I am truly honored and excited to become part of this movement, engaging Jewish teens in music and community. It is a true "pay-it forward" moment as I was inspired to become a musician in great part due to my influential choir conductor and the friends I was able to make beautiful music with as a teen.

Drama League's 27th Annual Black-Tie Gala Honoring Patti Lupone

Rachel Brook — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 18:54:08 +0000

...and I'll be there! On February 7th I look forward to singing at the Drama League's 27th Annual Black-Tie Gala honoring the legendary Patti Lupone. I will be performing in the show-stopping number "Blow, Gabriel, Blow" from Anything Goes (for which Ms. Lupone was Tony nominated many years ago!). The event will be held at the Pierre Hotel, and should be a wonderful night.

Check out this old school link to hear La Diva singing "Blow, Gabriel, Blow" for President Bush (the H.W.) back in the day!

Rachel Soloing in "A Christmas Cantata" presented by Opera New York

Rachel Brook — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 20:02:37 +0000

Like any good Jewish singer, I get no greater pleasure than singing beautifully arranged Christmas carols. Luckily, William Wade (composer of WARSAW as well as ImagineOcean, running Off-Broadway right now) has done just that. On Sunday, December 19th at 7pm I will be singing in William's "A Christmas Cantata", presented by Opera New York at 353 Studios (48th St, between 8th & 9th). I will be soloing with the group, as well as singing in large and small ensemble pieces. Come out and enjoy!

Opera New York presents:

A Christmas Cantata by William Wade

Sunday, December 19th @ 7pm

353 Studios (48th St, between 8th & 9th Ave)

Tickets are $10 (cash or check only), and can be purchased by calling (212) 580-7336.

Warsaw Update and Shalshelet Festival

Rachel Brook — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 22:21:31 +0000

It was an honor to be a part of the Warsaw cast this past Sunday for our reading at Lefrak Concert Hall. The show was enthusiastically received, and I am in complete awe of the incredible cast of talent I shared the stage with. WARSAW is not only beautiful and entertaining but carries an important human message that should continue to be shared. Our fabulous director, Jamibeth Margolis, has put the show on Kickstarter in order to raise some of the funds needed to take this show to the next level. If you are able, please consider supporting WARSAW on it's journey to Broadway. You can learn more about making a tax deductable donation, and do so easily, by clicking here: I'm Helping WARSAW Get to Broadway!...There, now don't you feel good? :)

Next up...

I am in busy preparations to perform at the 4th International Jewish Music Festival, this year in New York City (how convenient), sponsored by Shalshelet; The Foundation for New Jewish Liturgical Music. The festival concert will take place at Congregation Ansche Chesed on December 4th@8pm. There will also be composers workshops held all day Sunday, December 5th, from 10am-5pm. If you are in the NYC area, please consider coming and checking out some beautiful new music, all by contemporary composers from around the world. I have to give special mention to Chazzan Natasha Hirschhorn, the vice-president of Shalshelet, and the director of Shir Chadash, a Brooklyn-based Jewish choir that I am proud to assistant direct. Natasha is an inspiring musician and woman, and I am honored to work with her so closely.

Ticket information for the festival can be found here.

Rachel cast in AEA Staged Reading of WARSAW

Rachel Brook — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:58:53 +0000

I am excited to share that I will be performing the role of Helena in the upcoming AEA Staged Reading of WARSAW, a musical drama about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, at Lefrak Concert Hall on Sunday, November 14th @ 3pm. I am honored to be a new addition to this cast, and to share this inspiring and important story. The show is directed by Jamibeth Margolis, music by William Wade, and book by John Atkins. Ticket info will follow shortly!

I am thrilled, but also sad that I will not be able to return to the cast of The Poet Warriors for the fallFRINGE performances. Please go out and support this fabulous show if you are in the DC area!

Rachel with Zamir Chorale at Carnegie Hall and the return of The Poet Warriors

Rachel Brook — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 01:56:35 +0000

I am thrilled to be the newest soprano addition to the famed Zamir Chorale, conducted by Matthew Lazar, which will be celebrating it's 50th anniversary with a Gala Concert at Carnegie Hall on October 31st at 3pm. If you are in the NYC area, I would love to see you there!

In other good news, The Poet Warriors was one of 9 shows (out of 135!) picked up for revival at DC's Fall Fringe. This is a great opportunity to catch a special show that garnered a lot of buzz. Some tweaks here and there, and almost all original cast members returning...more details to follow.

Joel Markowitz names The Poet Warriors "Favorite Musical of this year's Fringe Festival"!

Rachel Brook — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:58:51 +0000

What an honor! Thank you Joel, and the entire team of reviewers at DC Theatre Scene who covered all 135 shows at the Fringe Festival. It was a blast from start to finish.

Check out Joel's thoughts here, and please feel free to leave a comment!

The Poet Warriors-UPDATE

Rachel Brook — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 20:50:39 +0000

I am happy to report that audiences are braving the heat to check out our show- every performance has been either sold out or nearly so. Yay! The Fringe Festival is rolling along and has been a fabulous place to check out tons of theatre and see old friends.

Here are some reviews of the show:

Washington City Paper

DC Theatre Scene

Enjoy, and come take in one of our last two performances! Tickets can be purchased here.

The Poet Warriors at Capital Fringe Festival

Rachel Brook — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 13:24:58 +0000

erformance dates are:

Saturday, July 10th @1pm

Satuday, July 17th@ 7:30pm and 10:30pm

Tuesday, July 20th@ 8:45pm

Sunday, July 25@ 11am