About Arbel

Picture by Susan Pardys

Arbel - a Hebrew acronym for:

	Ohavei	Lovers of
	Rinah	Joy
	Bo-u	Come
	Lashir	to Sing.

Bringing together a diverse group of Jewish individuals from throughout the Delaware Valley, Arbel is a community choir, a community of friends, and a cultural resource to the regional Jewish community.

Founded in 1973 to bring young Jewish men and women together to sing, Arbel was originally affiliated with University of Pennsylvania Hillel. Now, Arbel is an independent not-for-profit organization.

Arbel is known for its wide ranging repertoire, its informal style, and its enthusiastic members and audiences. We've described our repertoire as "every type of Jewish music... from sacred to schmaltzy." Our performances often include kazoos, props, dancing in the aisles, guest musicians, as well as serious works by Rossi, Bernstein, and modern Israeli and American Jewish masters.

Arbel currently has more than 20 singers, drawn from the Greater Philadelphia area, including New Jersey and Delaware. We are a musically diverse group. For many of us, Arbel is our first choral experience and we arrived with no background or training. Others bring years of choral involvement and broader musical abilities. Some of us have extensive Jewish knowledge and involvement; for others, Arbel is their only (or first!) Jewish community affiliation. But whatever our background, we work together for quality Jewish musical performance.

Some members are students, but most are young adults employed in the Philadelphia area, working in law, education, science, health care, computers, and other fields.

Arbel presents an annual Spring Concert and participates in major community programs. Twice, we performed at the North American Jewish Choral Festival and twice toured Israel. We have performed as a "back-up choir" with Debbie Friedman, Craig Taubman, Robbie Solomon, Sol Zim, Nate Lam and many other nationally known Jewish performers. In 1998, we participated in many of the Israel 50 events, including the "Hear, O Israel" concert at the CoreStates (now Wachovia) Center with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Israel Philharmonic, and we performed with the Concerto Soloists and local synagogue choirs at the Academy of Music.

Many synagogue and community organizations have sponsored Arbel performances, and Arbel also brings music to those in our community who have limited access to Jewish cultural activities, at nursing homes and senior citizens' programs.

Arbel members meet frequently for social events, parties, community Tzedakah projects and an annual Shabbaton weekend. Friendships (and even some marriages) are a common result of Arbel membership.

To schedule an Arbel performance contact .

Joining Arbel is easy - auditions are not required!

Lovers of joy, come sing!