NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Hartford chapter of HaZamir: The International Jewish High School Choir will join hundreds of teen singers from throughout the U.S. and Israel for a gala concert on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House, Sunday, March 26, 4 p.m.

“To perform at the Met is a great honor. I know I speak for all of the singers, musicians and conductors, when I say this is a day we will always treasure,” says Maestro Matthew Lazar, the founder and director of the Zamir Choral Foundation, who will share the stage with conductors from thirty-five HaZamir chapters and four hundred singers. HaZmir is a project of the Foundation. Its mission is to “foster Jewish identity across generational, denominational, and geographic lines through Jewish choral music.”

The Hartford HaZamir chapter of HaZamir is conducted by Cantor Yehudis Schreiber of West Hartford. A music teacher at the Bess & Paul Sigel Hebrew Academy in Bloomfield since 2001, she leads the Hebrew Academy Children’s Choir. She also performs as a member of the Beth-El Orchestra conducted by Cantor Joseph Ness. A graduate of New York’s famed Julliard School, from which she holds a degree in viola performance, Schreiber is currently completing a Masters in Music Education at the University of Bridgeport. She is a former member of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra.

HaZamir has doubled in size in the past six years, with twenty nine chapters in the U.S. and six in Israel. Vivian Lazar, Director of HaZamir says, “We are thrilled that our singers will have the opportunity to perform on such an auspicious stage. We hope this extraordinary experience motivates and inspires them to continue performing at the highest musical standards.”

According to Lazar, the New York performance is a highlight of the year, “filled with music, Judaism, and spirituality in a powerful blend that can be nothing short of life changing for the participants. Indeed, the music serves as an ‘agent of Jewish transformation’ for both the singers and the audience.”

The gala program includes traditional and modern compositions from the U.S. and Israel, in Hebrew and English. It features the world premiere of FanFare for Jerusalem by award winning New York pianist and composer, Randy Klein, who based his composition on excerpts from the Psalms of David.

For more information on the March 26 concert visit hazamirgalaconcert.org.