December is a special month for Christians and Jews alike: some celebrate Christmas, others Hanukkah. At the Kempinski Hotel Frankfurt, the Gesher Ensemble and Friends Frankfurt is now giving a concert on Hanukkah and Christmas. The ensemble will record the concert on December 17 in the K-Lounge, and it will be available on YouTube from December 18. The artists will perform for no fee, but ask all audience members to make a donation at: https://de.gofundme.com/f/hilfe-fur-kunstler-in-zeiten-von-corona. They will pass on part of the donations to Künstlerhilfe Frankfurt, which supports freelance artists during the Corona pandemic.
"Freelance artists are having a very hard time at the moment, so it goes without saying that we are making our premises available for the Chrismukkah benefit concert," explains hotel director Karina Ansos. "I very much hope that many people will come to see this unusual and atmospheric concert and, of course, donate in favour of the artists."
All singers will undergo a Corona rapid test immediately before the concert for protection. This will be carried out professionally by a doctor. During the performance itself, all participants will stand at least four meters away from each other.
Nine singers, including Dunja Reiter, will perform classic Hanukkah songs as well as American Christmas carols, for example "Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer," "Santa Claus is coming to town" or even "I'll be home for Christmas." For these songs, like many others, were composed by Jewish composers. In addition, the artists will tell about Jewish traditions at the concert and light the last Hanukkah candle. The entire concert can be seen on YouTube at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsrem2TAZXdoItFuAsMnJpg
The regular Gesher Ensemble members include: Alexandra Bentz and Benjamin Maroko (both vocals), Simone Hofmann (moderation) and Anna Kuperschmidt (piano).
The concert will be supported by: Dunja Rajter, Liviu Holender, Samuel T. Klemke, Shai Terry and Thomas Bäppler-Wolf.
