Inaugural Temple Chamber Players Concert Will Support Israel

In the wake of the war in Israel, the Sunday, Oct. 22 debut of The Temple Chamber Players concert series will be a benefit, with a portion of the proceeds going to Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency medical, ambulance and blood bank service – similar to the American Red Cross.

Israeli-born Roee Harran, a cellist who is on the music faculty at Emory University, was invited by Cantor Tracey Scher and The Temple’s Cultural Arts Committee to put together the programs and ensembles for the concert series. “The cantor believed in my vision and told me to make it happen,” he said. Scher is a mezzo-soprano from Nova Scotia, Canada.

Across Atlanta, the U.S. and in Europe, Israeli-born citizens and Jewish communities are mustering their talents and orchestrating fundraisers to support organizations like Magen David Adom as well as reserve soldiers who have been called up to service and the many survivors of the communities that were decimated by the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks which caught Israel off-guard and unprepared.

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Harran, husband of The Temple’s Director of Engagement, Kelli Harran, played in the Israel Defense Forces String Quartet during his three-year army service. A cello player since he was seven years old, he studied at the Rubin Academy of Music at Tel Aviv University. He received his Master of Music degree at the Eastman School of Music. An avid chamber musician, he has performed at the Tanglewood Music Festival, Manchester Music Festival and Pacific Music Festival, as well as appeared as a soloist in Israel, Europe, the U.S., and Canada.

Harran plays regularly with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Opera and Atlanta Ballet. Thus, he will be playing with familiar musicians. ASO Concertmaster David Coucheron on violin and ASO Associate Concertmaster Justin Bruns on violin will be on stage with him as well as Julie Coucheron, from Kennesaw State University, playing piano and Josiah Coe, from the Edgewood Quartet playing the viola.

The program, which will be from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in The Temple’s sanctuary, is entitled, “Fervor: A Journey Back in Time from Buenos Aires to Germany.” It will include Piazzolla: Primavera Portena (Spring), Mendelssohn: Piano Trio No. 1 Op. 49 and Schumann: Piano Quintet Op. 44.

Tickets are priced at $25 for the community, $20 for Temple members and $15 for students. Attendees are invited to a reception after the concert to meet the musicians.

The concert series will continue next year with, “A Tale of Romantic Reflections,” Sunday, March 17, 2024, and “Yiddishkeit: A Story of Song & Prayer,” Sunday, April 21, 2024.