Over 20 years ago, Tizmoret was formed. Tizmoret is a nationally acclaimed Queens College Hillel and Jewish based a cappella group that performs across the country at national a cappella competitions, worldwide tours, bar mitzvahs, synagogues and music festivals. This year alone they have traveled to North Carolina, Tennessee, Chicago, Georgia, Florida, the tri- state area and Canada.
Tizmoret was established by Daniel Henkin, the current director of the group, back when he was a student at QC and, ever since, the Tizmoret name has been associated with many awards, fantastic students and beautiful, memorable music. He has helped pioneer the contemporary Jewish a cappella movement; without him, Tizmoret would not be what it is today.
Tizmoret performs classic Jewish melodies, American pop music and contemporary Israeli songs. There are currently fourteen students in Tizmoret and they are all college or post college grad school students. Some are music majors while others are majoring in the liberal arts and the sciences. Currently there are members from California, Toronto, and the tri – state area.
Although Tizmoret is a QC based group, students who are passionate about music and singing in the NY area have become vocalists over the years. Some vocalists are from NYU, CUNY Baruch, Stern College for Women, Parsons and the New School.
As students leave from semester to semester, Tizmoret holds auditions for new bass singers, tenors, altos, sopranos and vocal percussionists. If anyone is interested in joining, auditions are usually held on campus at the beginning of the semester and will be posted about on Tizmoret’s social media pages. It is an intense two stage audition process, so potential vocalists must be prepared to show their musical abilities in many capacities. Becoming a member is a time commitment, as Tizmoret practices for future events every week for 2-3 hours.
In 2011, 2012 and 2015, Tizmoret was privileged to win First Place at the Kol HaOlam Competition, also known as the U.S. National Collegiate A Capella Competition for Jewish A Capella groups. They were also invited back as the guest group in 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017.
Additionally, on November 5t, Tizmoret won the first annual Philadelphia Jewish Collegiate A Cappella Competition.
On December 17, 2014, Tizmoret had the honor to perform at the annual White House Chanukah party, pictured above with Former President Obama and Former First Lady Michelle Obama.
“Yesh Lach,” a track off Tizmoret’s album, “Score,” was nominated for the Best Folk/World Song category at the 2017 CARAs (Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards)!
Recently, Tizmoret posted their first music video online, “Kadima Hala,” Hebrew for “Onwards and Upwards.” Elai Botner, the original singer of the song, recognized Tizmoret’s musical talents and soon after shared their video on his Facebook page.
Tamara Heller, junior at QC and alto singer in Tizmoret said, “Although it’s a huge time commitment, this is a once in a lifetime experience and well worth it. We all love what we’re doing and I could not have imagined my college experience without it. It was a great outlet for me to forget about the stress of homework and tests and just enjoy the people around me. People have actually asked me if some competitions are like “Pitch Perfect” the movie, and sometimes, they are! I was so thankful to be able to meet so many people, it’s almost like I live in my own a capella world at times.”
Cory Hecht, senior at QC and bass singer in Tizmoret said, “Tizmoret has been life changing for me – I’ve actually fallen into my career because of the immense knowledge I’ve gained through my experience in the group. I was the President from 2015-2017, a role in which I refined my leadership skills, and I have to say that post-presidency I am quite happy with how far the group has come. As a group we have all become better musicians, and we’ve made friendships that will last far beyond our time in the group. Joining Tizmoret has been, by far, one of the most influential (and best) decisions I’ve ever made.”
Tizmoret has 7 CD’s and 2 EP’s available for purchase. All of their songs are listed on iTunes and Spotify. Next semester, they will be releasing a new album.
On December 6 Tizmoret has a Winter Concert with the Queens College iTones at 7:30 pm. Tickets are sold at the door: $5 for students, $10 for general admission. Check out their social media outlets website for more information.
Website: https://www.tizmoret.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/tizmoretqc/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tizmoretqc/
Music Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMJ0m6-uK-0
