Congregation Har Sinai-Oheb Shalom will host 18-year-old Israeli violinist Noga Barlev for a concert on May 21 alongside Andrew Stewart, the congregation’s music director.

Barlev is a talented violinist, having come to the U.S. previously to participate in the highly regarded Perlman Music Program Summer Music School in New York and is currently a student at the New England Conservatory in Boston.

Rabbi Rachel Sabath Beit-Halachmi, HSOS’ head rabbi, said that this program is a great opportunity for the congregation to experience a fantastic musical talent and support Israel and the cultural accomplishments of its people during a time of war.

Barlev grew up with parents who had a background in music and a sister who played piano.
“I started playing the piano, but I couldn’t really sit on the chair. So after one or two lessons, I understood that it wasn’t for me. And then I heard a little girl playing the violin, and I told my mom, ‘This is what I want to play.’ And she took it very seriously. And from there the rest is history,” Barlev said.

Noga Barlev’s mother, Yael Barlev, said that her daughter has been serious about her craft since she first picked up a violin at age five, never missing a lesson and never needing an extra push from her parents.

Yael Barlev added that raising a classical musician who has such a level of devotion is like raising a professional athlete, where communities help them along the journey to become great. The mother added that one of those communities is the Jerusalem Music Center, founded through the efforts of Issac Stern, a famous Jewish American violinist.

The Center brought talented classical musicians from across Israel together, and it was where Noga Barlev was able to meet her current professor, renowned violinist Miriam Fried, when she was eight.

Yael Barlev said that now HSOS is another community that is supporting Noga Barlev and her musical career, and that Sabath and Cantor Alexandra Marcus have been welcoming.

Noga Barlev said that she ended up partnering with HSOS as she and Fried were looking for places where Noga could perform, and they connected with the congregation.

The congregation got introduced to Barlev through a close friend of Rabbi Sabath, Anat Efrati, a renowned opera singer and music teacher.

“Upon hearing Noga play online at an event in Israel, our clergy and other leaders were so moved by her music and her story that they wanted to invite her to perform in Baltimore to share her incredible talent with our community,” Sabath said.

Barlev added that she has been very excited to come down to Baltimore to play for the congregation as she has felt an outpouring of support and kindness from the community.

“Everywhere I’ve been around the world, the Jewish community is very loving and very supportive. When I’m in Israel, of course, and when I’ve been to other [musical] courses and seminars around the world, I feel very grateful to be able to share my music and receive the love and care they offer and immediately had when this connection [with HSOS] started,” Barlev said. “I’m looking forward to [the performance], and I feel very grateful to be able to share my music with this Jewish congregation.”

Sabath affirmed that sense of support that Barlev felt, and she said that over 100 people had already signed up to attend at the time of publication, and that this event brought together two of HSOS’ interests as a congregation.

“[Having Barlev perform] begins with our mutual love of Israel and love of classical music at HSOS. The idea of inviting Noga Barlev is so fitting given our support of the best of Israel and the incredible talents of our music director, Andrew Stewart. We are so lucky to have someone like Andrew sharing his piano music every Shabbat, on holidays and at other special events,” Sabath said.

Barlev said that the performance will include songs from composers including Beethoven, Clara Schumann and more. Preparation for the concert has taken hours of practice and weekly lessons with Fried, as she goes over the pieces frequently.

Those hours of careful practice are something that Barlev loves and is part of her process in improving as a musician and performer. Barlev said that an opportunity to travel and perform is crucial for her development as an artist and discovering who she is in relation to music but also as a person.

“Music is about communicating. It’s a language. It’s about sharing how I view those artworks that have been created a long time ago, and every organization like [HSOS] or place where I can perform and do that, it’s an inseparable part of my development as a musician,” Barlev said.

This performance will also carry another message, as Yael and Noga Barlev both spoke about dedicating it to the hostages still held in Gaza and their desire to see them returned home.

And for the congregation, the concert offers opportunities for people to listen to high-level classical music and to support Barlev.

“We’re delighted to share the brilliant music of both Noga and Andrew, as well as the opportunity to have everyone there interact with such a remarkable Israeli. We’re sure that people will feel inspired and eager for more! We’re just so honored to host Noga and to establish Har Sinai-Oheb Shalom as one of her most supportive communities and feel that we are part of her journey soaring toward greatness into the future,” Sabath said.

For more information about the performance, visit hsosc-baltimore.org.

bhamelin@midatlanticmedia.com