This past February, the Ramaz Choir took a trip to Los Angeles, California. Accompanied by Director Mr. Henkin as well as Ms. Bernfeld, Ms. Benus, Dr. Rotenberg, and Ramaz alumnae Thalia Sharon, the choir took on LA for a jam-packed six-day singing extravaganza. Over the course of the trip, the choir sang for numerous audiences across Southern California at schools, shuls, community centers, and a lucky few even had the chance to sing on the plane. When the choir members weren’t singing they were participating in fun activities such as a Warner Brothers Studio tour, a trip to the Grove, Santa Monica Pier, and many other sight-seeing experiences. They then spent the weekend with local families who had graciously agreed to host them for Shabbat. Many members of the choir said that this trip brought the choir closer as a community and created many new friendships.

Mr. Henkin indicated that the initial discussions for this trip began over the summer, but because of funding issues the actual planning portion of the trip did not begin until December. Mr. Henkin was eager to take a longer trip with the choir, and he felt that California was the perfect place to do this because a similar trip to Israel two years ago had been successful. “It’s hard to pinpoint a single favorite event,” said Mr. Henkin, “but I think the Shabbat day performance we did at the Young Israel of North Beverly Hills may have been the best.”

Out of the many events the choir performed, many members expressed their love for the perfomances at the Santa Monica Pier, on the tram ride at the Getty Museum, and at a community center for Holocaust survivors. Hayley Schreiber ’20 said, “It was so much fun to hang out with everyone, no matter the grade, and bond over something we all love. LA is amazing, but the friendships we made were really what made the trip such a great time.” Choir co-president Kira Berman ’20 spoke about the new responsibilities that she had over the trip and said that she felt these responsibilities made the trip more fulfilling and meaningful. 

Although every member had different favorite parts, the general consensus was that everyone enjoyed bonding with both the one another and hope to participate in another trip like this in the future.