JMI Music Festivals: A Global First in Jewish Music
In 1984, London hosted the world’s first major international Jewish music festival – the Bnai Brith Music Festival – a month-long celebration of Jewish musical traditions, from Chasidic melodies to jazz, oratorios, and synagogue music. This groundbreaking event laid the foundation for the Jewish Music Institute (JMI), established at the University of London in 1999.
Under the visionary leadership of founding director Geraldine Auerbach MBE, JMI produced biennial festivals until 2000, commissioning new works, reviving lost repertoire, and bringing together artists from Europe, Israel, and the US. Highlights included performances at iconic venues like Bevis Marks Synagogue, the Millennium Dome, and stately homes of the Rothschilds.
JMI also broke new ground with interfaith events, such as Ronald Senator’s Kaddish for Terezin at Canterbury Cathedral and Bloch’s Sacred Service at York Minster and St Paul’s Cathedral, the latter conducted by Yehudi Menuhin in the presence of HRH Prince Philip.
Special themes included émigré composers, suppressed music, and Israeli soundscapes. Today, these rich archives – including five international conferences – are digitised and accessible online, preserving a legacy that continues to inspire.
The 1984 B’nai B’rith Music Festival was the UK’s first national celebration of Jewish music, spanning classical, folk, liturgical, and contemporary styles. Featuring international artists, historic venues, and educational panels, it showcased Jewish musical heritage from biblical chant to modern jazz, uniting communities through performance, scholarship, and cultural pride.
View ↗
The 1986 B’nai B’rith Music Festival marked a bold expansion of Jewish cultural celebration in the UK, featuring world premieres, Holocaust commemorations, Israeli contemporary works, and interfaith events. Highlights included “Kaddish for Terezin” at Canterbury Cathedral and performances spanning classical, cantorial, folk, and experimental music across major cities and venues.
View ↗
The 1988 B’nai B’rith Jewish Music Festival offered a rich, international celebration of Jewish musical heritage. Featuring premieres of works by Bloch, Bruch, Milhaud, and Rossi, alongside Yiddish theatre, Sephardi traditions, and contemporary Israeli music, the festival united diverse communities through concerts, workshops, and scholarly panels across London and beyond.
View ↗
The 1990 B’nai B’rith Jewish Music Festival celebrated Jewish musical heritage with global flair. Highlights included premieres of synagogue works by Malcolm Singer, tributes to Salomon Sulzer and Aaron Copland, performances by the Jerusalem Great Synagogue Choir, and a return by klezmer legend Giora Feidman – uniting tradition, innovation, and community.
View ↗
The 1992 B’nai B’rith Jewish Music Festival marked its fifth edition with over 40 events across the UK. Celebrating 500 years since the expulsion from Spain, it spotlighted Sephardi heritage alongside Ashkenazi, Israeli, and contemporary Jewish music. Highlights included Giora Feidman, Dudu Fisher, Sephardic song, Yiddish theatre, and international choirs.
View ↗