Beit Vilna Choir — Association of Jews of Vilna and vicinity in Israel

Written by Ella Shek (a soloist of the choir) 2008

The Bet Vilna choir was started by a group of "Vilners" in 1964. The purpose of the choir was to disseminate the musical heritage of the Jewry of Vilna, also known as "Jerusalem of Lithuania", most of which perished in the Holocaust. 

The founders were: Yehiel Burgin, Baruch Zislin, Yitzhak Milikowski, Shmuel Geller and Sima Skorkiewitz. Rehearsals were usually held at Bet Leivik on Dov Hoz street in Tel Aviv but sometimes also at the Nahmani Hall at "Bet Bnai Brit".

Ever since Bet Vilna on Sderot Yehudit in Tel Aviv was built, rehearsals have been held there.

The first conductor of the choir was Solonewitz who died on the stage a short time after he had conducted the choir. He was followed by Baruch Zislin. The choir was actually made up of two groups: one group rehearsed in Jerusalem and the other one in Tel Aviv. When the groups appeared together, Zislin would go to each of the groups once a week. There was an orchestra that accompanied the choir from time to time. Burgin was the de facto manager of the choir.  He arranged the performances and was also one of the choir's soloists. Other soloists were: Zelta Burgin, Rachel Gross, Ya'akov Jakubowski, Masha Rubenstein and Ella Shek.

The choir performed across the country: in Ashkelon, Netanya, Petah Tikvah etc., at Kibbutzim Lohamei Hagetaot  (Ghetto fighters) and Yad Mordechai and as well as at the Mann Auditorium in Tel Aviv and Binyanei Hauma in Jerusalem. The halls were always packed with audiences hankering for Yiddish songs. The choir and the soloists were often heard on the radio and, in 1983, appeared on television accompanied by the orchestra.

Eva Pitlik was also a conductor of the choir and Alexander Treski was the next conductor.

For the past few years Tamara Aizes has been conducting the choir; she is an immigrant from Russia who has had many years of experience in voice production, singing and as a pianist in her former homeland. Ms. Aizes is both the pianist for the choir and its conductor. Since Tamara joined the choir, its repertoire has increased to include songs in Yiddish, Hebrew, English and Ladino. The members of the choir are retired people from all walks of life, not necessarily from Vilna. The choir appears at the Association's events as well as at the events of other organizations; it has appeared at the memorial service at the synagogue of Yad Vashem and at annual festivals in Ashkelon.

In February, 2015, a salutary tribute to celebrate the jubilee of the Bet Vilna choir was held at the Enav Center in Tel Aviv. The Savyon College choir, the Kalischer choir, El Haderech choir, two municipal choirs from Ashdod and the soloist Yoad Sorek (a grandson of Sima Skurkiewitz, one of the founders of the choir) all participated in the event. There were hundreds of members of the Association, survivors of Vilna and their extended families, and many of the next generations were in the audience.