It was the Chanukah of 2003 that M-Generation Boys Choir debuted on stage in Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach, in Berlin and in Düsseldorf. The group of seven with ages ranging from 6 to 12 was an instant hit and made its musical mark in the performance world and among Jewish audiences.
The M in M-Generation stands for Moshiach and the group was organized and is sponsored by FREE as an educational service for Russian youth. The goal of the choir has been to help Jewish kids feel the joy of Jewish music and become part of the Jewish people and its cultural life.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg introduced M-Generation at a special performance at Gracie Mansion on May 6th, calling the boys “all immigrants from Russia and real treat.” Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz on September 14th presented the group with a citation of artistic excellence at a special concert honoring Rosh Hashana at Brooklyn’s Borough Hall Plaza.
M-Generation was founded only two years ago but it has since won recognition and a number of prizes, among them First Place in the Performing Arts and Music, awarded by the World Congress of Russian Jewry (WCRJ), which is headquartered in Moscow.
That took place when the group performed last year in the “International Competition Golden Chanukiah,” a grand carnival organized by WCRJ, which is headed by Russia’s Chief Rabbi Berl Lazar.
Awards Wherever They Sing
Another first-place prize for the group was won in Berlin and earlier in Düsseldorf, Germany, for its performances of songs of devaikus (devotion) and rhythmic Chassidic tunes. Working with them from the beginning has been the group’s conductor and director, Mr. Boris Rukiter, a multi-talented young man who composes, conducts, writes and does graphics as well. See and hear the joyous, smiling boys sing the songs of their repertoire in Russian, English, Hebrew and Yiddish at www.mgstars.com
In Dusseldorf, the group got a big ovation. In the Berlin concert, the group won an award plus a check for 1,000 eu’s. Chabad representatives Rabbi Barkahan of Düsseldorf and Rabbi Yehuda Teichtel, the shliach in Berlin, are credited with the arrangements for the concerts and for kosher food. Mr. Yuri Shtern, Member of Israel’s Knesset, addressed the crowd in the Berlin concert.
Just one day after the choir members came back from Germany, they performed in the FREE Center of Brighton Beach and at FREE’s Grand Chanukah Dinner. They also sang with the world famous chassidic singer Avraham Fried at the Millenium Theatre in Brighton Beach.
Finally, M-Generation teamed up with the Moscow Synagogue Choir last year at the FREE Center of Brighton Beach. The concert was timed to coincide with Yud Alef Nissan, the 102nd birthday of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, who founded FREE to provide physical and spiritual services for the Russian-Jewish immigrants who were about to burst out of the Soviet Union and emigrate to the United States.
